The Melanesian area commences with a spectacular group of works from the great island of New Guinea and associated with the “men’s house” or ceremonial house. A more intimate space is reserved for exhibition of artefacts connected with initiation rites and relationships with ancestor beings. Such themes as war, headhunting and funeral rites punctuate a journey taking the visitor from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands. Types of money and adornments used in exchanges and rituals demonstrate the importance attached to prestige in these societies, such as artefacts emblematic of the grade system from the islands of Vanuatu and the Kanak chiefdoms of New Caledonia.