Oceanic art or Oceanian art comprises the creative works made by the native people of the Pacific Islands and Australia, including areas as far apart as Hawaii and Easter Island. Specifically it comprises the works of the two groups of people who settled the area, though during two different periods. They would in time however, come to interact and together reach even more remote islands. The area is often broken down into four separate regions: Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Australia. Australia, along with interior Melanesia (Papua), are populated by descendants of the first waves of human migrations into the region by Australo-Melanesians. Micronesia, Island Melanesia, and Polynesia, on the other hand, are descendants of later Austronesian voyagers who intermixed with native Australo-Melanesians; mostly via the Neolithic Lapita culture. All of the regions in later times would be greatly affected by western influence and colonization. In more recent times, the people of Oceania have found a greater appreciation of their region's artistic heritage.
Moai at Rano Raraku, Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Split gong figures from Vanuatu
Dinonga eidu (idol); circa 1800; wood; height: 35 cm (133⁄4 in.); from the Caroline islands; Musée du quai Branly (Paris)
Gable figure (dilukái); late 19th century-early 20th century; painted wood; height: 65.2 cm (252⁄3 in.); from Palau, by Belauan people; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. It is the largest art museum in the Americas and the fourth-largest in the world. With 5.36 million visitors in 2023, it is the most-visited museum in the United States and the fourth-most visited art museum in the world.
Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) Central Park, NYC
Image: The Met Cloisters
Benin ivory mask, Iyoba, 16th-century Nigeria
Lord Neminatha (Akota Bronzes 7th century)