The collections include material from; Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Oceania. Highlights include a magnificent royal Hawaiian feather cloak and an exceptional group of Native American masks from Northern British Columbia.
The royal Hawaiian feather cloak is an example of a type of cloak which was restricted to Hawaiian kings and only 40 are known to exist in the whole world. The more yellow feathers a cloak has, the more sacred it was. It is believed that this cloak is connected to king Kamehameha II (1797-1824) who visited England but died of disease on the return voyage.
The Native American masks come from the coasts and islands of Northern British Columbia and are very similar to the styles used by the Tsimshian, Bella Bella, Haida and Northern Kwakwaka'wakw. Designed for maximum dramatic impact these masks contain moveable rolling eyes, hidden whistles, and originally impressive bushy beards and eyebrows of sealskin.
The African collections include materials from the Igala on the River Niger in Nigeria, such as spearheads, okegga - wooden horned carvings, in Igala - a carved box in the form of a bird and a set of bronze alloy gongs.