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African Art
The works exhibited in the newly renovated gallery
of African art have been reinstalled to reveal the continent’s
immense diversity of artistic production. On view are works
from west, central, and south Africa, including objects of prestige
and daily use, royal regalia, symbols of secret societies, and
sculptures that mark such rites of passage as birth, initiation,
and death.
The original bequest for the collection, made in 1953 by Mrs.
Donald B. Doyle in memory of her husband, was comprised of works
collected prior to 1923 from what is now the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. Among the objects is a rare double caryatid headrest,
an example of the art of the Chokwe peoples and a distinctively
shaped Kuba box. In recent years gifts have been made principally
by Perry Smith, whose Chokwe chair and Pende ivory pendants
are on view, and H. Kelly Rollings, whose emblem of the Leopard
Society is a remarkable object from the Cross River region.
Princeton’s collection was greatly enhanced in 1998 by the bequest
to the collection of John B. Elliott, which includes a vast
number of objects of daily use, adornment, and Akan gold pieces.
While the collection is relatively small in comparison to others
in the museum, it does reflect a growing interest in the field
among alumni and friends. |
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Nok Style Area, Nigeria
Fragment of a Head
410 B.C.–A.D. 490 |
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Akan peoples, Ghana
Bracelet (benfra)
late 19th–early 20th centuries |
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Bamana peoples, Mali
Mask of the Kore Society
late 19th–early 2oth centuries |
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Chokwe peoples
Chair
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Pende peoples
Pendant (Gikhokho)
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Nguni/Zulu peoples
Double Headrest
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Efut peoples
Headdress
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Lwalwa peoples
Hat
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Ejagham peoples
Emblem of the Leopard (Ngbe) Society
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Ngbandi or Ngombe peoples
Shield
late 19th–20th centuries |
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Pende peoples
Fumu Mbuyu Mask
before 1923 |
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Chokwe peoples
Carytid Headrest
before 1923 |
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Bamileke peoples
Plumed Tunic
after 1950 |
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