This panoramic panel from Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique sets the stage for the viewer’s journey through the Pacific, beginning in the North and moving southward. It portrays a range of Indigenous life across three regions—Nootka Sound (on the Northwest Coast of Canada), Raiatea in French Polynesia, and Hapaee (now Lifuka) in the Kingdom of Tonga. Each scene embodies a distinct cultural vignette, filtered through the neoclassical lens of Enlightenment Europe.

·       At left, the people of Nootka Sound are shown amidst their coastal landscape. Most notably, a young girl assists a woman in hanging fish to dry—an essential part of daily life and survival on the rugged Pacific Northwest coast. This scene, derived from early French accounts of Cook’s 1778 visit, also includes the ceremonial clothing and dramatic facial decorations worn during war or ritual, such as cloaks trimmed in fur, pointed cedar bark bonnets, and masks used to project fearsome appearances. This depiction offers a window into their rich material culture, shaped by fishing, singing, and spiritual performance.

·       At center, the celebrated Omai—a Tahitian who traveled to England and was received at the court of King George III—stands alongside Chief Finau ‘Ulukalala of Tonga. Though the pairing is imaginative, it reflects Enlightenment ideals of noble cross-cultural exchange. Nearby, King Honoo of Raiatea and members of the Areoi society—an elite class known for their artistry, ritual feasting, and tattooed bodies—dine beneath a breadfruit tree. The scene is filled with harmony and expressive gesture, highlighting a society that prized hospitality, beauty, and social complexity.

·       To the right, the people of Hapaee are shown preparing for a grand fête that reflects the warmth and ceremony recorded during Captain Cook’s 1777 visit. Behind two great plum trees, men and women dressed in finely woven cloaks prepare for a festival of dance and sport. The depiction conveys the grace, athleticism, and musical culture of the Friendly Islands. Captain Cook himself was so moved by the participation of women in boxing matches that he asked the chief to end them—an anecdote reflecting both admiration and discomfort in cross-cultural observation.

Historical and Cultural Context:

Charvet’s compositions draw heavily from the accounts of Cook’s voyages and later