Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific at LACMA

 

Breastplate (civavonovono), Fiji, early to mid-19th century, sperm whale ivory, and black pearl shell, diameter: 9 1/4 in., lent by Mark and Carolyn Blackburn, photo courtesy of the Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

 
 

FIJI

Art & Life in the Pacific

 

December 15, 2019 — July 19, 2020

The first substantial project on the art of Fiji to be mounted in the United States, Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific will feature over 280 artworks drawn from major international collections, including the Fiji Museum, British Museum, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Cambridge), the Smithsonian, and distinguished private collections.

The exhibition will include figurative sculpture, ritual kava bowls, breastplates of pearl shell and whale ivory, large-scale barkcloths, small portable temples, weapons, and European watercolors and paintings.

Professor Steven Hooper and his team from the Sainsbury Centre, in Norwich, England assembled a deeply researched and comprehensive exhibition that was recently on view in its galleries and will be reformatted by LACMA to include major loans from U.S. collections. Additionally, the museum will feature historic photographs from LACMA’s Blackburn collection, as well as a newly commissioned 26’ double-hull sailing canoe (drua) constructed in Fiji using traditional materials and techniques.

The exhibition is organized by the Sainsbury Centre and Sainsbury Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK, in association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

 
 
 

Watch the trailer for Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific at LACMA.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Exhibition Preview

Turtle-shaped Bowl (dari vonu), Fiji, probably Kabara Island, southern Lau, mid-19th century, wood and hibiscus fiber, 6 3/4 × 15 1/2 × 25 1/4 in., Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge: 1937.321, belonged to Ratu Seru Cakobau; given by him to Colonel R. W. Stewart, Royal Engineers, 1870s, photo reproduced by permission of Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Headrest (kali vonotabua), Fiji, mid-19th century, wood, sperm whale ivory, and coir, 18 1/8 × 5 7/8 × 5 7/8 in., private collection, ex-collection James Hooper; acquired 1951, London, photo by Pete Huggins

Necklace with Figures, Fiji, Early 19th century, sperm whale ivory and coir, length: 18 7/8 in., Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge: Z 2752, collected by J. B. Turner; acquired from him by Sir Arthur Gordon 1875-1876; Photo reproduced by permission of Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Necklace (wasekaseka/waseisei), Fiji, early to mid-19th century, sperm whale ivory and coir, 2 1/2 × 16 3/8 × 9 7/8 in., Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge: 1931.203, collected by Alfred Maudslay 1875–80, photo reproduced by permission of Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Double Figure hook, Fiji/Tonga, 18th to early 19th century, sperm whale ivory, fiber, and glass beads, length: 4 7/8 in., Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, collected by Sir Arthur Gordon, Viti Levu, 1876: 1955.247, photo reproduced by permission of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Missile Club (iula tavatava), Fiji, early to mid-19th century, wood and sperm whale ivory, length: 18 3/4 in., Fiji Museum, Suva: 78.670, collected by Reverend James Royce 1857–61; given to him by Ratu Seru Cakobau, Vunivalu of Bau, photo © Trustees of the Fiji Museum

Priest’s Yaqona Dish, Duck Form (ibuburau ni bete), Fiji, early 19th century, wood and shell, Fiji Museum, Suva: 55.40, collected by Reverend James Royce at Noco, Viti Levu, 1857-1861, given to him by the Tui Noco and his priest following their conversion to Christianity, photo © Trustees of the Fiji Museum

Barkcloth (Masi bolabola), Fiji, probably Cakaudrove, mid-19th century, paper mulberry inner bark and pigment, 149 × 55 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mark and Carolyn Blackburn, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Rectangular Basket (rubu), Fiji, 1870s, pandanus leaf and coir, length: 20 7/8 in., Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, collected by Sir Arthur Gordon, 1875–80: Z 3577 (1918.213.31 S), photo reproduced by permission of Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Barkcloth (masi bolabola), Fiji, probably Cakaudrove, mid-19th century, paper mulberry inner bark and pigment, 31 × 100 in., lent by Mark and Carolyn Blackburn, collected by Rev. Joseph Waterhouse while stationed in Fiji, 1850s, photo courtesy of the Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

Cup (bilo), Fiji, early 19th century, coconut shell and fiber, length: 4 3/8 in., lent by Mark and Carolyn Blackburn, photo courtesy of the Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

Double Portable Temple (bure kalou), Fiji, early 19th century, coir, wood, reed, and shells, 44 × 25 × 21 in., Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, gift of Joseph Winn Jr., 1835, photo © Peabody Essex Museum, by Jeffrey Dykes

Probably John William (J. W.) Waters, Fijian Warrior (with Whale Tooth Necklace), 1880s, albumen print, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, partial gift of Mark and Carolyn Blackburn and purchased with funds from LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala and Fiji Water, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Navua River Scene, Fiji, n.d., albumen print, 6 × 7 5/8 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, partial gift of Mark and Carolyn Blackburn and purchased with funds from LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala and Fiji Water, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

 
News 4, ExhibitionsEditorial TeamArt of the Ancestors, Steven G. Alpert, Asian Art, Island Southeast Asian Art, Oceanic Art, Asiatica, Ethnographica, Ethnographic Art, Art Collection, Fine Art, Primitive Art, Indonesian Art, Tribal Art, Eyes of the Ancestors, Dr. Reimar Schefold, LACMA, Fiji