Cultures of the Sea: Art of the Ancient Americas

For ancient cultures on the Central and South American coasts, the ocean was both a source of livelihood and a way of life: It provided food, precious materials and divine inspiration in regions with often-severe environmental conditions. Cultures of the Sea: Art of the Ancient Americas brings together works of art from 100 BCE to the present that illustrate how the ocean shaped the cultural legacies of these civilizations. This exhibition features ceramics, textiles and carvings, many on view for the first time, from the Nasher Museum’s permanent collection.

Cultures of the Sea highlights the unique yet interconnected ways in which these cultures navigated, depicted and celebrated the ocean as a practical and spiritual resource. Organized thematically, these objects demonstrate the importance of the sea in ritual and burial practices, which prominently featured offerings with sea imagery and motifs, including crabs, shells and waves. This exhibition creates a new narrative about the lives of ancient seafaring Americans, revealing traditions that are very much alive throughout this region today.

The exhibition was organized by seven undergraduate students in the Curatorial Practicum: Exhibition Development and Design course in the Museum Theory & Practice Concentration, taught by Julia McHugh, Ph.D., Trent A. Carmichael Curator of Academic Initiatives at the Nasher Museum. The student co-curators: Natalie Benderly, Rae Hsu, Kora Kwok, Ally Perez, Ashleigh Smith, Edward Zhuang (all from Duke’s Class of 2020) and Gabrielle Tenedero, UNC-Chapel Hill Class of 2020.

This project is supported by the Sunny Rosenberg Endowment Fund and the Sandra A. Urie and Katherine Urie Thorpe Fund. Support from Duke University is provided by the Office of the Provost; the Wired! Lab for Digital Art History & Visual Culture; the Department of Computer Science; Duke Radiology; and the Duke Lemur Center.

ABOVE: Nazca (Peru), Finial: Village with sentinals, 100 BCE – 500 CE. Carved sea wolf ivory, 2 1/4 x 1 x 1 1/8 inches (5.7 x 2.5 x 2.9 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The Paul A. and Virginia Clifford Collection, 1973.1.467. 360° view by Peter Paul Geoffrion.

ABOVE: Chancay (Peru), Double vessel, 1000–1470 CE. Ceramic, 10 inches (25.4 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard B. Greene, 1980.117.1. 360° view by Peter Paul Geoffrion.

ABOVE: Lambayeque (Peru), Footed globular bottle, 900 – 1200 CE. Blackware, 8 x 6 x 4 inches (20.3 x 15.2 x 10.2 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of Alan R. Kesselman, 1982.18.2. 360° view by Peter Paul Geoffrion.