From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 14, no. 2, May 1999.

From the Stone Age to the Space Age in 200 years - Tongan Art and Society on the Eve of the Millennium, is the title of a new catalogue on Tongan art objects–the first publication of the Tonga National Museum.

The author, Dr Adrienne L. Kaeppler, the Curator of Oceanic Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., writes that today the Kingdom of Tonga is a unique combination of modern technology and Polynesian values. The catalogue focuses on artefacts that were collected in Tonga during the 18^th and early 19^th centuries and illustrates tradition, continuity, and change. Artefacts photographed for the catalogue were part of the first exhibition of the Museum, which was held during the King’s 80^th birthday celebrations last year. Dr Kaeppler was the guest curator for the exhibition.

The 80 pages catalogue is a good source of valuable information on Tongan culture and genealogies, and offers an absorbing look at some exceptionally fine Tongan craftsmanship of the past.