This Maasai shield is from Kenya and dates to the early 20th century. The Maasai are a cultural group of semi-nomadic pastoralists with a population of approximately one million people living primarily in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. This type of shield, known as elongo, […]
This type of Aboriginal Australian bowl in the shape of an elongated oval is known as a coolamon. Coolamons are made from hard wood trees where a strip of the outer bark is removed and then molded over a fire to create the curved sides. […]
This Chinese hanging scroll contains two remounted album leaves with watercolor paintings of locust tree branches by well-known Qing Dynasty artist Ju Lian (1828-1904). The top (left) painting is dated 1876, and the inscription reads “Painted in the manner of Xinluo shanren, I inscribe this for […]
Though unsigned, this eagle mask is attributed to carver Willie Marks (1901-1981), a member of the Tlingit tribe, a Northwest Coast indigenous group who live primarily in southeast Alaska. The Eagle is one of two descent groups, or moieties, that the Tlingit people divide into. […]
This Peruvian Siqlla mask comes from the Cusco region of the Peruvian Andes. It was used in the Danza Siqlla, also called Danza Wayra or Danza de los Doctorcitos. This dance takes place throughout the Department of Cusco, as well as in Bolivia, during the […]
The Jarai (also spelled Jorai, Jrai, or Giarai) people are an ethnic group indigenous to the central highlands of Vietnam. Today, there are fewer than 350,000 Jarai living in their homeland. They were allied with the United States during the Vietnam War, and during the […]