man with turtle-shell
nose ornament |
major exhibition of 300 examples of Oceanic jewelry titled Adorned:
Traditional Jewellery and Body Decoration from Australia and the Pacific
can be seen at the Macleay Museum in Sydney, Australia, through January
2001.
A milestone exhibition that explores the diversity of Oceanic jewelry
is currently on display at the Macleay Museum, in Sydney, Australia.
Adorned: Traditional Jewelry and Body Decoration from Australia and
the Pacific features more than 300 objects and will be on view until
January 2001. This exhibition has been in development for several
years and is a cooperative venture of the Macleay Museum at Sydney
University, which houses one of Australia's oldest and most significant
ethnographic collections (see The World of Tribal Arts, II:3, Autumn
1995), and the Oceanic Art Society of Australia. It was jointly curated
by Anna Edmundson of the Macleay Museum, and Chris Boylan of the Oceanic
Art Society. A book based on the exhibition has recently been published.
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chest ornament
(moka kina)
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The exhibition primarily features traditional jewelry, which is organized
in the installation geographically by the four major cultural regions
of Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Within each of
these geographic divisions, concepts of power and display, status
and identity, and trade and transformation are further explored.
The earliest examples of jewelry on display
are prehistoric glass bracelets and earrings from the north coast
of New Guinea. Similar items have been found in bronze age archaeological
sites around Lake Sentani, suggesting Asian trading with this region
as early as a.d. 200. Dutch replicas, also on display, were introduced
in the eighteenth century, but these were never accepted as of equal
value.
Phallocrypt (riji, jakuli
or lonkalonka) |
Aboriginal pearlshell phallocrypts
from the Kimberley region of Western Australia are featured in the
display. These shells were distributed along trade routes that stretched
from the northwest coast of Australia across half of the vast arid
continent. The Pitjantjatjara people deep in the Western Desert considered
the luminous shells to be the "concentrated essence of water,"1
and hence an emblem of life. Engraved examples of zigzag and interlocking-key
designs are thought to date to the late nineteenth century. By the
1920s phallocrypt designs showed motor cars, airplanes, and figurative
images.
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Solomon Islanders
|
Shell, teeth, bone, wood, and natural fiber binding,
all crafted with great care, are the raw materials of most Oceanic
jewelry. Brightness and shininess were greatly admired, and rarity,
as with whale teeth among Polynesians or shell in the highlands of
New Guinea, enabled particular objects to connote wealth, prestige,
and power. Thus the status of hereditary chiefs from Hawaii, Fiji,
and the Trobriand Islands is symbolized by their specific body ornaments.
The peoples of the Solomon Islands abstracted their wealth in shell,
producing finely made shell money both for ornament and trade. Many
of the examples of these in the exhibition were collected between
1850 and 1880.
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Papua New Guinea warriors
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Adornment among the highland people of Papua New
Guinea is among the most colorful and spectacular in Oceania, particularly
during festivals, where it reflects the strength and pride of the
various groups of the region. The moka ceremony of the Wahgi Valley,
explored in the exhibition, is one of these ceremonies. In this, pearlshell
is of central importance: "The dancer's appearance is bright
like the sun at dawn, when everything glitters; when it's like this
their singing is good."2
 |
 |
 |
| ornament (kap kap) |
ceremonial apron (sirewu) |
comb |
A complete set of bridal regalia
from the Sepik River area of Papua New Guinea is shown in the installation,
including the intricate bridal veil, necklaces, armbands, waistbands,
and other accouterments. These are accompanied by field photographs
showing the bride and her bridesmaid: "When the bride, dressed
for the marriage ceremony in her bridal regalia, descends from the
house, she shines like the moon."3
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Maori man with
facial tattoos
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Transformation through trade is best represented
in the show by ornaments from the north coast of Irian Jaya. Among
them are a chief's ceremonial regalia from Bonggo and a colorful ceremonial
apron from Yapen Island, both incorporating Dutch glass trade beads
dating from the sixteenth century. Chinese traders from Ternate and
Tidore, who had established an important trade center on Yapen Island
by 1775, traded these beads for bird of paradise skins and other exotic
products. The apron of Yapen Island is displayed in contrast to one
from the Admiralty Islands made in the late nineteenth century, which
is predominantly of finely worked shell beads, interspersed with glass
trade beads, again probably of Dutch origin and traded from the West.
In the late nineteenth century, Western trade jewelry expanded beyond
beads, and porcelain from the factories of Germany in the forms of
dog teeth, rings, and bracelets became incorporated into trade and
ceremonial ornaments along the north coast of Papua New Guinea.
A section of the exhibition that explores contemporary jewelry incorporating
traditions of Oceania has attracted a new audience that might not
otherwise view Oceanic art, and their interest and enthusiasm is truly
fantastic. The cooperation between the Macleay Museum, part of the
University of Sydney, and the Oceanic Art Society, a community-based
organization of individuals supporting many different aspects of Oceanic
art, has been a rewarding experience for both, and the result is an
outstanding exhibition, far superior to what either could have done
on its own.
In August and September 2000, the University of Sydney, through the
Sydney College of Arts, and the Oceanic Arts Society are joining forces
again for a cooperative exhibition on Melanesian shields. This show
is being mounted in conjunction with an important exhibition of Oceanic
culture titled Shrines for the Next Millennium, curated by Dr. Susan
Cochrane, as part of the cultural program for the Sydney Olympic Games.
Tom Arthur, head of sculpture at SCA is coordinating these exhibitions,
which will be held at the college campus.
Notes
1. Akerman, Kim, and Stanton, John, Riji
and Jakuli: Kimberley Pearlshell in Aboriginal Australia, Northern
Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1994, p. 19. [back]
2. O'Hanlon, Michael, Reading the Skin,
Crawford House Press, 1989, p. 119. [back]
3. Personal comment, man of Kararau village,
Sepik River, Papua New Guinea. [back]
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The Macleay Museum has published
a book that complements this important exhibition.
Adorned: Traditional Jewelry and Body Decoration
from Australia and the Pacific
Features 112 pages, 32 color
and 72 black-and-white illustrations,
including historical photographs from the Museum's extensive
photographic collection.
Softcover: AUD$ 39.95 plus
postage.
Available from:
The Macleay Museum,
The University of Sydney,
N.S.W. 2006,
Australia,
Tel.: 61 2 9351 2274, fax: 61 2 9351
5646
E-mail:
macleay@macleay.usyd.edu.au
URL: http://
www.usyd.edu.au/su/macleay/welcome.htm
Or from
The Oceanic Art Society,
P. O. Box 678, Woollahra,
N.S.W. 2025
Australia
E-mail:
oas@bigpond.au
URL:
www.oceanicartsociety.org.au
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