ART ON VIEW
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of these works by presenting celebrated examples
of fi gural sculpture in wood and whale ivory,
superbly executed feather headdresses and
cloaks, and visually compelling fi berworks, such
as painted barkcloths and a spirit house for a
god. These intricate works foreground the vital
connection between nature and the divine,
highlighting the ways in which Polynesian elites
strategically channeled its material potency to
enhance their own spiritual effi cacy.
Throughout Polynesia, origin stories recount
the creation of the universe as a long, endlessly
deep night that pulsates steadily. The darkness
reverberates gently for many eons until eventually
space begins to hollow itself out, allowing
light to seep in. The exhibition celebrates this
powerful moment—Polynesia’s cosmological
equivalent to the Big Bang—when space and
light (atea) fl ooded the dark ancestral night, initiating
a dynamic new era in which strings of
islands were vigorously birthed into being and
the fi rst generation of gods was born. Anchored
in a specifi cally Polynesian framework, the exhibition
features a suite of compelling works of art
that foreground this profound aspect of divinity
(atea) and explores the dynamic relationship between
nature and the divine. Across Polynesia,
ritual artifacts were created principally for powerful
chiefs who descended from these gods. As
political and religious leaders, they were imbued
with the spiritual essence (mana) of their for-
FIG. 4 (right): Portable
temple, bure kalou.
Fiji. Early 19th century.
Coconut fi ber, wood, shell.
H: 112 cm.
Peabody Essex Museum,
Salem, MA, inv. E5037.
FIG. 5 (below):
Feather headdress.
Austral Islands.
18th century.
Feathers, shell, barkcloth,
human hair, coconut fi ber
cord, vegetal fi ber
(various). H: 110 cm.
Peabody Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnology,
Harvard University.
Gift of the Heirs of David
Kimball, 1899, inv. 99-12-
70/53617.
ancestral realm of the gods. A distinctive series
of crests sprouts plant-like from projections off
the fi gure’s backbone and forehead, forming a
dramatic arch above his head. The striking tiers
of the fi gure’s headdress evoke each stage in the
dynamic fl ourishing of the universe. When activated
in ritual, the fi gure functioned as a powerful
link between the vault of the sky, the residence
of the gods, and the earthly domain of
humans below.
Atea features thirty exceptional works of Polynesian
art that celebrate the creative ingenuity
of Polynesian artists who drew from the natural
world to give expression to their understanding
of divinity. Drawn from American collections as
well as from The Met’s own holdings, the exhibition
focuses on the extraordinary materiality