Ocean Art

The art of the three great cultural areas of Oceania - Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia - is now finally being regarded as a major component of the world's artistic heritage. Melanesia, with the extraordinary art forms of New Guinea, the art of the rest of Melanesia, the highly classial art forms of Polynesia and the pure form of Micronesian works of art. This book presents Oceanic Art in all its diversity: masks, jewelry, weapons, canoe prows, overmodeled skulls, tapa and major representations of the deities. In addition, it presents the physical and historical situation of the South Pacific island cultures.Most of the works of art illustrated in this volume are stored deep in the reserves of museumms or held in private collections not accesible to the public. The majority are shown here for the first time and were photographed specifically for this book.