The exhibition therefore explores the Pacific Islands at the time of their first contacts with European travellers, missionaries and colonists.

Before coming to the Musée du quai Branly, the exhibition was shown at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and then at the British Museum under the name “Pacific Encounters”.

The Polynesian Islands (from the Greek polys and nesos: “many islands”) were first explored 3000 years ago by the first travellers to venture east from the Western Pacific.

In the 18th century, the entire region of the “Polynesian Triangle” (composed of Hawaii, the Easter Islands and New Zealand) had long been inhabited by the Polynesian people who shared the same roots. 

Art and Divinity in Polynesia is the most comprehensive exhibition to date on Polynesian art: it is the first time such a large number of objects have been gathered together in an exhibition. These rare pieces – made from precious materials, such as feathers, ivory, nephrite and pearl – played important roles in the cultural and religious life of the Polynesian people between 1760-1860.  The exhibition explains the role of these objects in their original context, celebrates the creativity of the people who created them and informs the visitor about the history of the collections from which they are taken.