colour scheme
RAMM goes to Bonn
James Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific
28 August 2009 - 28 February 2010
Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany
The British explorer, navigator and cartographer James Cook (1728 -1779) achieved world fame for leading three expeditions into the vast and unchartered waters of the Pacific Ocean. He was the first to survey and map New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific Islands, completing our modern image of the world and finally defeating the idea of a mythical Southern Continent.
The exhibition includes around 500 original exhibits presenting the voyages of James Cook and the international team of scientists and artists accompanying him. Their work during the European Enlightenment period contributed new insights to a host of disciplines (from navigation and astronomy to natural history, philosophy and art. It even led to the birth of a new science: the field of ethnology and ethnography.
As early as the end of the 18th century many of the ethnographic and natural history objects from diverse Pacific cultures, which were collected during the three Cook voyages, were spread into various collections all over Europe. Now, for the first time, they are being reunited for this exhibition in Bonn. Many of the objects are of incalculable value to art historians since comparably exquisite feather ornaments, wooden sculptures and other Oceanic artefacts can no longer be found in the Pacific region.
The Royal Albert Memorial Museum has loaned three items from its ethnographic collection to this exhibition; a Tongan club, an Easter Island staff of authority and a decorated Nuu-chah-nulth working plane from the Northwest Coast Canada.
RAMM goes to Bonn Image
Exhibition flyer
