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Gallery 354 - Melanesia

Part of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Gallery 354
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Gallery 354
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Gallery 354
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Gallery 354
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Gallery 354

Gallery Highlights

  • Mask
    Mask

    Date: late 19th–early 20th century
    Accession Number: 1978.412.1518

  • Head for Yam ceremony (Yena)
    Head for Yam ceremony (Yena)

    Date: 19th–early 20th century
    Accession Number: 1978.412.1699

  • Mask (Buk, Krar, or Kara)
    Mask (Buk, Krar, or Kara)

    Date: mid to late 19th century
    Accession Number: 1978.412.1510

  • Bis Pole
    Bis Pole

    Date: late 1950s
    Accession Number: 1979.206.1611

  • Shield (Grere'o [?])
    Shield (Grere'o [?])

    Date: early to mid-19th century
    Accession Number: 1978.412.730

  • Ancestor Figure
    Ancestor Figure

    Date: 19th century or earlier
    Accession Number: 1979.206.1561

See all objects from this gallery

Related Content

  • Timeline of Art History (7)
  • Exhibitions & Events (5)

  • Lapita Pottery (ca. 1500–500 B.C.)
  • New Ireland
  • The Asmat
  • The Solomon Islands
  • European Exploration of the Pacific, 1600–1800
  • Melanesia, 1600–1800 A.D.
  • Melanesia, 1800–1900 A.D.

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Exhibitions:

  • African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde
    From November 27, 2012

Events:

  • Art Explore Summer Fun—Feathers of Africa and the Americas (Ages 11–14)
    July 9, 2013
  • Summer Sketching—African Sculpture (Ages 11–18)
    July 26, 2013
  • From Performance and Ritual Objects to Museum Artworks
    July 30, 2013
  • From Performance and Ritual Objects to Museum Artworks
    August 7, 2013
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Card No. 8, from the advertising card series "Cabinet Photos, Allen & Ginter" (H807, Type 2), issued by Allen & Ginter to promote Virginia Brights Cigarettes
"A Sport for Every Girl" - Women and Sports in the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick
773
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Morning Glory
Cambodian Rattan - The Sculptures of Sopheap Pich
209, 249, 251
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Duke Francesco I d'Este
Velázquez's Portrait of Duke Francesco I d'Este - A Masterpiece from the Galleria Estense, Modena
624
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The Boxer: An Ancient Masterpiece
The Boxer - An Ancient Masterpiece
153
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Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons; Cranes and Flowers of the Four Seasons
Birds in the Art of Japan -
225–232
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At War with the Obvious:  Photographs by William Eggleston
At War with the Obvious - Photographs by William Eggleston
852
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Making the Invisible Visible
Making the Invisible Visible - Conservation and Islamic Art
458
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The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: Charting a New Empire
The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia - Charting a New Empire
404
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Objects from the Kharga Oasis
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302
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Land Marks
Land Marks -
399
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The Fall of Richmond, Virginia on the Night of April 2nd, 1865
Drawings and Prints - Selections from the Permanent Collection
690
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The Camp of the Seventh Regiment near Frederick, Maryland, 1863
The Civil War and American Art -
964–965, 955
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African Art, New York, and the Avant Garde
African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde -
359
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Living in Style: Five Centuries of Interior Design from the Collection of Drawings and Prints
Living in Style - Five Centuries of Interior Design from the Collection of Drawings and Prints
691–693
2nd Fl
Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department
Bashford Dean and the Creation of the Arms and Armor Department -
380
1st Fl
The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi
The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi -
926
1st Fl
 Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronze Sculpture from the Robert Lehman Collection
Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronze Sculpture from the Robert Lehman Collection -
960
1st Fl
Everyday Epiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969
Everyday Epiphanies - Photography and Daily Life Since 1969
851
2nd Fl
Poudreuse
Furniture by Abraham and David Roentgen on loan from the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin -
553, 533
1st Fl
Fabergé
Fabergé from the Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Collection -
555
1st Fl

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The islands of the Pacific Ocean encompass nearly 1,800 distinct cultures and hundreds of artistic traditions in an area that covers over one-third of the Earth's surface. The galleries for Oceanic art are divided geographically into sections: Polynesia and Micronesia (Gallery 353); Melanesia (subdivided into two areas: New Guinea and Island Melanesia) and Australia (this gallery); and Island Southeast Asia (Gallery 355).

New Guinea

This section of the Melanesia gallery presents works from the island of New Guinea in the southwest Pacific. With more than eight hundred distinct peoples, New Guinea is the most culturally and artistically diverse island in Oceania. The displays survey the island’s major regional artistic traditions, including the arts of the Sepik River, Asmat region, Papuan Gulf, Cenderawasih Bay, Highlands, Lake Sentani, Massim, and other areas. A portion of the installation is also devoted to the arts of Aboriginal Australia and the Torres Strait. Highlights include imposing Asmat ancestor poles (bis) and a soaring ceremonial house ceiling from the Kwoma people.

Island Melanesia

Works in the Island Melanesia section originate from the vast arc of islands and archipelagos situated east of New Guinea in the Southwest Pacific, including the large islands of New Britain and New Ireland and the archipelagos of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Highlights include a towering slit gong (one of the largest freestanding musical instruments on earth) from Vanuatu, a gigantic figural headdress (hareiga) depicting a powerful female spirit from New Britain, and intricate funerary sculptures (malagan) from New Ireland.

Discover more about Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

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