The arrival of Europeans had profound effects on the Melanesian culture of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Missionaries brought Christianity, which eventually became the principal religion of the islands.
These profound changes were reflected in local artistic practices. In the centre of the showcase, is a sculpture of a seated mother and child. Made in the Solomon Islands in the 1920s, it has a more realistic style than traditional Solomon carvings. The young boy has paler skin than the woman and may represent a local light-skinned baby or possibly the child of a white settler with his nanny.
Just to the left of the mother and child, a head finely carved from chalk is known as a Tindalo. A tradition from the Nggela Islands, the production of Tindalos waned with the arrival of Christianity, and eventually disappeared. A Tindalo was thought to retain the spirit of a dead man who, in his lifetime, possessed great mana or power. These spirits could take the form of another living creature such as a snake, a crocodile, shark or bird and Tindalos were used to exercise the spirit’s power to aid in health, love, war, or fishing.
To the left of the Tindalo is a wickerwork shield, also from the Solomon Islands. It is inlaid with small squares of nautilus shell in an elongated design of an ancestor figure. Wickerwork shields were commonly used for battle, but only around 20 of these highly decorated shields are known to exist. They are extremely fragile and it is unlikely they were used in combat; instead, they were probably owned by high-status individuals and exchanged as gifts.
Through collaborative cultural programs, the Museum is helping to preserve and revive many lost traditions in Melanesia.