The Oceanic collection focuses on art produced by people living in the Pacific islands including Melanesia (New Britain, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Ireland, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu) and Polynesia (Hawai'i, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga). Works from Eastern Archipelago Indonesia, Aboriginal Australia, and Micronesia are also represented.

Building the collection

Morton D. May's gift of 530 works of Oceanic art is the foundation of this collection, which the Museum has continued to build on with objects of exceptional aesthetic merit. The Oceanic collection includes many sculptural objects such as masks and figure sculpture created in the 18th and 19th centuries by artists for use in traditional rituals or for religious purposes. The Oceanic galleries also feature everyday objects such as necklaces, bracelets, and weapons.

Installation of the Works

The indigenous belief systems of the people who created these works are respected and represented in the interpretive texts that accompany each piece. Some of the objects in the collection were used in traditional healing practices, others were used in sorcery. The Museum strives to accurately portray the lives and traditional beliefs of the people who made the objects displayed.

SEARCH OUR OCEANIC ART COLLECTION

Click here to search Oceanic Art objects in our online collection.