Bisj Pole

Asmat bisj poles in the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, Gallery 350 The wing for the arts of Africa, the Ancient Americas and Oceania reopened on May 31, 2025, after a renovation that kept it closed from 2021, so even regular visitors have something new here. Head for the Asmat gallery, where carved ancestor poles from New Guinea now stand in a high, arched room, the tallest about 18 feet, with figures stacked up the shaft. Few objects in the building have this much sheer presence, and they are a sharp reminder that the Met's biggest showstoppers are not all European.