Peabody Essex Museum

March 2, 2008

East India Marine Hall, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

My friends Matt, Melissa, Amanda, and I took the commuter rail up to Salem today to see an exhibit on Maori moko at the Peabody (pronounced "PEEbuddy" in Massachusetts) Essex Museum. We enjoyed the moko exhibition, which features photographs of Maoris (indigenous peoples of New Zealand) and their intricate ceremonial facial and body tattoos. It just happened that we all met up in New Zealand a year ago (Amanda and I arrived March 5th after skipping a full day crossing the International Date Line and spending over 20 hours in the air) to meet Matt and Mel for their wedding there.

The museum claims to be the oldest in the United States. While much of the collection is now housed in a grand, airy new building opened in 2003, some collections are in much older structures. The maritime gallery above was opened in 1825 in this room.