MISSIONARIES AND IDOLS London—Shocking accounts of the lascivious and bloodthirsty ways of the Polynesians as related by eighteenth-century explorers soon reached evangelical Missionary Society responded by sending fervid but untutored young agents to Tahiti. Their aim was to shepherd the islanders “from darkness to light.” In doing so, these early missionaries became the fi rst Europeans to settle in Polynesia, learn the language, and record the very customs they sought to suppress, even to the extent of saving many of the idols they traveled 12,000 miles to destroy. An exhibition this summer at the Brunei Gallery of the University of London, titled Missionaries and Idols in Polynesia, will chronicle the fi rst phase of this missionary endeavor in Polynesia, 1792 to 1825. Along with archival material, it will present idols and artifacts that the missionaries sent back to England, many not exhibited since the nineteenth century. The objects and documents included are drawn from the collections of the British Museum, School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, Cambridge Maritime Museum, Dr. Williams’ Library, and three private collections. The show is accompanied by a comprehensive catalog Collection (newly photographed) and a translation of an 1827 account of the Christianization of Rarotonga, be on view from July 9 until September 19 and will be the subject of an article in the next issue of Tribal Art magazine. 70 LEFT: Flywhisk handle. Rurutu, Austral Islands. Collected by George Bennet, 1823. Wood. H: 36 cm. Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. RIGHT: Comb. Asante, Ghana. C. 1900. Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Franklin D. and Judith H. Murphy. ABOVE: Staff god. Mitiaro, Cook Islands. Collected by Papeiha, R Bourne, J Williams, 1823. Wood. H: 23 cm. British Museum. Christians in England. The newly formed London University, the Cuming Museum, the National edited by exhibition curator David King. In addition to documenting the show, it also contains sections showing the LMS objects in the William Oldman published for the fi rst time. The exhibition will RIGHT: Bowl. Mangaia, Cook Islands. Collected by George Bennet, 1824. Wood. H: 25 cm. Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. LEFT: Comb. Chokwe peoples. Tshikapa, West Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Fowler Museum at UCLA. BELOW: Comb, kan-kan. Likely Djuka, Godo Holo, Surinam. 20th century. Fowler Museum at UCLA. THE ART OF HAIR Los Angeles—Finely crafted hairpins and combs refl ect the great care and attention that African peoples, both in Africa and its diaspora, have long lavished upon already elaborate coiffures. Many of these combs are made of prestige materials, including beads, copper wire, and ivory, and they are carefully embellished with bas-relief geometric patterns or representations of animal or human forms—elements that may convey important information about the wearer. Fowler In Focus: The Art of Hair in Africa at the Fowler Museum until September 20 brings together a selection of African hair adornments from the museum’s collection. These are presented in conjunction with an award-winning contemporary fi lm by Ghanaian American artist Akosua Adoma Owusu titled Me Broni Ba (My White Baby) (2009). It expresses the important role played by hair not solely in Africa but throughout human culture. The juxtaposition of the fi lm and the African combs and pins examines the potential of hair through its styling and ornamentation to function as an important form of social communication, contributing to the construction of identity and the expression of cultural affi nity.
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