French, probably Paris Coffer (book box?) with woodcut depicting the Monogram of Christ, ca. 1490–1500 wood, paper, metal, and red canvas Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund 2008.8 In the 1480s King Louis XI of France passed laws that required travelers to carry identification while traversing roads and entering city boundaries. This […]
Bieri (reliquary) figure, 19th century
February 6, 2014 By
Fang (Gabon) Bieri (reliquary) figure, 19th century wood Museum Purchase, Florence C. Quinby Fund, in memory of Henry Cole Quinby, Honorary Degree, 1916 1969.70 This figure was created by the Fang people, a historically itinerant group living in Gabon in central Africa. Figures like these were meant to sit on a reliquaries: bark containers or baskets […]
Malagan Masks, 19th century
January 23, 2014 By
Melanesian (New Ireland) Malagan Masks, 19th century polychrome, wood, natural fiber Gift of Harold M. Sewall 1898.67-69 The Malagan ceremony takes place among the tribes of New Ireland, an island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The ritual is meant to complete the cycle of mourning for those who have died, sending off their […]
