African Art
The BMA has one of the earliest and most important collections of African art in the United States. A major gift from the collection of Janet and Alan Wurtzburger in 1954 marked the beginning of a permanent display of African art at the BMA and assured a significant place for African art within the Museum’s growing collection. Now featuring more than 2,000 objects that span from ancient Egypt to contemporary Zimbabwe, the collection includes works from Bamana, Yoruba, Kuba, Ndebele, and many other cultures.
The works of art are as diverse in form as they are in function and include headdresses, masks, figures, royal staffs, textiles, jewelry, ceremonial weapons, and pottery. Many pieces are distinguished by their use in royal courts, performances, and religious contexts, and several are internationally known as the best of their type, such as D’mba, an unparalleled Baga female dance headdress from Guinea.
Highlights of the collection include an early 20th-century portrait of a woman by acclaimed Liberian carvers Zlan and Sonzanlwon and several figures by the legendary brasscaster Ldamie. Recent acquisitions include a Lozi throne (c.1900) most likely carved in the court of Lozi King Lewanika of western Zambia, a 20th-century Hausa Koranic prayer board, and Theo Eshetu’s contemporary light-based video work Meditation - Light (2006).
Friends of the arts of Africa, the Pacific and the Americas
Join this support group to meet other art lovers and learn more about the BMA’s collection of art from Africa, the Ancient Americas, and the Pacific Islands.
