American Indian Art at the Metropolitan

Drawn from works given and bequeathed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA) by Ralph T. Coe (1929-2010) from a collection that was a half century in the making, the exhibition of The Coe Collection of American Indian Art is comprised of some 40 objects that span a period from several millennia BCE to the year 2001 and are made in materials that vary widely, from stone toceramic to animal hide. 

Ralph T. Coe, known as Ted, was both a collector and curator, and played a major role in increasing public recognition and appreciation of American Indian art during the 50 years over which his collection was formed.

The oldest pieces in the exhibition are the intimately scaled stone tools known as bannerstonesand birdstones. Part of the paraphernalia used for hunting with spear-throwers, they are exceptionally well designed, aesthetically appealing, and attentively finished utilitarian objects. Ted Coe found these and other ancient North American objects compelling, and the archaeology of North America was a consistent interest of his, as were the works dated to those early times.

The major part of the Coe Collection, however, dates from the late 18th and early 19th through the 20th century, a significant period for the collecting of American Indian objects

Date: until May 28.
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028. USA
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Thursday from 9.30am to 5.30pm. Fridays and Saturdays from 9.30am to 9pm. Sundays from 9.30am to 5.30pm.