Life in the Pacific of the 1700s

This remarkable exhibition, presented in Honolulu by the Honolulu Academy of Arts (February 23 - May 14, 2006), featured several hundred objects collected during the second and third Pacific Ocean voyages of Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779). Known as the Cook/Forster Collection, these artifacts represent the vibrant cultures encountered by Cook in the eighteenth century, at a time when they were still intact.

These works, on display under the auspices of the Georg August University of Gottingen, Lower Saxony, Germany are also significant because they were given as gifts to or traded with Cook and his men. In many cases, the circumstances of their acquisition are clearly documented. Two German natural scientists, Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg, accompanied Cook on his second voyage, collecting and documenting many of the rare artifacts in this exhibition and Cook himself, made notes in his journal entries in reference to the gifts he received. Together they offer a fascinating glimpse into the cultural and spiritual lives of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific as they existed prior to the first contact with Westerners.

These examples of material culture from such island groups as Aotearoa (New Zealand), Vanuatu (New Hebrides), New Caledonia, Tonga, Tahiti and the Society Islands, the Marquesas, Hawaii, and the Northwest Coast of America are also extremely significant because they serve as direct links to the ancestors of the native inhabitants of these Pacific islands today and as such, they possess a unique mana (spiritual power). They are also remarkable for their inherent beauty and craftsmanship, and their condition is by and large pristine.

The exhibition ofthe Cook/Forster collection also serves to demonstrate the close connections between the ancient cultures and peoples in the Pacific, and it celebrates their artistry, industry, and ingenuity.