Oceanian Arts: Island Visions
The Pacific collections, though small, represent vast ocean cultures from Australia to Easter Island.
What to Look For
Polynesian Navigation - Stick charts mapping ocean swells - Canoe ornaments ensuring safe voyages - Star knowledge preserved in objects - Contemporary voyaging revival
Melanesian Art - Malagan funeral carvings - Bis poles reaching toward ancestors - Shell money and trade networks - Masks transforming wearers
Aboriginal Australian Art - When displayed, showing 60,000-year tradition - Dreamtime stories in ochre - Contemporary paintings global stars - Land rights encoded in designs