Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Oceania & Asia
The Oceania section, features remarkable carvings from Papua New Guinea and the sur-
rounding islands, including a series of facade masks, daggers, jewellery, hair pieces and sev-
eral ancestor skulls. Other cultures well represented here include the Maori and the Australi-
an Aborigines.
Clothing, jewellery and textiles from ethnic minorities from India to Vietnam makes up
the body of the Asian collection. One of the most striking articles is an Evenk shaman cloak
from eastern Siberia. Also worth looking for are the intricate cured-leather Chinese shadow
puppets and the Tibetan thangkas (Buddhist paintings on silk scrolls).
Africa & the Americas
The Africa collection is particularly strong on musical instruments and masks, but there are
some other unusual pieces, such as the life-size 11th-century sculpture of a hermaphrodite
(Mali), which greets visitors with a raised arm. One of the more notable masks on display is
a Krou mask from the Ivory Coast, which is said to have influenced Picasso.
Look for highlights from the great civilisations in the Americas collection - the Mayas,
Aztecs and Incas - as well as objects from lesser-known peoples, such as the grizzly totem
pole (Tsimshian) or the crazily expressive Kiiappaat masks (Greenland).
