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| Neidersächisches Landesmuseum, Hanover |
After visiting the collections in Gottingen, I next went to the Neidersächisches Landesmuseum in Hanover.
Their
temporary exhibition,
'TABU?! Verborgene Kräfte-Geheimes Wissen'
(Tabu?! Hidden Powers - Secret Knowledge) contains many objects loaned
from the Cook/Forster collection in Göttingen, as well as objects from
museum collections in Hanover, Braunschweig and Hildesheim, all in Lower Saxony .
The
exhibition concept was based around objects and ceremonies regarded by various cultures as taboo.
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| Tahitian Mourner's Costume, Göttingen Collection |
On entering the exhibition, the first object visible was the Tahitian Mourner's costume from Göttingen. Displayed
by itself, it made an imposing start to the exhibition, accompanied by
the sound of the pearlshell clappers that would have been the signal for
everyone to flee from the approaching Chief Mourner. It
was interesting to see the similarities in construction between this
costume and the one in the Pitt Rivers collection, and also the
differences - for example the pieces of cowrie shell used on the apron
as well as coconut shell, and the turtleshell used on the mask.
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| Mourners' Costume mask |
Near the costume were displayed a Tahitian drum and nose-flute that would also have been used in the mourning ceremony.
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| Tongan baskets, Göttingen collection |
The exhibition continued with a display of objects from
Tonga, reinforcing the hierarchical nature of Tongan society, and from
Hawaii, before moving on to cultures in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
The exhibition served to show that the museum collections
in Lower Saxony, little known in the UK, contain some amazing objects,
and it was exciting to see them all together and so well displayed.
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| Objects from Africa |
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| Feather headdresses, South America |
