Marquesan Objects Abroad
For centuries, Marquesan cultural heritage has traveled the world by air and sea.
Where has it landed?
Museums with Collections of Marquesan Objects
The following is an informal—and incomplete—list of museums that shows some of the places where objects from the Marquesas have come to rest.
The below note (in Marquesan) invites Marquesans to follow these links and learn more (and they can also view the list in French).
Ka'oha! Ia ta tatou hoa enata, tena te puke no te musee i paotu te tau fenua me te tau haina kakiu enata. A'e pao atunei, ua hana au. Pe'au mai me ta'otou maakau no titahi!
A hano, haa kei to'otou maakau hohonu!
The collections of international museums include some of the most beautiful examples of historic Marquesan art.
Beneath the name of each museum is the number of Marquesan objects held there.
CANADA
Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia
41 objects (including objects collected by the Reverend George Stallworthy)
ENGLAND
296 objets (including some objects from Hawaii, which come up when you search “Marquesas”)
Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (currently participating in a project to return objects to the Marquesas)
90 resultats (follow the link and in search bar at the top, write “Marquesas” and click submit)
116 search results (objects and photos; follow the link and click on "Continue Without Warnings")
FRANCE
4 search results (objects and photos; the details for each object show their location)
Currently the collections of this museum are not available online, and they did not respond to my emails
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History)
7,911 search results (including diverse natural objects such as plants, insects, birds, etc.)
799 search results (objects, book images, photos, etc.)
GERMANY
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin Ethnographic Museum)
404 objects (including a few from Tahiti; this also includes the objects collected by Karl von den Steinen)
ITALY
27 objects (currently the collections of this museum are not available online, although they do have a book on their Oceania collections)
NORWAY
4 search results (all pieces of fabric whose style does not appear to be typically Marquesan and may be mis-labeled)
SWITZERLAND
Museum de Kulturen à Bâle (Basel Museum of Culture) (currently participating in a project to return objects to the Marquesas)
570 objects (currently the collections of this museum are not available online)
UNITED STATES
794 search results (including objects, photos, plants, insects, etc.)
Burke Museum at the University of Washington
44 objects (currently the collections of this museum are not available online)
Peabody Essex Museum in Essex, Massachusetts
280 objects (currently the collections of this museum are not available online, but if you would like to learn more about their Marquesan objects you can contact the collections manager directly here)
Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Cambridge, Massachusetts
165 search results (including objects, plants, insects, etc.)
Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
131 search results (including objects and photos)
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley, California
40 search results (objects and photos)
Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, Connecticut
52 objects (follow the link and in the search bar at top of page, type “Marquesas” and search)
RUSSIA
22 objects (including the objects collected by Adam Johann von Krusenstern)
Learn more about the ongoing effort to return objects to the Marquesas Islands
