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Artist: Unknown
Date: 800-850 C.E.
Location: Peru
Medium: Camelid hair, tapestry-weave
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 6th-9th century
Location: Bolivia or Peru
Medium: Ceramic, slip
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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Thank you for taking the time to look at this exhibit and looking at the natural world through the lens of various cultures!

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Museums also have to opportunity to serve as important venues for preserving and celebrating diverse cultural heritage. By showcasing a range of cultures and perspectives, museums can help to ensure that important cultural traditions and artifacts are not lost or forgotten.

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Emphasis on Eurocentric art and design, as well as not giving credit to the cultures that influenced such, can marginalize and erase the histories and cultures of non-European peoples. This Eurocentric bias has led to a lack of representation of diverse perspectives, histories, and experiences in museum collections and exhibitions.

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Combating Eurocentric Bias through Collections of Art and Culture

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Combating Eurocentric Bias through Collections of Art and Culture

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Without the inclusion of art from cultures across the world, an incomplete version of history is presented by museums and exhibits across the world. By challenging these dominant narratives, museums can help to promote a more accurate and nuanced understanding of history and culture.

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Serpents and reptiles represented fertility, renewal and transformation, which go along with the god Quetzalcoatl's divine duties and identity. The snake's terrestrial habitat and periodic shedding of their skin suggest the connotation of fertility and renewal, with Quetzalcoatl in particular symbolizes the union of earth and sky.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 1300-1521 C.E.
Location: Mexico
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

This gold labret is a type of plug inserted through a piercing below the lower lip. It is considered a rare glimpse into the thriving tradition of gold-working in the Aztec Empire. Jewelry that adorned not only headdresses but the face and clothing of an individual were oftentimes meant to represent devotion to one or more gods.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 4th-7th century
Location: Costa Rica
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

This jadeite bird pendant is meant to be representative of a toucan. The figure is atop a trophy head, and its carving points to a certain anthropomorphic quality that suggests it could be a shapeshifter or god, as it is meant to represent magic, hope, and joy.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 11th-16th century
Location: Costa Rica (Chiriquí)
Medium: Gold
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 600-900 C.E.
Location: Peru
Medium: Ceramic, slip
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 10th-13th century
Location: Mexico
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

This is one of a pair of painted andesite and dacite carved panel. It depicts an eagle biting into a cactus fruit, a symbolic representation of the sun devouring a human heart. There is proof that the panels have been repainted numerous times, pointing to the fact they held some kind of major significance.

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Depictions of animals and the natural world were very also very significant in indigenous and Mesoamerican cultures, although the artwork was characterized by its bold colors, geometric shapes, and symbolic imagery. Because of this, animals and reptiles are oftentimes somewhat ambiguous, but despite this were full of imagery and religious symbolism.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 18th-19th century (Qing Dynasty)
Location: China
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Chinese Zodiac assigned different animals to different birth years, and each were said to have significant traits and importance in society. These twelve jade statuettes represent each of the twelve zodiac symbols: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

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Inrō with Monkeys Trying to get Persimmons with Stick (obverse) and Hawk in Persimmon Tree (reverse)

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Inrō with Monkeys Trying to get Persimmons with Stick (obverse) and Hawk in Persimmon Tree (reverse)

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Artist: Hanabusa Itchō
Date: 1700-1800
Location: Japan
Medium: Lacquer, roiro, gold, silver, brown and red hiramakie, various inlay
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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Inrō with Design of Basket of Persimmons (obverse) and Monkey Eating Persimmon (reverse)

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Inrō with Design of Basket of Persimmons (obverse) and Monkey Eating Persimmon (reverse)

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Artist: Mori Sosen
Date: 1800s (Edo Period)
Location: Japan
Medium: Lacquer, red, gold, and silver hiramakie
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 1800s
Location: Japan
Medium: Ivory
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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The persimmon is meant to be a symbol of transformation, and oftentimes monkeys are shown devouring or guarding the fruit or its trees. The green persimmon transforms from bitterness to full sweetness, This is meant to be reminiscent of human ignorance transforming to wisdom, and as wisdom is sacred, the messengers of the gods guard it as such.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 10th century (Kalacuri Dynasty)
Location: Madhya Pradesh, India
Medium: Red sandstone
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 1500-1600
Location: Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Medium: Gilt-copper alloy
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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Artist: Kawanabe Kyōsai
Date: 1868–1912 (Meiji Period)
Location: Japan
Medium: Album leaf; ink and red on silk
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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In Japanese culture, monkeys were considered to be messengers of the gods. They had positive religious associations, known as one of the animal reincarnations of the Buddha. It was also believed to be a sacred mediator between the kami, or spirits, and earthly human beings.

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Similar to depictions of Egyptian deities, Hindu deities were also oftentimes depicted as having the head or features of an animal. The symbol of Ganesha's elephant head goes deep into Hinduism's roots, and it shows the important and sacred connection between the natural world and human beings. The elephant head, which was said to be given to Ganesha after his own head was cut off, represents oneness with the natural world and the wisdom it provides.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 500-600

Location: Pialma, Xinjiang, China

Medium: Stucco with traces of color
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Netsuke of Monkey with One Hand over Mouth, the Other Behind His Back

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Netsuke of Monkey with One Hand over Mouth, the Other Behind His Back

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Artist: Miwa
Date: 1700-1800
Location: Japan
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

This Japanese netsuke depicting a monkey is made of ebony with an ivory inlay. Its purpose was to bring good luck, and it was either worn in the fold of a kimono or at the end of the kimono's sash.

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Making a Bronze Skull - Advanced Repousse Technique - No Casting

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Date: 10th-8th century B.C. (Iron Age II)

Location: Northwestern Iran

Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

This vessel was formed by using bronze sheets that were riveted together in the middle. The vessel depicts six registers of birds, trees, and various other horned animals. They were hammered in the repoussé technique, and the design implies that eastern Greek potters may have been familiar with techniques and vessels such as this one.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 2000-1600 B.C. (Old Babylonian)

Location: Mesopotamia

Medium: Ceramic, paint
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 800-700 B.C.
Location: Luristan, Iran
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not on view

A bronze depiction of a goat, this pendant was likely a piece of jewelry worn to ward off the devil and evil spirits. In Persian culture, the goat was a symbol of the angel that protected their people from harm.

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The Met's unofficial mascot—this tiny hippo named William—has a bit of a dark side | Art, Explained

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 332-30 B.C.

Location: Egypt

Medium: Faience
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 664–525 B.C. (Late Period)

Location: Mit Rahina, Egypt

Medium: Faience
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Ancient Egyptians believed different gods and goddesses were oftentimes depicted by different animals, as they may have shared intrinsic traits or been allegorical figures in stories of oral and written tradition. Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing, accounting, and all things intellectual, was oftentimes depicted as either an ibis or a baboon. He was also oftentimes depicted as having a human body with the head of an ibis.

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Artist: Unknown

Date: 400–30 BC (Ptolemaic Period)

Location: Egypt

Medium: Glass

Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Religion and the Perception of the Natural World

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Religion and the Perception of the Natural World

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While European influence has shown the role of the natural world through its art, there is also a significant difference in the perception of the natural world, which has partially religious and economic causes. Many European religions developed in urban or agricultural societies where the natural world was seen as something to be tamed and controlled, rather than something to be revered or worshiped. Many non-European cultures, such as indigenous or ancient peoples, believed that the natural world held unique and magical properties, thus reflecting not only cultural but religious differences that have been highlighted through art.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 664–30 B.C. (Late Period–Ptolemaic Period)

Location: Egypt
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not currently on view

The Egyptian goddess Bastet held the cat in high regard, and it was commonly presented in sanctuaries and laid to rest in animal necropoleis across Egypt. This particular feline boasted striking characteristics, such as sizable, deeply-set eyes and prominent cheekbones. The hairs in its ears and whiskers beneath the nose are intricately marked with numerous, closely-incised lines. Additionally, both of its ears were punctured and were likely adorned with gold or jewel earrings. This is most likely the head of a statuette that held a mummified cat, similar to the human sarcophagi seen throughout Egyptian history.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 1961–1878 B.C. (12th Dynasty)
Location: Mir, Egypt, the Tomb of Senbi II
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The hippopotamus was a common figure of rebirth in ancient worlds, and it was supposed to ensure the rebirth of the person whose tomb it was in. This particular figurine, named “William,” has lotus flowers painted on it, which represent the natural habitat of the Nile River. As lotus flowers open and bloom all over the hippo, it is meant to represent the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The material is a ceramic material made of ground quartz known as faience, which was considered to be magical and specifically filled with the power of rebirth.

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Artist: Unknown
Date: 664-30 B.C. (Late Period-Ptolemaic Period)
Location: Egypt
Current Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, not currently on view

This particular statue was a representation of many other statuettes that were created and buried in catacombs throughout Egypt. The statue is made of copper and the tail feathers are made of wood, which was typical for the time period and for Egyptian statuary.