The MEG is showing its collection of 25 New Caledonian engraved bamboo objects, one of the great passions of Marguerite Lobsiger-Dellenbach, director of the MEG between 1952 and 1967. These bamboo pieces, or kârè e tâ, stand among the most original works of Kanak art. Entirely covered with abstract and figurative designs, they act as cultural records, illustrating multiple aspects of Kanak life and history, while also functioning as protective talismans.

TxtStyles/Fashioning Identity presents more than 70 textiles from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mainly originating from western and southern Africa. The exhibition’s combination of older and newer textiles acknowledges cultural tradition as well as cultural change, and some of the modern textiles depict such contemporary objects as cell phones, firearms, and political leaders. Highlights of the show include a Pende masquerade costume from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Benin-style woman’s ensemble, a quilted man’s tunic and chain mail from Sudan, and an ostrich feather wig from Kenya.

Storied Walls presents an array of ancient murals from North, Central, and South America which illustrate the once preeminent religious, political, and cultural beliefs of those areas. The exhibition employs photographs and drawings from archaeologists and artists alongside models and mural fragments to explore this cultural art form, as most of the original murals remain in situ. Among the cultures represented in the exhibit are the Hopi, the Moche, and the ancient Maya, whereof the oldest Maya murals are also the most recently discovered.

In late July, LACMA’s new Latin American galleries will be opened to the public. The galleries will feature recent acquisitions, Spanish colonial, modern, and contemporary art, as well as a collection of ancient American art, which spans 3,000 years of North, Central, and South American history. The pre-Columbian material will be displayed in a special installation, designed by artist Jorge Pardo, that abandons the traditional culture-chronology layout used in most museum galleries in favor of a thematic approach intended to provide a greater cultural, intellectual, and aesthetic context for the ancient objects. Pardo’s installation design was funded in part by the David Bohnett Foundation, Ann Tenenbaum, and Thomas H. Lee, and other donors.

Gems, minerals, copper, seashells, and other exotic goods have been traded across the Southwest by way of traditional routes for more than 2,000 years. Set in Stone reveals the history of this ancient trade through approximately 300 objects and numerous audio-visual displays. Showcasing Native American jewelry and mining tools along with mineral samples, photographs, and recordings, the exhibition guides visitors on a journey of deep historical resonance along routes that trace how the quest for mineral wealth has shaped the identity of the Southwest.

The nearly 80 works in this exhibition showcase the diversity of purpose and style in functional African ceramics. Including works from cultures across the continent, the show is derived largely from a promised gift of nearly 100 African works from an anonymous New York-based collector. The gift is a welcome addition to the Museum's famed African art collection, and it includes notable objects from the Zulu, Lobi, and Songye cultures, among others.
African Ceramics is the first exhibit in the museum's newly reopened Ceramics II Gallery.

The College of Wooster Art Museum has recently enlarged their African art collection by more than 100 objects through a very generous gift from William C. Mithoefer. The objects, which originate from 12 different countries and more than 30 ethnic groups, date from ancient times to the late twentieth century, and include stone carvings, brass pendants, pipe bowls, akuaba figures, masks, and more. The expanded collection will be on view from September this year.

Having closed its doors in January of 2008 after 100 years at its Ubierring location, this important ethnographic museum is planned to reopen in a new building in the center of Cologne in the summer of 2009. The museum's rich collections of tribal art, which include works from Africa, Oceania, North America, and Southeast Asia, will be treated to expanded display space in the new structure––a boon for tribal art enthusiasts and scholars, as these important collections have seldom been exhibited, and have been made visible to the public only through a small number of publications.

Below is a list of results for recent auctions of African, Oceanic, American Indian, and Pre-Columbian art. This information is generated by the individual auction houses that held the sales. Please don't hesitate to alert us to other results using the "contact" button to the left so that this space is always current.