Jan 13, 2008 9:22 am US/Eastern
CBS 2 At The Met: Native American Art
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Native American culture and tradition are now featured in a larger display space at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Visitors will see 90-works of art, everything from ancient tools known as bannerstones that date back to 3,000 B.C., to a tobacco bag created in the 1970's.
If you've missed this Native American art it's back. It's been in storage for the past three years because of construction of new galleries. This new exhibition now focuses on the works of the Great Plains and the Northwest Coast.
Curator Julie Jones noted, "The 19th century is pretty much the century in which most U.S. citizens think of the Indian as being a native person, so the imagery we come to know from that century and the objects that have become known from the century."
The Great Plains are represented by familiar objects like men's shirts. Made in the 1860's, there's one natural element only Native Americans used with flair. "The men wore these, they were decorated so lavishly with everything from hair human hair, sometimes horse hair, ermine tails, porcupine quills, embroidery. The Native Americans were the only people in the world to use porcupine quills for decoration," according to Jones.
A late 19th century ceremonial mask from the northwest coast on display, was a big hit at winter festivals.
Jones said, "Great, beaked birds were part of the performance. The wearer of the mask, would have his head here, open and shut this great beak and he would have costume of shredded cedar bark so he would be hidden. And then they would open and shut mouths and make great commotion cause they had a serious role to play."
Right next to the shirts, great traditions continue with two beaded pipe bags. They're both decorated with a narrative scene involving horses and they're roughly one hundred years apart! One is 19th century, 1880's. The other is 1977. It shows a continuity of tradition that is very important to Native Americans these days.
An early 20th century parka is one of the rarest objects in the exhibition, and one of Curator Jones' favorite objects.
Jones said, "It's beautiful. It's a waterproof and it is a parka made of gut skin, of large sea beasts, seals, whales, decorated with bird feathers. They were for special occasions and they have sort of luminosity cause of the materials in which made as well as the way decorated. This comes from the very north from Arctic where obviously it's very cold and they were regarded special occasion coats."
Functional and fashionable. The new galleries for Art of Native North America, part of the Met's permanent collection.
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