Oceania Art of the Pacific Islands at The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Eric Kjellgren, 2007, 9780300120301

Description

Comprehensive and richly illustrated catalogue of the Oceanic art collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, featuring approximately 200 major objects from a museum collection of over 2,600 works.

Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in The Metropolitan Museum of Art published in 2007 to mark the opening of the newly refurbished museum galleries for Oceanic art. Eric Kjellgren and other specialists present a wide selection of sculptures, masks, shields, textiles, jewellery and ritual objects from the various cultures of Oceania.

Following a general introduction to Oceanic art and the history of the Metropolitan Museum's collection, there are separate chapters on the five main cultural regions represented in the collection: Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and the islands of Southeast Asia.

Among the extensively discussed objects are monumental sculptures and ceremonial works from, among other places, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Torres Strait, Micronesia and Polynesia. The Indonesian archipelago is also represented, including textiles from Lampung and Sumba. The high-quality photography and detailed descriptions make it possible to study the materials, regional styles, functions and iconography of the objects in detail.

Notable works include a monumental Baining barkcloth figure, a richly decorated shield from the Solomon Islands, a famous mask from the Torres Strait, a wooden male figure from Mangareva and a weather amulet from the Caroline Islands.

Alongside the object descriptions, the book contains background texts on the various art traditions, a glossary and an extensive selected bibliography. It thus constitutes an important reference work for collectors and enthusiasts of Oceanic art and a particularly useful work of reference for the identification and comparison of objects from the Pacific region.

The English-language edition has 368 pages and is richly illustrated. Paperback from 2007. ISBN 9780300120301.

Dimensions & condition
Good copy with light signs of use appropriate for its age. See the photos for a full impression of the condition.

Product photographs show the object on offer exactly as photographed. Any interior images are AI-generated impressions, included solely to illustrate scale and presentation.