MUSEUM NEWS
ABOVE: Palm trees in the
Amazon.
© Boris Presseq/MHNT.
UPPER RIGHT: Young girl
in Tapirape village, Urubu
Branco, Brazil.
© Serge Guiraud/MHNT.
RIGHT: Quiver and blowgun
darts. Tikuna; San Martin de
Amacayacu, Colombia.
© Daniel Martin/MHNT.
FAR RIGHT: Funerary urn.
Marajó; Brazil.
© Collection of the American Museum
of Natural History, New York – Creative
Commons.
ABOVE: Painting on cotton
58
canvas representing a
Mebengôkre Kayapo body
painting pattern for female
child, by Ngrenh Môko.
Gorotire; Motukôre village,
Pará, Brazil.
© Serge Guiraud/MHNT.
Modern Amazonia
TOULOUSE—A new long-term exhibition titled
OKA—Amazonie. Une forêt habitée (OKA—Amazonia.
An Inhabited Forest) and scheduled to remain on
view for two or three years has opened at the Musée
de Toulouse. It is part of a broader project to promote,
preserve, and protect the autochthonous peoples of
the French territories in South America, which is being
undertaken under the direction of UNESCO. The
museum is all the more involved because it has
been a party to the research and study of Brazilian
peoples since 2010. The Oka exhibition
focuses on Guyana and its peoples, traditions,
and its interaction with the modern world of
the twenty-fi rst century. Some sixty traditional
objects comprise the show’s discourse and
highlight the power that the cosmogony, beliefs
systems, and myths still have in today’s households.
The exhibition also traces the history of
the museum’s collection, examines the role of
conservation, and reveals recent scientifi c discoveries
on the history of these peoples, along
with issues of cultural patrimony and biodiversity.
This comprehensive show is modern, thoroughly
engaging, and highly recommended to
our readers.
World Leather
OFFENBACH AM MAIN—Beginning on September
22, 2019, the Deutsches Ledermuseum is reorganizing
its collection of leather objects. One seldom thinks
about it, but leather is a component of many
ethnographic objects, particularly African ones. The
museum will be highlighting these heretofore often
ignored pieces in its new displays. From a Maasai
shield to Dogon bags and food containers, leather is
a material that refl ects the inventiveness of the artists
who make such ingenious use of it.
RIGHT: Perfume container,
San Herero; Southern Africa;
butter container, Namibia;
and oil pot, Haussa, West
Africa.
© DLM, L. Brichta.