Straying Continents welcomes visitors to the gallery. Renowned artist El Anatsui specially created this stunning 12 x 5 metre wall sculpture for the ROM's permanent collection.
Dramatic objects, including this proverbial coffin from Ghana (in the shape of a fish), present a window to better understanding contemporary cultural traditions of Africa's peoples.
Oceania encompasses the linguistically and culturally diverse peoples of Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Australia. This section of the gallery includes some of the most fragile materials in the ROM's collections, such as fine examples of bark cloth and tapa.
The George Leslie Mackay collection came to the ROM in 1915 and is the earliest known material record of the Tayal and Plains Aboriginal cultures, two non-Chinese indigenous groups from northern Taiwan. Learn about these distinct cultures, and what influenced their customs and lifestyle.
The artistry in basketry from the south west region of North America is some of the most beautiful in the world. Basket design helps distinguish cultural origin, and some baskets were produced for special use, such as this ceremonial wedding basket from the Navajo culture, for use during the ceremony.
The Amazon Rainforest has been home to perhaps hundreds of distinct indigenous peoples for thousands of years. These people share a rich and elaborate ceremonial life. This feather headdress, made from parrot and macaw feathers and palm strips, is from the Kayapó culture of Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Celebrating the diversity of humankind.
Rich with historical and present-day symbols of heritage and identity, the gallery comes alive through objects representing spiritual and domestic life, ritual, ceremony and day-to-day activities of the indigenous peoples of Africa, the Americas, Oceania and Asia. The gallery features some of the Museum’s earliest collections, many on display for the first time. Recent acquisitions and contemporary objects are rotated into the exhibits from time to time for conservation reasons, and to feature new research.
About the Gallery
What?
More than 1,400 artifacts reveal artistic and cultural traditions including aspects of spiritual and everyday life, clothing, commerce, sacred and secular ritual and art.
Where?
Indigenous cultures of Africa, the American continents (excluding Canada), Oceania and Asia Pacific are represented.
When?
Spanning nearly 2,000 years to the present.
