Gods and Gifts - Vatican Ethnological Collection

From the vast holdings of the Vatican Ethnological Museum comes a presentation of indigenous spiritual pieces that will enable visitors to learn about the global significance of the objects and their journey to the Vatican. These sixty-five sets of remarkable objects have been selected for their artistic and cultural relevance spanning all of earth’s populated continents, including the Pacific region. Gods & Gifts: Vatican Ethnological Collection will be on display at the Bowers from September 29, 2013 through February 9, 2014.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Lidded bowl  -  Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia  -  19th century

Information and images courtesy of the Bowers Museum

Sacred Gold: Pre-Hispanic Art of Colombia

In its final week at the Bowers Museum in southern California is Sacred Gold: Pre-Hispanic Art of Colombia, an exhibition highlighting a dazzling array of gold artifacts from the renowned Museo del Oro in Bogotá, Colombia. The impressive assemblage includes over 200 figures and ornaments full of expression and inventiveness inspired by the natural environment and by supernatural visions. A selection of ceramic tomb figures and stone tools accompany the exhibition.

View the exhibition's official website.

Information and images courtesy of the Bowers Museum

Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands at Bowers Museum

Photographer Chris Rainier guest curates this ongoing exhibition of art from the South Pacific at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. Spanning the geographic region collectively referred to as Oceania, this comprehensive exhibition highlights masterworks from the three cultural regions of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Particular focus is placed on New Guinea, land of the headhunter, and the rich artistic traditions infused into daily and ritual life. 

The exhibition includes more than 150 unique pieces including larger than life masks, objects associated with the secretive Sepik River men's house, magic figures and tools of the shaman, spectacular-crafted personal adornments, weapons of warfare, stunning shell and feather currency, masterfully crafted feast bowls, and the most precious of human trophies taken in retribution and reverence. 

Melanesia, which includes the world's second largest island, New Guinea, is an island that has been explored by Bowers Museum President Peter Keller and Bowers Board Member Edwards Roski on 10 month-long expeditions over the last decade. 

"Oceania is significant for Californians since it is our neighbor and is an area where there is still much to be learned," Mr. Keller says. "This is part of our strategic plan to build a significant Oceania collection in an area of the world where we can make a difference."

This comprehensive exhibition will become a permanent exhibit at Bowers Museum. 

Source: Bowers Museum website

Art of the Pacific at the Bowers Museum

Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific, a new exhibition showcasing the traditional arts of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia opened at the Bowers Museum on February 20. The show will run through December 2010.

Featuring more than 150 tribal objects, Spirits and Headhunters vividly presents the complex and exquisite blend of artistic sensitivity and spiritual essence found in the art of the Pacific, strikingly suffused in each artifact the installation has to offer. Associated with the esoteric men's house of the Sepik River region, the works on display include shamanic items, beautifully crafted ornaments, weaponry, shell and feather currency, splendid feast bowls, and the most precious of human trophies––the human skull––taken in a spirit of retribution and reverence.

Photographer Chris Rainier guest curates this exhibition of art from the South Pacific. Spanning the geographic region collectively referred to as Oceania, this comprehensive exhibition highlights masterworks from the three cultural regions of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Particular focus is placed on New Guinea, land of the headhunter, and the rich artistic traditions infused into daily and ritual life. Submerge into a visually stunning world and come face to face with larger-than-life masks, finely crafted feast bowls, objects associated with the secretive Sepik River men’s house, beautiful shell and feather currency, magic figures and tools of the shaman, objects related to seagoing trade routes, gorgeous personal adornments, weapons of warfare and the most precious of human trophies taken in retribution.