Gold of the Gods from Java

The Javanese Kingdom remained closed to outsiders for over a thousand years, with only the statues hewn from lava rock at Borobudur displaying the wealth with which the Javanese rulers venerated their gods. This month, the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam premiered a dedicated exhibition to the splendor of Javanese ceremonial art entitled Gold of the Gods. The installation presents an extensive collection of gold items from the seventh to the eleventh centuries and is on view until April 6, 2015.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Image courtesy of the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

Een Huis vol Indonesia – De Liefkes Collectie

Ending its run tomorrow at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkerkunde is Een Huis vol Indonesia – De Liefkes Collectie (A House Full of Indonesia – The Liefkes Collection), an exhibition honoring keen-eyed collector emeritus Frits Liefkes, who was also a curator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and who left nearly 1,000 objects from all over the Indonesian Archipelago to the Leiden Museum in 2010. The objects, ornaments, and weapons of gold, as well as the textiles, furniture, and ritual objects presented, are grouped together in three categories: body ornaments, spatial decoration, and the sacred and ritual sphere. All of the objects testify to the great aesthetic refinement of the cultures in this part of the world, ranging from Aceh in the west to Irian Jaya (Indonesian New Guinea) in the east.

View the exhibition's official website.

Image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden

Philippines, archipel des échanges

On view now at the Musée du Quai Branly is Philippines - Archipel des échanges, an exhibition that  brings together a selection of some 300 unique works of art from public collections in the Philippines, America, and Europe, as well as from private collections. Based on the geography of the archipelago, the installation encompasses two curatorial visions, one turned towards the mountains, the other looking out to sea, both presenting a civilization deeply affected by the central theme of exchange.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Buckle -  Cagayan

Ritual box  -  Ifugao

Ceremonial textile  -  Mindanao

Spoon with figural finial  -  Ifugao

Rice god, bul'ul  -  Ifugao

Warrior gear  -  Bagobo

Images courtesy of the Musée du Quai Branly