Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA (other)

Name:Peabody Essex Museum
Type:other
Street:East India Square 161 Essex Street
City:Salem
State:MA
Zip:01970-378
country:USA
Phone:978-745-9500
Status:operational

Description:
The Hawaiian concept of exquisite perfection is hana no'eau. Hana is activity, and no'eau means clever, skillful, wise and dexterous. The philosophy of creating every object to the highest mark, whether a tortoise shell fishhook or a carved ivory neck ornament, extends to the entire collection of Oceanic art.

Internationally recognized, the collection originated with the first works donated to the museum in 1799. More than 20,000 objects (from more than 36 island groups in Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia) incorporate available resources, including porpoise teeth, bark, jade, obsidian, abalone, human hair and natural fiber. Works by contemporary artists employ glass and synthetic stone. As a whole, the collection reflects profound periods of change. Objects reveal diverse materials gained in trade, new ideas from non-Native cultural influences, and evolved technology that produced metal tools.

I am visiting it today, so, to celebrate this authentic tiki powerplace, finally here it is, the long awaited and deserved thread for this wonderful Museum.
Their website: http://www.pem.org/collections/6-oceanic_art

This Museum is Great! (with capital G) Probably the best collection of Oceanic art that I have ever seen.

The grip of a thatch fan

I love that kind of tiki... never seen it in any tiki bar (only once in a cafe in Mexico City)

I did my best at taking the pictures

Falsh is tapu!

Look a that! Some primitive "brass knuckle" also kinda looks like a Ku face

Amazing! Probably my favorite piece... except for that HUGE Ku that I will post in the second part of this virtual visit...

Mahalo for all your recent museum posts, Zeta, we can never have enough of those. :)

So glad you made it to this wonderful local museum! It's a beauty, for sure.

Did you know that the Kuka'ilimoku (last photo) was one of the original ones belonging to King Kamehameha the Great? Only two have survived - this one, and one in Ohau's Bishop Museum. Apparently the museum allows discreet "special treatment" by native Hawaiian groups...

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/exhibitionist/2006/08/ritual_offering_1.html

Thanks for posting the pics!

I'm ashamed of myself. I live an hour away & I've never been. That'll change shortly.

Zeta,

Thanks for the post, looks like you have been keeping busy on your trip to Boston. That is an awesome Ku.

DC

On 2010-04-04 09:45, Big Kahuna wrote:
I'm ashamed of myself. I live an hour away & I've never been. That'll change shortly.

You won't regret it, BK.

Mahalo everyone!

Reference books right there in one of the rooms:

Ku. (note the offerings as referred by Hibiscus)

Ku from another room window

The big room:

Postcard from the Museum


For trade

Another Postcard


For trade

$59 Dollar Tiki

Giftshop

What is it tiki

Magnets

On 2010-06-08 09:35, Zeta wrote:
From the Moana Exhibit in Mexico City currently on display:

Collection Exhibited
Lunes, 03 de Mayo de 2010 20:09

More than half of the pieces exhibited are part of the Oceanic Collection of the National Museum of Cultures (MNC), mostly integrated as a result of an important exchange with Field Museum in Chicago, negotiated by Miguel Covarrubias and the director of INAH, Daniel de la Borbolla, in 1951.

Oceanic items safeguarded at MNC are known as “South Seas Collection” and hold incredible curatorial and anthropological value.

Moana: Cultures of the Pacific Islands displays 150 objects from the National Museum of Cultures halls and warehouse, as well as 124 items part of Field Museum collections. Pieces from the de Young and Peabody Essex Museums are also exhibited.

Postcard now available

[ Edited by: Zeta 2010-06-08 10:35 ]

From the temporary micro site of the MOANA exhibit in Mexico City

Art and Culture of Oceania. Peabody Essex Museum, United States of America.

The Peabody Essex Museum has a gallery that shows the unique richness of Oceania art and emphasizes esthetic strengths of individual objects. Since it was founded, in 1799, the museum has collected art and cultural objects of the Pacific Islands. The dimension of the heap, its origin and the quality of individual pieces make this collection one of the most important of the world.

More than 15,000 pieces from more than 36 islands of the Pacific, integrate the Oceania Collection of Peabody Essex Museum. This museum promotes cultural understanding and celebrates artistry and culture of Oceania in and outside the museum.

here is the website and some nice pictures

http://www.pem.org/collections/6-oceanic_art