Global Arts, Cultures & Design

The Mediterranean, Africa, Americas, and Oceania

Our Mediterranean, Africa, Americas and Oceania collections consist of over 35,000 objects ranging from the archaeological to the contemporary, including textiles, pottery, jewellery, sculpture, coffins, musical instruments, tools, weapons, basketry, and contemporary art.

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Mediterranean, Africa, Americas, and Oceania stories

  1. A large oval shaped wooden object with a hollowed out middle on display in a museum with people looking at it

    Feast bowl: From the Pacific Islands to Scotland

    History and cultures

    A massive feast bowl in our collection, known as an umete, comes from Atiu, one of the Cook Islands in the Pacific.Form and functionThis boat-shaped bowl is carved from a single piece of tamanu wood, also known as island mahogany. Tamanu…
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  2. A pair of long silver earrings with turquoise circles and coral leaf like shapes photographed against a black background

    Native American Jewellery

    Art and design, History and cultures

    Navajo and Pueblo jewellery originates from the Southwest United States. It is denoted by, though not restricted by, its use of turquoise and silver. National Museums Scotland (NMS) has early and contemporary examples of this jewellery.…
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  3. A gold and black coffin of an Egyptian woman photographed against a black background. The coffin features a female face wearing a headdress.

    The Qurna Burial: The discovery of a royal woman’s grave in Egypt

    Archaeology, History and cultures

    In 1908, an intact burial of a woman and a child was discovered in Qurna, Thebes, Egypt. Over a hundred objects were found in the burial, but the identities of the woman and child are a mystery.The find was made by a team of Egyptian…
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