![Shield, made of wood, decorated with red and white pigment. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/609207/MA53403115-shield-1200h.jpg)
![An axe with a tapered wooden handle and stone head with resin. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0018/609210/MA53413616-kodj-axe-1200w.jpg)
![Woven bag made from wool and twine. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0019/609211/MA50583036-woven-bag-1200w.jpg)
![Wooden artefact decorated with complex incised figurative designs, including two human figures. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0005/611591/MA53403750-spear-thrower-1200h.jpg)
![Shield made from bark, in the shape of an ellipses and featuring a hole towards the centre. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0009/612297/MA50582359-shield-1200h.jpg)
![An oval, curved wooden shield with and abstract design of interlocking shapes in red, white and yellow ochre running along its length, all outlined in black. There are four cross shapes and two lozenge shapes. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0005/611627/MA53419661-painted-shield-1200h.jpg)
![Light coloured stone with rigid edges and a rough surface. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/611628/MA53420686-stone-scraper-1200w.jpg)
![Mask, made from turtle-shell plates which have been moulded and sewn into the form of an elaborate human face; hair and beard made from human hair; shell eyes. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/611634/MA53403416-mask-1200h.jpg)
![Large section of bark with tapered ends and featuring a faded etching of people and a kangaroo. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0004/611653/MA50582993-bark-etching-1200h.jpg)
![Watercolour painting featuring an Aboriginal man with dressed hair and beard; he is wearing necklaces and holding a fire stick. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/611655/MA54123120-Manalargenna-1200h.jpg)
![Spearhead with serated edges. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0009/611658/MA53404029-Yaga-spearpoint-1200w.jpg)
![Boomerang made of wood. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0010/611659/MA53403863-boomerang-1200h.jpg)
![Necklace made of red seeds. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0020/611660/MA53410667-seed-necklace-1200h.jpg)
![An axe made of stone, wood and rope. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/611661/MA53417002-childs-axe-1200h.jpg)
![Human figure carved in profile from a flat piece of wood. Painted in red, black, yellow, and white patterns. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0004/611662/MA53406402-human-figure-1200h.jpg)
![Mask made of tortoise-shell plates which have been bent to form an elaborate human face, and sewn into place with fibre; shell eyes. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0007/611665/MA53403009-turtle-shell-mask-1200h.jpg)
![Wooden spear with carved barbs along one side of the red ochred head. Black gum is applied onto the spear. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0008/611666/MA53420339-ceremonial-spear-1200w.jpg)
![Model of a kelp water carrier. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0011/611669/MA53403234-kelp-water-container-1200w.jpg)
![Dance ornament made of emu feathers. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/611670/MA54123868-emu-feather-1200h.jpg)
![A didgeridoo made of cane. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/611673/MA53404147-Didgeridoo-1200w.jpg)
![Fishing-line made of twisted brown bark fibre. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0010/611677/MA53404480-Fishing-line-1200w.jpg)
![Woven bag made of vegetable fibre. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0011/611678/MA53411379-dilly-bag-1200h.jpg)
![Ellipse-shaped bark shield featuring a yellow ochre design and a reddish-brown circle in the centre. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0005/611681/MA50583175-shield-1200h.jpg)
![Front view and back view of an ellipse-shaped wooden shield; featuring a red and white ochre design on the front hand markings on the back. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0009/611694/MA50582419MA50582692-shield-view-1200h.jpg)
![Basket made of folded bark with a geometric design painted with pigment. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/611688/MA53411126-basket-1200h.jpg)
![Headband made from a dingo tail and twine. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0004/611689/MA53403981-headband-1200h.jpg)
![Charm resembling a dugong made from stone, ochre and fibre. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0005/611690/MA50582797-dugong-charm-1200w.jpg)
![A short apron made from one hundred and twenty nine small bunches of feathers, held together at their quill ends with fibre and then wrapped around a fibre suspension cord. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/611691/MA54123304-feather-skirt-1200w.jpg)
![Upper part of spear consisting of wood foreshaft ending in pale green glass point attached with gum and tendon binding. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0007/611692/MA53410714-spear-1200w.jpg)
![Message stick made of wood featuring etchings and text. - click to view larger image](https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0008/611693/MA53412061-message-stick-1200w.jpg)
Encounters featured rare, early Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects from the British Museum. They were displayed with new objects from the Indigenous communities represented in the exhibition.
These are powerful objects. They are all part of the living cultural traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. They connect us to the histories of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Discover the Encounters objects in the British Museum's online collection