Art of the Ancestors Top Features of 2024

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Left: Male figure (now known as the 'Anthropomorph'), possibly representing Boinayel the Rain Giver
© The Trustees of the British Museum
Middle: 西周早期 “噩侯”方罍 2007年隨州安 居羊子山4號鄂墓出土 Lidded fanglei wine vessel of the Marquis of E
Suizhou Municipal Museum
Right: Male Protective Figure | Pangulubalang
© Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac

As we approach 2025, Art of the Ancestors shines a light on our most popular features from this past year. 

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Art of the Ancestors Editorial Team

Indonesian Masks in Global Museum Collections

Masks | Borneo
© Yale University Art Gallery

Sculptural Arts of the Nicobar Islands

Wooden Figure of the Mythical 'Kalipau' Creature | Henta-koi
© Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

The Carver’s Hand: Sculptural Arts of Timor and Atauro

Belu Ceremonial Mask | Biola
© The Dallas Museum of Art

Sculptural Arts of Hawaii in the British Museum

Kava Bowl with Two Figurative Supports
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Phoenix Kingdoms: The Last Splendor of China’s Bronze Age at Asian Art Museum

西周早期 獸面紋扉棱提梁卣 2007 隨州安居羊子山 4號鄂墓出土
Lidded you wine vessel with beast decoration and flanges
Excavated from E Yangzishan tomb no. 4 at Anju, Suizhou, 2007
Western Zhou period (ca. 1050–771 BCE), 1000–900 BCE Bronze
H. 49.5 cm, Diam. mouth 15.2 cm
Suizhou Municipal Museum

Taíno Arts: Figurative Wooden Works in the British Museum

Ritual Seat | Duho
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Indonesian Art in the Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac

Ancestor Figure | Adu Sihara Salawa
© Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac

Man Ray, La lune se lève sur l'île de Nias (The moon rises over the island of Nias)
© Man Ray Trust

A Surrealist Wunderkammer at the Menil Collection + Interview with Paul R. Davis, Curator of Collections

Shaman’s Rattle in the Form of an Oystercatcher, early 19th century. Tlingit peoples. Alaska. Wood, paint, metal, and sinew, 5 3/8 × 15 3/8 × 3 3/8 in. (13.7 × 39 × 8.6 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of the Heye Foundation, The Museum of the American Indian

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