North America (Room 26)

The JP Morgan Chase Gallery

8000 BC - present

The indigenous peoples of North America have maintained their cultural identity since ancient times. Room 26 explores both historic artefacts and the contemporary art of the Native inhabitants of Canada and the United States, while illustrating the effect of European contact and colonisation on their communities.

Objects on display in Room 26 range from pipes in the form of animals made by the Hopewell people in 200 BC, to maps outlined on deerskins by the Wea tribe of the eighteenth century. Texiles, clothing, carved posts and pottery are also on display.

Image captions (clockwise from top left):

Pipe in the form of an otter, 200 BC - AD 100

Sled of bone, ivory and wood, early 19th century AD

Feather bonnet of Yellow Calf, about AD 1927

Shaman's rattle in the form of an oystercatcher, 19th century AD