Missionaries and Idols in Polynesia

An exhibition currently on view at the Brunei Gallery of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London documents the early years of the London Missionary Society (LMS), from its formation in 1795 until around 1825, the time of its initial “success” in central Polynesia, a triangle in the Pacific encompassing the Society Islands, the Cooks, and the Australs. The first half of the exhibition shows forty archival items—paintings, engravings, prints, books, imprints, and more —that together illustrate the formation of the LMS, the missionaries themselves, the voyage of the missionary ship Duff, and the society’s Missionary Museum in London. The second half of the exhibition, in the words of missionary Rev. John Williams, puts on view an “ocular demonstration” of forty idols and non-idol artifacts that the LMS missionaries collected and sent back to their headquarters.

Visit the official exhibition website.

Fly whisk handle  -  Rurutu, Austral Islands

Case of Polynesian idols depicted in Juvenile Missionary Magazine, 1860

Spear point-cum-feather god  -  Cook Islands

War god, Oro  -  Tahiti

Devils and Gods

Les diables et les dieux (Devils and Gods), currently on view at Château de Tanlay until September 20, creates a dialogue between contemporary art and traditional works from non-Western cultures. Without the imposition of any cultural hierarchy, the works of Bengt Lindström, Barthélémy Toguo, Coco Fronsac, and Cyprien Tokoudagba are installed side by side with some fifty pieces from traditional cultures of Africa, Oceania, and the Himalayas to form a compelling aesthetic conversation.

Visit the official Château de Tanlay website.

Sotheby's Preview Exhibition

Planned to coincide with the 2015 edition of Parcours des Mondes, Sotheby’s will present highlights of their upcoming December 2 tribal art auction in a preview exhibition at Galerie Charpentier on September 8–12. Some remarkable pieces from Cameroon and Oceania from the well-known René and Odette Delenne Collection will be among these treasures, as will a group of African works from the Frum Collection (Oceanic objects from which were sold by Sotheby’s with resounding success in September 2014). An Ndassa (Gabon) reliquary guardian figure collected before 1930 and which is from the same collection as the beautiful Kota Shamaye sold at the winter 2012 sale will also be on view.

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

Hughes Dubois. 35 ans de carrière photographique

As one of the many special exhibitions in this year's edition of Parcours des Mondes, Tribal Art Magazine will present Hughes Dubois. 35 ans de carrière photographique from September 8–13 at 22 rue Visconti in Paris. This installation celebrates the well-known photographer's three and a half decades in the field, showcasing his work with tribal material through some 186 Polaroids. The exhibition will also offer a look at a new project of Dubois's devoted to nighttime images of the majestic temple of Borobudur in Indonesia.

Hemba ancestor figure, D.R. Congo  -  Hughes Dubois

Time Exposures: Picturing a History of Isleta Pueblo in the 19th Century

An exhibition currently at the Heard Museum looks at the history of New Mexico's Isleta Pueblo from the residents’ perspective, particularly focusing on the lasting effects of nineteenth-century events on their lives today. Time Exposures: Picturing a History of Isleta Pueblo in the 19th Century uses historic photographs and a variety of other media to tell the story of the pueblo and its evolution. It opens with a look at the cycle of the traditional year as it was observed in the mid-nineteenth century and then traces the arrival of the Americans, the ways this influx disrupted the Isleta way of life, and the cultural adaptations the Isleta residents were forced to make over time. Time Exposures will be on view until September 27, 2015.

For more information, visit the exhibition's official website.

View of San Augustine Mission Church  -  Unknown photographer, 1880

Ambrosio Abeita, photographed by A.Z. Shindler, 1868

Images courtesy of the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution and Maxwell Museum of Anthropology

Tribal Art London 2015

The “tribal art season” is coming again to London. From September 2–5, the 2015 edition of Tribal Art London will be held at the Mall Galleries with nineteen international participants specialized in the non-European arts, including four new ones: Gallery Lemaire from Amsterdam and Handbury Tribal Art, Kenn MacKay, and Sabine & Anderson from the UK. Well-known Oceanic art dealer Wayne Heathcote will also return to the show this year.

For more information and to view the salon catalogue, visit the Tribal Art London website.

Oceanic Art Auction at Theodore Bruce

Australian auctioneers Theodore Bruce will present a sale of Oceanic art and artifacts on Monday, August 17 in Sydney. Showcasing the collection of Todd Barlin, the sale will feature a multitude of weapons, ornaments, shields and ritual items from Melanesia, Polynesia, Australia, the Philippine Islands, and elsewhere.

For more information, view the online catalogue.

Hair comb with head finial  -  Fly River, Papua New Guinea

Image courtesy of Theodore Bruce Auctioneers

Insecta - Le royaume des insectes

Enter the strange universe of insects through Insecta - Le royaume des insectes, a temporary exhibition conceived and realized by the Royal Museums for Art and History and currently on view at the Royal Palace of Brussels. Insecta invites visitors to discover the many representations of insects in the world of art, literature and cinema, and to admire the treasures of Belgium's federal collections, revealing hundreds of works of art dating from prehistoric to modern times and hailing from Egypt to Belgium, Africa and Asia.  Open through September 6, 2015.

For more information, visit the exhibition's website.