Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
The middle Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea is the home of the Tshuosh (more commonly known as Sawos) people, who live in villages and farms along the riverbanks. A Tshuosh artist made this mortuary panel of wood, bark, and raffia. The paint-decorated panel memorializes an important person and was displayed within a small burial shelter. The figure on the panel represents the primordial female ancestor of the Tshuosh. This object, and a variety of other objects from New Guinea, are on view in the Pacific Islands gallery on the second floor at the Institute.Textiles
New York to Paris in 33 Hours, 1928-1933 is the name of this printed cotton textile depicting the solo flight of Charles Lindbergh from New York to Paris. This textile, originally distributed by U.S. manufacturer Witcombe, McGeachin & Co., was selected as part of "The Journey Continues," a self-guided exhibition that highlights aspects of the museum's permanent collection related to the Smithsonian exhibition "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth." The dashing Lindbergh mirrors the heroes of Star Wars. Both exhibitions are on view at the museum now through June 4, 2000. Gift of Christopher Monkhouse.