After a century in storage, this “Whale Rider” got a visit from his descendants—and received a token of their love.
Polynesia
These giant statues embody the ancients who first voyaged to Rapa Nui. Many were toppled; all lost their coral eyes.
Voyage to the moai of Rapa Nui ...
This photograph commemorates a historic royal visit and captures the practice of Fijian gift exchange.
Presentation of Fijian Mats and Tapa Cloths ...
This virtuosic carving represents a creator god. It is one of the finest pieces of Polynesian sculpture in the West.
Rurutu figure known as A’a
Islanders grew fruit trees and used the wood to carve figures. This one depicts Ku, the “land snatcher.”
Polynesia, an introduction
The god of war rules the world outside these sacred spaces, but inside, peace and calm prevail.
Maori meeting house
Hawaiian nobility donned these “red garments” in ceremonies and battle and later gave them to Europeans as gifts.
Feather cape
This “lost or stolen friend” left Easter Island in 1869. Carved of dense volcanic rock, it towers over the viewer.
Easter Island Moai
This spectacular necklace pairs human hair with a sperm-whale tooth. Chiefs wore it to assert their divine right.
Necklace (Lei Niho Palaoa), Hawai’i
Ignore the Western name—spinning this object opened a channel of communication between ancestral and human realms.
Fly Whisk (Tahiri), Austral Islands
Tuffery’s iconic “tinned bull” addresses contemporary concerns about ecological health and food sovereignty.
Michel Tuffery, Pisupo Lua Afe
This revered chief led the Māori at a time of rapid change in New Zealand. Both attire and tattoo mark his status.
Gottfried Lindauer, Tamati Waka Nene
In Polynesia, bark-cloth textiles were once considered women’s wealth. They still figure in ritual exchanges.