1. The Art of the
Pacific

2. City build on a coral reef comprised of man-made islands
213. Nan Madol. Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty. c. 700 – 1600 CE. Basalt boulders and prismatic columns.
City build on a coral reef comprised of man-made islands
Ruins of stones and columns that are extremely heavy
No carving, no art, but we think they were deeply religious
Now abandoned and covered with jungle
Comprised of huge rocks
Nan Madol means "spaces between"
Nan Madol was the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty
Sent food and water from mainland by boat
Thought to have been constructed by twin sorcerers

3. Overview
The Pacific ocean covers 1/3 of the earth’s surface and is made up of 25,000 islands with 1500 inhabitants.
Dumont d’Urville divided the region into 3 parts:
Micro (small), Poly (many) and Mela (black) combined with Nesia (islands)
The earliest people were the Lapita who lived in the region about years ago.
European explorers came to the area in the 16th – 18th century.

4. The Artwork Power of dieties and ancestors are important.
Vital force = mana, Mana can exist in artwork
Wrapping or shielding = tapu
Natural fibers are used such as pigments, bones, shells, wood, stone, etc.
Rare materials are used to show wealth and mark special occasions.
Ritual dress, tattoos, masks, chants, scents and dancing are key.
Warfare was marked with displays of dance, dress, verbal and gestural threats.

8. 214. Moai on platform (ahu). Rapa Nui (Easter Island). c
214. Moai on platform (ahu). Rapa Nui (Easter Island). c – 1600 CE. Volcanic tuff figures on basalt base.

9. Moai Moai = “statue”, inhabitants called them Rapa Nui
Most likely carved to commemorate ancestors
887 Moai carved, 14 made of hard basalt and others of softer volcanic tuff
Around 1860, with the conversion to Christianity, statues were toppled.
Some had inlaid red stone and coral eyes and were painted red and white with designs
On Hoa Hakananai'a ('lost or stolen friend’), the back is carved with images of the birdman cult showing birdman ritual of strength and endurance.

10. Three views of Hoa Hakananai'a ('lost or stolen friend’), Moai (ancestor figure), c C.E., 242 x 96 x 47 cm, basalt (missing paint, coral eye sockets, and stone eyes), likely made in Rano Kao, Easter Island

11. 215. ‘Ahu’ula (Feather cape). Hawaiian. Late 18th century
215. ‘Ahu’ula (Feather cape). Hawaiian. Late 18th century. Fibers, feather, 68.5 x 45 cm.

12. Hawaiian nobility wore capes and cloaks during battle and ceremonies
215. ‘Ahu’ula (Feather cape). Hawaiian. Late 18th century. Fibers, feather, 68.5 x 45 cm.
Hawaiian nobility wore capes and cloaks during battle and ceremonies
‘Ahu’ula = “red garments”, red was associated with gods and chiefs in Polynesia
In Hawaii, yellow feathers were valuable as well since they were scarce.
Feathers are attached with netting in rows.
Close fit neckline with semi-circular cape
Served as gift to early visitors to Hawaii
We are not sure who brought the cape to England

13. 216. Staff god. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia
216. Staff god. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia. Late 18th century CE. Wood, tapa, fiber, and feathers.

14. Detail

15. Staff god
Cook Islands in South Pacific, named or Captain Cook who spotted the islands in 1773
Annexed by Britain in 1901 and administered by New Zealand
Wood carvers o Rarotongo were known for their particular style
Before becoming Christian, islanders worshipped wooden images in human form, slab carvings and staffs called “god sticks” up to 4” long.
This staff had a carved head with smaller carved figures attached
The core originally ended in a carved phallus and smaller male figures. In addition, there were female figures perhaps depicting childbirth.
The barkcloth has red feathers, pearl shells and contains manava = “spirit of the god”
Barkcloth was made by women and protected mana (ancestral power) of the deity

16. 217. Female deity. Nukuoro, Micronesia. c. 18th and 19th century CE
217. Female deity. Nukuoro, Micronesia. c. 18th and 19th century CE. Wood.

17. Nukuoro Atoll

18. Nukuoro Figures

19. Nukuoro Figures
Nukuoro is small atoll in the Caroline Islands, Micronesia, Western Pacific
Atoll = ring-shaped coral rim
People came from Samoa and settled on Nukuoro around the 8th century.
Society was hierarchical, used navigation, canoe building and weaving
Carved stylized human figures
Nukuoro first spotted by Juan Bautista Monteverde on way from Manilla in the Philippines to Lima, Peru in 1806.
Traded with Europeans from about 1830 onward
Missionary, Thomas Gray, came and baptized a female chief in 1902
Around 1900, many pre-Christian traditions were lost

20. Nukuoro Figures, Continued
Nukuoro figures were carved of bread fruit wood and smoothed with pumice stone.
Local deities were thought to reside in animals, stone or wooden figures (called tino aitu)
Figures were placed at temples and were resting places fro deified ancestor spirits
Rituals were marked with harvesting taro, breadfruit, sugar and banana.

21. Alberto Giacometti, Hands Holding the Void (Invisible Object), 1934 (cast c ), bronze, cm high (The Museum of Modern Art)

22. 218. Buk (mask). Torres Strait. Mid- to late 19th century CE
218. Buk (mask). Torres Strait. Mid- to late 19th century CE. Turle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, and shell.

24. Turtle-shell mask of the Torres Strait Islands
218. Buk (mask). Torres Strait. Mid- late 19th century CE. Turtle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, and shell.
Turtle-shell mask of the Torres Strait Islands
Composite human and animal imagery typical of western Torres Strait masks
Used during funerary ceremonies and increase rites (hoping to increase bounty of food like fish and crops)
The mask was worn over the head like a helmet and reenacted events from pat culture of heros.
Has a frigate bird perhaps a representational species of the hero.

25. Polynesia = “many islands”, islands of South Pacific
We learn the history of Polynesia through journal entries, missionary records, archeology and oral histories.
Lapita – first known people in region
Great navigational skills using canoes
Primo-geniture = priority of first born
Chief and nobility trace their lineage to the gods
Mana = supernatural power associated with high rank
Fertility of land important
Gender roles were specific, for example mens’ tools included wood, stone and bone which were often used in rites and rituals

26. 219. Hiapo (tapa). Niue. c. 1850 – 1900 CE. Tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting.

27. Bark Cloth Niue is an island south of Samoa.
Little known about this particular bark cloth or hiapo
Captain Hook reached island in 1774
It’s thought that Samoan missionaries introduced bark cloth around 1830s
Complicated and detailed geometric designs including spirals, concentric circles, squares, triangles, and diminishing motifs (the design motifs decrease in size from the border to the center of the textile).
Niueans also used human figures and writing, often of names on the edges of the design

28. Bark Cloth, Continued
Woman were responsible for producing bark cloth. It was often made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. The material was pounded flat with a wooden anvil. Hawaiian would use a felting technique and make pattern stamps with bamboo. Fijiians used Banana leaf stencils.
Tapa was used for clothing, bedding, and wall hangings.
Displayed on special occasions, birthdays, weddings and funerary rites.

29. Bark cloth from Samoa

30. 220. Tamati Waka Nene. Gottfried Lindauer. 1890 CE. Oil on canvas.
Gottfried Lindauer was a Czech artist who studied in
Vienna. He painted well-known Maori.

31. Tamati Waka Nene Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand.
Maori believed paintings and photographs can bring ancestors to present and embody the dead.
Tamati Waka Nene = Rangatira or chief of Ngati Hao in Hokianga born in the 1780s
Tamati Waka Nene was thought to have great mana. He took the name Tamati Waka after missionary Thomas Walker who was an English merchant in the area.
Facial tattoo = mok0

32. 221. Navigation chart. Marshall Islands, Micronesia
221. Navigation chart. Marshall Islands, Micronesia. 19th to 20th century CE. Wood and fiber.
The Marshall Islands are in Eastern Micronesia comprised of 34 atolls and 1000s islands.
Canoes were used to travel between the islands and atolls.
Charts were used to mark the locations of the islands and wave patterns.
Shells were used to represent the position of the islands.
Rebbelib
Navigation chart (rebbelib), probably 19th century C.E., wood, shell, 67.5 x 99 x 3 cm, Marshall Islands, Micronesia 
(Rebbelib shows a section of the Marshall Islands.)

33. Mattang Navigation chart (mattang), probably 19th or early 20th century C.E., Marshall Islands, Micronesia, 75.5 cm. (Mattang was used to train people to be navigators.)

34. 222. Malagan display and mask. New Ireland Province, Papua, New Guinea
222. Malagan display and mask. New Ireland Province, Papua, New Guinea. c. 20th century CE. Wood, pigment, fiber, and shell.

35. Malangan Mask
Figure made for malangan (rituals people from north of New Ireland an island in Papua New Guinea
Malangan used for religion and philosophy expression
Figures symbolic of identity, kinship, gender, death and the sprit world
Often used at funerary rites to say farewell to dead and celebrate the living
Base of figure is a rock cod who grows older and changes gender from male to female
Once one design was made, another was not made in the same way.
Ceremonies were expensive since feasts were held so they were often held for multiple people.

37. 223. Processional welcoming Queen Elizabeth II to Tonga with Ngatu Iaunima (tapa cloth). Tongo, central Polynesia CE. Multimedia performance (costumes, cosmetics, scent, chant, movement, fiber mats and photographic documentation),
Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II during the royal tour

38. Mat, Fiji (Auckland War Memorial Museum, accession no. 1993.29)

39. Masi (bark cloth), Fiji (Auckland War Memorial Museum, accession no

40. The Royal Visit
Queen Elizabeth II and husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Fiji on December 17, 1953.
The woman wore skirts of bark cloth (masi is Fiji) painted with geometric patterns.
Often presented as gifts for important ceremonies like weddings, funerals, etc.
It is very likely the women presented masi.
The Queen visited hospitals, schools and met with politicians.
Elaborate performances were done for her including the kava ceremony.