The Museum's collections of Pre Columbian and American Indian art are diverse and comprehensive.

The Pre Columbian Collection

The Pre-Columbian collection explores the entire artistic history of this vast region, until European conquest. It contains works of art in stone, wood, ceramic, gold, silver, feathers, fiber, and shell representing peoples of traditional cultures from Mesoamerica, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, including Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Mixtec, Aztec, Nazca, Chimú, Inca, and Taino. Highlights of the Pre-Columbian collection include fine Mayan pottery and stucco heads, a Paracas poncho, a Huari feathered mantle, a Maya ballgame vessel, a Taino effigy duho, a Mixtec gold eagle lip plug, and an Aztec wooden sculpture of the goddess of water, Chalchiuhtlicue.

American Indian Art

The collection of American Indian art contains primarily 19th and 20th century works, though older cultures are represented. The oldest works come from the ancient Southwest cultures including the Anasazi and Mimbres (A.D. 700-1300) and Mississippian works including Quapaw and Caddo (A.D. 1000-1600). Northwest Coast American Indian art from the Haida, Tlingit, Nootka, and Kwakiutl is strongly represented by wood carvings, ivory, copper, argillite, and fiber arts. Pottery and weavings from the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest and basketry from the California region also form an important part of this collection. The Museum also has several excellent examples of art from the people of the Plains, including a painted bison hide. Contemporary works by Edgar Heap of Birds, Emmi Whitehorse, James Havard, Tony Hunt, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith showcase the continued evolution of American Indian art and culture.

SEARCH OUR PRE-COLUMBIAN & AMERICAN INDIAN ART COLLECTION

Click here to search Pre-Columbian & American Indian Art objects in our online collection.