Narrative Wisdom and African Arts - Saint Louis Art Museum (2024)

October 19, 2024–February 16, 2025

Entrance in Taylor Hall

Narrative Wisdom and African Arts

Narrative Wisdom and African Artsconsiders how historical and contemporary African arts make visible narratives that are rooted in collective and individual memory and knowledge. This exploration examines arts at the intersection of the visual and verbal. Also significant are pictorial arts that feature figurative scenes suggesting part of or an entire narrative. Historical works made by artists across sub-Saharan Africa during the 13th to 20th centuries dialogue with contemporary works created by African artists practicing around the globe.

Oral traditions claim historical prominence and continue to play a significant role in perpetuating knowledge among the sub-Saharan cultures whose arts are on view. This exhibition offers a rich variety of visual modes that reflect the orally transmitted wisdom.

Artistic genres represented include sculpture, textiles, works on paper, photography, painting, and digital media, produced for diverse patrons. These arts facilitate, document, reinforce, or critique narratives pertaining to the legitimacy and legacy of leaders, memory of place, prescriptions for destiny and healing, and enduring ancestral wisdoms.

Like oral traditions, many of these artworks present fluid chronologies based on shifting contexts. Narrative Wisdom invites visitors to consider the stories and insights conveyed by these arts, as well as the purpose of those narratives. Universal to human experience and understanding, narratives and their lessons are multidimensional and unbound by the limitations of time.

Prelude: Art and Oral Traditions

My goal was to revitalize the displayed objects by infusing them with new energy and purpose, and to tell the story of the Bantu migration.
—Emeka Ogboh, 2022

Whispering ocean waves, then persistent tones of a thumb piano usher the listener into Ties That Bind, the musical work by artist Emeka Ogboh now playing. The voice of Nwachukwu Uwakwe, a storyteller in the Igbo oral tradition, mbem, is the listener’s constant guide. The audio suggests the multisensory, interactive original contexts of the musical instruments and diverse, traditions-based genres in this and subsequent galleries. The harmonies demonstrate the primacy of oral traditions and complementary role of visual arts for perpetuating social memory and knowledge across sub-Saharan Africa.

Bantu peoples settled that expanse of the continent over a more than millennium-long migration that began around 1000 BCE in West Africa near the present-day Nigeria/Cameroon frontier; they reached southern Africa around 300 CE (see map). Uwakwe poetically recounts this movement. His narration culminates with naming countries and cities where descendants of those ancient migrants now live, including the names of their cultures and languages, many represented by art in this exhibition.

Emeka Ogboh (born 1977,
Nigeria, active United States)

Ties That Bind, 2019

multichannel electronic sound composition
duration: 21 minutes, 56 seconds, looped

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Sundry Art – Miscellaneous Fund 2019.34 © Emeka Ogboh 2024.294

Chokwe artist, Angola

Lamellophone (chisanji), late 19th century
wood, iron, wire

A pombeiro, a long-distance trader, sits atop this chisanji (thumb piano). This placement suggests the fluid dissemination of not only commercial goods but also oral narratives for their sociopolitical and entertainment value. Considered a quintessential musical instrument employed by storytellers, the thumb piano, or lamellophone, was historically played exclusively for storytelling and not for the purpose of providing ambient music alone. This instrument continues to be widely played by musicians originating from many cultures across sub-Saharan Africa.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund 2024.293

Reported provenance: c.1915 F. M. Rapp, probably collected in Portuguese West Africa or Belgian Congo; 1915 Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, United States

Kongo artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Double Bell (kunda), 19th century
wood, pigment

In the Kikongo language, the word kunda is both a noun referring to a double bell, seen here, and a verb meaning “to pay homage.” Functionally a rattle, this kunda was sounded to appeal to and attract the attention of both the living and ancestral realms. These dualities are reflected visually through the bell’s two chambers and the echoing figures and geometric designs on each quadrant. This imagery may reference the Kongo cosmology that views the human life cycle as anchored by four key periods: birth, the prime of life, death, and the afterlife.

Private collection 2024.237

Reported provenance: by 2000 Private collection, England, United Kingdom; 2000 Private collection, United States

Chokwe artist,
Angola

Figure Portraying Chief with Thumb Piano, 19th century
wood, pigment

Here the sculptor has portrayed a Chokwe chief as storyteller. The curved, winged headdress identifies chiefly status. His outsize hands hold the “storyteller’s instrument,” a thumb piano (lamellophone). Elongated arms and firmly grounded seat and feet accentuate his poise and the significance of his message, underscoring the chief’s obligation to stabilize and communicate with his constituents. Chokwe court musicians, rather than the chief, would have played the thumb piano while singing songs that honored the chief, his royal lineage, and accomplishments and relayed messages he sanctioned.

Collection of Richard Scheller 2024.235

Reported provenance: before 2003 Private collection, Portugal; 2003–2011 Alain de Monbrison, Paris, France; 2011–2014 Private collection; 2014 Private collection, United States

Mandinka artist, Guinea

Kora, c.1940
animal hide, wood, metal

The kora is synonymous with the griot, or jali, an oral poet among Maninke and related peoples of West Africa. Historically serving kings and chiefs as court bards, jaliw reminded leaders and their constituents of society’s ancestral origins, the lineages of rulers, and ancient tales and wisdoms. Constructed from one half of a hollowed gourd and stretched animal hide, the kora’s 21 strings along the vertical post are plucked to produce harp- or guitar-like sounds according to the musician’s technique. The application of decorative brass tacks along the rounded form of the gourd-resonator suggests the melodious union of the jali’s singing with the music of the kora.

Marshall & Caroline Mount 2024.262

Reported provenance: c.1940s–1985 Helen and Richard Kuhn, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1985–2017 Joshua Dimondstein, Los Angeles; 2017 Marshall and Caroline Mount, United States

Chokwe artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Drum, early to mid-20th century
wood, hide, fiber, resin

The densely incised geometric patterns decorating this drum evoke the pulsing and dynamic rhythms the instrument would emanate when played. The drum features a mask motif carved in relief that suggests the form of Mwana Pwo, the Chokwe makishi mask representing the primordial female ancestor. Distinctive for its double head and four handles, this drum is reserved for ceremonies where the chief presides or is being memorialized, as well as for mukanda, men’s initiation rites.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Helen and Dr. Robert Kuhn. 2024.247a,b

Reported provenance: by 1985 Helen and Robert Kuhn, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1985 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles

Fang artist,
Equatorial Guinea

Harp, c.19th–20th century
wood, hide, metal, string

This harp is a rare example that both relates to bwiti, a men’s spiritual association in equatorial Africa, and features figurative elements. The similarity between this harp’s decorative head and Fang reliquary sculpture (see image) accentuates the central role this instrument played in bwiti-derived byeri ceremonies observed by Fang practitioners. Typically played in an enclosed, sacred space, the harps created delicate vibrational tones, sometimes interpreted as the voice of the spirits, fostering fields of energy that facilitated communication with a lineage’s ancestors.

Schweizer Premodern, New York 2024.232

Reported provenance: c.1954 Mauricio and Emilia Lasanksy, Iowa City, Iowa, United States; 2014 Private collection, United States

Fang artist, Gabon; Reliquary Guardian Figure, before 1910; wood, brass, iron, palm oil; 19 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 6 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 23:1942

Beafada artist,
or Badyeranke artist,
or Maninke artist,
or Fula artist, Mali

Staff Finial, 17th–19th century
copper alloy

This finial’s compact scene, created from copper and other metals, once likely adorned a multipronged iron rod. It portrays an elite figure on horseback, accompanied by attendants. They evoke a leader’s power to move people both literally and metaphorically.

Possessing the ability to harness fire and ore, metalsmiths play an important role in oral traditions that recount the founding of the ancient West African kingdoms of the Ghana Empire (c.100–1200s) and the Mali Empire (c.1220–1670). Dinga, who invented iron smelting and seized neighboring lands for Soninke peoples, was founder of the Ghana Empire. And in the Epic of Sundiata, an oral poem chronicling the creation of the Mali Empire, multiple blacksmiths play pivotal roles. One of them creates the iron staff that enables Prince Sundiata, whose lower body was disabled, to rise and walk.

Private collection 2024.239

Reported provenance: by 1971 René Rasmussen, Paris, France; 1971–2005 Lucien Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium; 2005–2010 Robert T. Wall Family, United States; 2010 Private collection, United States

Bamana artist,
Mali

Ceremonial Staff, 20th century
iron

Private collection 2024.149

Reported provenance: by 1972 René Rasmussen, Paris, France; 1972 Frederich Ossorio, Connecticut, United States; 1972–1978 Alexander-Suggs Gallery, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri; 1978 Private collection, United States

Bamana artist,
Mali

Staff Finial, c.18th–19th century
iron

In the Mande universe, which includes Bamana peoples, blacksmiths are considered both spiritually and technically potent; they are hunters, diviners, and carvers. They create metal handheld staffs, like these examples, that serve as principal emblems and communicate the source of their modern-era owners’ high status and authority as indelibly linked to ancient origins. These staffs were wielded by powerful individuals—political leaders, power-society members, or ritual specialists.

The staffs feature figures with peaked hats like those worn by individuals with access to supernatural powers—hunters, sorcerers, elders, and musicians, including praise singers. In addition to serving as a leader’s insignia, figural Bamana iron staffs may be placed at—and lend their power to—sites such as altars and graves as well as being used in ceremonies like initiations and funerals.

Private collection 2024.238

Reported provenance: Maurice Bonnefoy/D’Arcy Galleries, Paris, France and New York, New York, United States; by 2002 Jacques Germain, Montréal, Canada; until 2022 Guy Laliberté, Montréal; 2023 Private collection, United States

Dogon artist,
Mali

Figure Portraying Musician with Balafon, c.17th–18th century
wood

A balafon, seen in this sculpture, is a West African musical instrument similar to a xylophone. Like the kora, the balafon is considered a quintessential instrument of the griot, or oral poet. In the Mande Epic of Sundiata, the balafon is the coveted magical device of Soumaro Kanté, the tyrannical sorcerer king of Sosso. The instrument’s allure proves irresistible to Balla Fasséké, who was Sundiata’s griot and confidant. Balla trespasses into Soumaro’s tower of witchcraft and is subsequently caught and retained to sing Soumaro’s praises as the despot’s own griot. Historical Dogon figures representing musicians capture the essence of musical performance in the context of traditions-based storytelling.

Lent by Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gift of Heinrich C. Schweizer in honor of William C. Siegmann 2024.303

Reported provenance: by 1994 Charles Ratton, Paris, France; 1994 Private collection, Europe; by 2011 Heinrich C. Schweizer, New York, New York, United States; 2011 Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota

Leadership and Power Play

Oral histories and oral traditions have bolstered the historical and genealogical origins of leaders, chiefs, and kings in many African societies. Visual arts have been fundamental to perpetuating these oral traditions and the legacies of rulers.

This section presents “leadership arts” and considers the rich iconography, or symbolic representation, of certain royal and elite arts commissioned by kings and chiefs from selected west and central African kingdoms and chieftaincies. In addition, 20th- and 21st-century studio-based and local arts commemorate Pan-African leaders and the foundations or legacies of their power. Although a central core is offered here, leadership arts are pervasive. The concepts introduced in this gallery can be further explored through leadership arts presented elsewhere in this exhibition.

Reinforcing a leader’s authority, leadership arts employ an overarching narrative that vitally supersedes any continuous one. These works, initiated by leaders themselves or instigated by their supporters, examine figural and pictorial arts as anchors for narratives that affirm a ruler’s legitimacy and reach.

The Epic of Sundiata and Sculpture from Mali

Certain 13th- to 15th-century fired clay sculptures from the Inland Niger Delta region of Mali may portray protagonists and scenes from the Epic of Sundiata. This oral history and its many versions recount the origins and rise of Sundiata, the legendary ruler who established the Mali Empire in the 13th century. The story has been transmitted over centuries by Mandinka griots, who are oral poets and storytellers.

The several hundred figural clay sculptures that comprise this group were not scientifically excavated and therefore lack contextual evidence related to how and where they were found. Consequentially, their interpretation has been subject to conjecture. A recent scholarly hypothesis suggests many of these sculptures are not vaguely defined sacred or ritual objects—as was suggested previously. Instead, they may represent characters and moments of this important West African saga, having served as memory aids that made the oral tradition visual.

Inland Niger Delta artist,
Mali

Kneeling Figure, c.1025–1185
Terracotta

Top-heavy, with a hulking head and shoulders over diminutive legs, this kneeling female figure is covered with writhing snakes and clusters of sores. This sculpture may represent Sogolon, the mother of Sundiata. The orally transmitted epic describes Sogolon as being hideously ugly and having a hunchback, evident in profile here, along with wart-covered skin and diseased, weeping eye ducts.

Her ugliness is a key characteristic, the trait distinguishing her from other women, as foretold by a hunter-diviner to king Naré Maghan Kon Fatta. The prophecy foretold that if the king chose Sogolon as his wife, he would become father to a son who would make the name of Mali immortal forever. After she arrives at the kingdom as predicted, with two hunters, Naré Maghan selects Sogolon as his wife, and their union produces Sundiata.

Schweizer Premodern, New York 2024.233

Reported provenance: Alain de Monbrison, Paris, France; c.1983–1987 Wally and Udo Horstmann, Zug, Switzerland; Schweizer Premodern, New York, New York, United States; Private collection, United States

Inland Niger Delta artist,
Mali

Kneeling Figure, c.1050–1350
Terracotta

Oh, who can recognize in the little child the great king to come?
—Epic of Old Mali, D. T. Niane, 1965

This sculpture may portray the young Sundiata, who was unable to walk at the time. Here he is depicted using handheld semicircular crutches to propel himself along the ground. At age seven, Sundiata gains the ability to stand and walk, empowered by an iron rod (see image). This tool transforms into a bow at the moment he is ready to spring forth and live out his destiny. However, this future first requires a forced seven-year exile with his mother. He triumphantly returns without her as a successful military leader, having defeated the sorcerer king Soumaoro Kanté and his own half-brother to become the first emperor of a united Mali. From the most unassuming appearances, greatness can emerge with the power to influence generations.

Collection B. de Grunne, Brussels 2024.260

Reported provenance: by 1978 Giovani Scanzi, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Private collection, Rome, Italy; B. de Grunne, Brussels, Belgium

Djenne artist, Mali; Male Figure, c.12th–15th century; terracotta; 15 3/4 x 6 5/8 x 6 7/8 inches; Yale University Art Gallery, Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection 2006.51.111

Yoruba Doors by Areogun and Olowe of Ise

Yoruba political, spiritual, and economic leaders and elites commissioned elaborately carved doors like those seen here. Such doors served as entrances to palaces (see image), shrines and initiated-society lodges, and private homes in the 18th to early 20th centuries. They were inspired by ornate doors from the old Oyo Kingdom, which prospered around the 14th to early 19th century. Often part of a decorative architectural program that also included complementary carved veranda posts, the doors feature nonsequential narratives. This narrative imagery typically reinforces Yoruba concepts of power and leadership through scenes evoking a leader’s authority over any social sphere, such as worship, conflict, commerce, celebration, and more.

The artists Olowe of Ise (c.1860–1938) and Areogun of Osi-Ilorin (c.1880–1954) are among the most celebrated Yoruba sculptors. The doors here epitomize each artist’s distinctive sculptural style as well as their desirability among elite clientele.

Olowe of Ise, Nigeria, c.1860–1938; Palace Door, before 1926; wood; height: 60 inches; in situ in Ilesa, Nigeria

Olowe of Ise (c.1860–1938, Nigeria)

Palace Door Panel, early 20th century
wood, pigment

Without the mothers I could not rule.
—Oba William Adetona Ayeni, 1977

Five horizontal segments on the left and a dozen small square ones on the right make up this door’s imagery. The topmost large register depicts a harvest: two figures are aloft, tapping palm trees for wine, while five knotted bags between them indicate an abundant yield. Below, an oba—a Yoruba political and spiritual leader—is seated at right, attended by his royal wives, followed by porters carrying boxes containing tribute, such as cowrie shells or kola nuts.

Horizontal scenes below show processions of women posing as if dancing and welcoming visitors. A row of birds along the bottom signifies the awon iya wa (the “great mothers,” or female ancestors). The theme of plenty and prominent female symbolism suggests that the leader who commissioned this door desired to recognize the importance of women’s roles in a successful and bountiful society.

Schweizer Premodern, New York 2024.231a,b

Reported provenance: by 2006 Owa Olokun of Ijesaland, Ilesha, Nigeria; 2006 Private collection, Europe; after 2006 Private collection, United States

Areogun of Osi-Ilorin
(c.1880–1954, Nigeria)

Door Panels, early to mid-20th century
Wood

A nonsequential series of scenes, across ten sections organized in two columns, offers snapshots of life as a critique of the era. Notably, various European objects, such as a motorbike and guns, serve as symbols of power, intrigue, and humor. Imported firearms were crucial for Yoruba groups allied with Europeans during the Kiriji and other civil wars. Their prominence here—in the hands of warriors, equestrian war generals, a kidnapper, and the aides of a human trafficker—underscores their role as a tool of coercion.

The patron of this door may have aimed to emphasize his own connections with the resilience of Yoruba leadership in the context of fraught histories. This door’s imagery addresses the Kiriji War (1877–1893), a lengthy civil conflict among Yoruba peoples in southwestern Nigeria. Many claim this war originated with clashes dating back several centuries and ultimately made the region vulnerable to colonization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.245a,b

Reported provenance: Ian Arundel (Old Curiosity Shop), Los Angeles, California, United States; 1969 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles

Heroes for the Diaspora

Members of the global African diaspora closely followed and were inspired by the mid-20th-century pursuits of African countries for independence from colonialism. Black Americans commiserated with these movements alongside their own quest for civil rights in the United States. Photojournalist Moneta Sleet Jr. documented newly sovereign African countries for African American readers of Ebony magazine. Sleet joined then-Vice President Richard Nixon during his African tour in 1957, later returning to the continent on behalf of Ebony’s publisher, Johnson Publishing Company, in 1963.

Among the independence celebrations Sleet documented was Ghana’s in 1957, where many supporters wore variations of printed cloth featuring the portrait of Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah. Also shown are celebrations in Kenya, where Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta joined festivities in 1963. Selections here also highlight other “fathers” of African independence or modernity, including Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia and President William Tubman of Liberia.

Moneta Sleet Jr.

(1926–1996, United States)

Participant at Ghana’s Independence wearing textile with portrait of Kwame Nkrumah, 1957, printed c.1970
gelatin silver print

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of the Johnson Publishing Company 446:1991

Moneta Sleet Jr.
(1926–1996, United States)

Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya greeting Mau Mau resistance fighters during Independence Celebration Ceremony, 1963, printed c.1970
gelatin silver print

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of the Johnson Publishing Company 443:1991

Moneta Sleet Jr.
(1926–1996, United States)

William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman, President of Liberia, 1964, printed c.1970
chromogenic print

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of the Johnson Publishing Company 472:1991

Moneta Sleet Jr.
(1926–1996, United States)

Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia – New York, 1963, printed c.1970
chromogenic print

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of the Johnson Publishing Company 386:1991

Commemorative Portrait Cloths

We must unite now or perish.
— Kwame Nkrumah, at founding of the Organization for African Unity, 1963

These vibrant, printed portrait cloths commemorate specific people and events pertaining to their public service and legacy. Elected leaders, their governments, political parties, and other supporters commissioned these textiles. The examples picturing Kwame Nkrumah (upper left) and Nelson Mandela (lower right) were manufactured to celebrate their roles as the first leaders of their respective, newly liberated, countries. Ghana achieved independence from colonial British rule in 1957. Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first Black president in 1994, following the end of apartheid. Portrait cloths unite the intrinsic importance of textiles according to African perspectives with historical modes of commemorating notable individuals.

Commissioned by the African Union (AU) in 2002, the multi-portrait cloth (lower left) honors 14 of the continent’s most iconic sovereign leaders. The AU’s predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), aimed to abolish colonial rule across the continent. Many of the politicians represented and their countries’ mid-20th-century movements for independence have inspired African diasporic peoples around the globe in struggles for civil rights and political autonomy. A cloth produced in Tanzania to celebrate the 2008 election of United States President Barack Obama (upper right) attests to the enduring spirit of Pan-Africanism in the 21st century.

from top to bottom, left to right:

printed by Vlisco, Helmond, Netherlands

Commemorative Cloth for Ghana’s Independence Day, 1957
cotton

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.259

Reported provenance: 1997 collected in Ghana by Doran H. Ross, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

Comatex S. A. (Compagnie Malienne de Textile), Segou, Mali

Commemorative Cloth for the Founding of the African Union, 2002
cotton

Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Gift of Bernard Collet 2024.323

printed and designed by Mali Ya Tanzania A Art, Tanzania

Commemorative Cloth (khanga) for the Election of Barack Obama, 2008
cotton

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor 54:2024

Nkosi Traditional Fabrics CC, Akasia, Pretoria, South Africa

Commemorative Cloth for Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress Political Party, 1994
Cotton

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.261

Reported provenance: 1994 collected in South Africa by Doran H. Ross, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

Ethiopian artist,
Ethiopia

The Queen of Sheba’s Visit to King Solomon, mid-20th century
oil on canvas

This painting’s 55 scenes illustrate the biblical story of the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba’s visit with King Solomon in Israel. The third and fourth rows recount the queen’s travel by boat across the Red Sea to Jerusalem where Solomon welcomes her in his palaces. The fourth and fifth rows establish Ebna Hakim as the offspring of their encounter and show his rise to the throne as Menelik I.

For Ethiopia’s Emperor Menelik II (reigned 1889–1913), retelling this story helped to unify the many culture groups under his rule. A transcription of the oral narrative of this encounter was included in the 14th-century epic Kebra Nagast (Glory of the Kings). This collection of legends chronicles the lineage of Ethiopia’s Solomonic dynasty and points its origins to the meeting between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.

In 1955, Haile Selassie (reigned 1930–1974), inscribed this story into the constitution of Ethiopia, pronouncing his legitimacy and attempting to secure that imperial regime in perpetuity. Paintings like these were popular among local elites as well as foreigners until the Derg military regime’s 1974 coup.

Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Valerian Lada-Mocarski 2024.296

Reported provenance: 1943–1977 Valerian Lada-Mocarski, collected in Ethiopia; 1977 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Chokwe artist,
Angola

Face Mask (Chikunza), early to mid-20th century
bark cloth, wood, plant fiber, resin, pigment

This mask’s tall, pointed form and its name, Chikunza, may relate to a regional term for a grasshopper with an elongated head. However, the mask’s ribbed, conical shape may also echo an antelope horn or a phallus, suggesting Chikunza’s association with hunting and fertility, respectively. Chikunza usually appears in masquerade performances that occur during the circumcision phase of boys’ initiation proceedings.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of George G. Frelinghuysen. 2024.246

Reported provenance: by 1967 George G. Frelinghuysen, New York, New York, United States; 1967 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California

Pan-African Heroes, African Spirits

I am free! . . . I felt it necessary to pay homage to those who liberated me.
—Samuel Fosso, 2008

In these four photographs, artist Samuel Fosso honored exceptional African and African American leaders. Acknowledging that he is a beneficiary of African independence and African American civil rights activism and leadership, Fosso created the African Spirits series of 14 portraits, which includes those seen here. Fosso chose black and white as a more suitable option than color for representing enduring icons photographically.

In these portraits Fosso collapsed past and present, as well as the self and the other, to convey each Pan-African leader as heroically mythic. The artist situates himself as an extension of these heroes by embodying them—alluding to specific historical photographs of each—through his long-practiced mode of photographic self-portraiture. African Spirits asserts that these iconic Black figures compose a pantheon from which African and African diasporic people from around the world can draw inspiration and personal power.

Samuel Fosso
(born 1962, Cameroon, active France)

African Spirits: Untitled (Haile Selassie), 2008, printed 2024
gelatin silver print

Courtesy of Jean Marc Patras, Paris 2024.319

African Spirits: Untitled (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lectern), 2008, printed 2024
gelatin silver print

Courtesy of Jean Marc Patras, Paris 2024.318

African Spirits: Untitled (Patrice Lumumba), 2008, printed 2024
gelatin silver print

Courtesy of Jean Marc Patras, Paris 2024.320

African Spirits: Untitled (Nelson Mandela), 2008, printed 2022
gelatin silver print

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Endowment Fund 116:2022

Chokwe Masks
The masks displayed here are of the akishi type that represent ancestral spirits during initiation ceremonies that usher Chokwe boys into adulthood. These three examples portray the most important mask characters performed during those ceremonies and feature prominently on the Chokwe chiefs’ chairs nearby. When activated in performance, the masks reinforced the chief’s authority and legitimacy in any context where they appeared, including in the chief’s absence.

Chokwe artist,
Xassenge region, Angola

Face Mask (Pwo), late 19th century
wood, plant fiber, pigment, metal

This mask features an interplay between concave and convex volumes, distinctive coffee-bean shaped eyes, open mouth showing filed teeth, and incised facial markings. These elements suggest idealized feminine beauty according to Chokwe principles. Called Pwo, meaning woman, the mask represents the founding female ancestor of Chokwe society at large and of the community where it appeared during ceremonies. Remains of the knitted bodysuit formerly worn by the masquerader descend from the bottom of the mask. Although not typically performed together in Chokwe masquerades, Pwo and Chihongo (on view nearby) served as role models for cooperation among women and men and the gendered ideals each symbolizes in Chokwe society. Chihongo personifies chiefly power, wealth, maturity, and good leadership. He complements Pwo, the female archetype who embodies strong, beautiful, generous, and prolific women ancestors.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Cecille Pulitzer 179:2022

Reported provenance: by 1894 Carlos Romão, Lisbon, Portugal; 1978 Patrick Dierickx, Brussels, Belgium; by 1994 Lance and Roberta Entwistle, London, United Kingdom; 1994–2019 Private collection, United States; 2019 Heinrich Schweizer, New York, New York, United States; 2019–2022 Ceil Pulitzer, United States; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum

Chokwe artist,
Angola

Chihongo Mask, late 19th–early 20th century
wood, plant fibers, feathers, metal, pigment

Chihongo is recognizable by the large, curved headdress, seen here as a soaring crest of feathers complemented by a crown of plaited and cut-pile contrasting fibers. This form echoes a popular late 19th-century style worn by some Chokwe chiefs (see image). Metal ornaments and the sculptural representation of a jutting beard further suggest a male leader. Signifying a chiefly male spirit, this mask likely appeared only in royal contexts or initiation ceremonies involving chiefs’ sons.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Endowment Fund and Museum Purchase 61:2024

Reported provenance: 1959 Igor Kopytoff, collected in Angola; William A. McCarty-Cooper, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1992–2024 Private collection, United States; 2024 Saint Louis Art Museum

Chief Chauto wearing a cipenya mutwe headdress, from Artur Augusto da Fonseca Cardoso’s Em terras do Moxico, 1903.

Chokwe artist, Angola

Chief’s Chair (chitwamo or njunga), late 19th–early 20th century
wood, metal, copper alloy tacks, hide

A master sculptor has modeled a nearly three-dimensional representation of a female mask as the primary decorative motif atop this chair’s back. A full head—complete with a textured, three-part coiffure and fine facial scarifications—distinguishes this element as portraying Pwo, a mask representing the primordial female ancestor.

This chief’s chair and another, on view below, which represents the myth of Lweji, are unusual for centering on female subjects. Echoing scenes that appear on the other chairs nearby, this chair’s vignettes feature percussionists on the adjacent rungs—a pair holding a slit drum and a pair playing handheld drums. The rear rung depicts a pombeiro (long-distance trader), the hatted figure straddling an animal.

Galerie Lucas Ratton, Paris 2024.147

Reported provenance: c.1919–1923 Joyce and Donald Doyle, collected in Belgian Congo; c.1970 Suzanne Doyle Miers, Athens, Ohio, United States; 2016 Charles Miers and Caroline Farrington, New York, New York; 2019 Lucas Ratton, Paris, France

Chokwe Chiefs’ Chairs

Chokwe chiefs’ chairs were inspired by European high-backed chairs imported as trade goods in the region beginning in the 17th century. The seats reflect their patrons’ and makers’ ingenuity in transforming a utilitarian foreign form into a symbolic prestige object with deep local significance. The chairs were popular among Chokwe leaders during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Many chiefs sat alongside rather than on the chair during public appearances, allowing an audience full view of the chair’s imagery. This provided citizens the ability to recognize themselves among the social order under the leader’s purview. Despite the scenes of daily life represented along the rungs of each chair, the scenes do not represent a linear narrative. The chairs are also rich in mask imagery, representing the ancestral foundations of Chokwe society. As powerful symbols, the chairs asserted a chief’s ancestral and spiritual links to the most important patrilineal and matrilineal foundations of Chokwe society.

Chokwe artist, Angola

Chief’s Chair (chitwamo or njunga), late 19th century to 1908
wood, hide, copper alloy tacks

A trio of figures atop the crest rail of this chair may represent the myth of Lweji, an orally transmitted legend that recounts the origins of Chokwe society. Lweji appears at center with outstretched limbs. She struggles against her two brothers to assert her right to rule the Lunda Kingdom. Their father, the 16th-century leader Yala Mwaku, had granted it to her instead of his sons.

Lweji chose as her husband Chibunda Ilunga, the handsome hunter and son of the late king from the neighboring Luba peoples. Chokwe chiefs trace their ancestry to Lweji and Chibunda Ilunga. This chair is notable as a rare example that may specifically refer to an oral tradition. However, the scenes portrayed along the rungs below do not necessarily illustrate a sequence of related events in the story.

Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Gift of Claude D. Brown, 2007.2542 2024.277

Reported provenance: 1908–1915 Claude D. Brown, collected in Angola; 1915 Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States; 2007 Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas

Chokwe artist, Angola

Chief’s Chair, 19th century
wood, brass, hide

Five Chihongo masks, recognizable by their elliptical headdress, repeat across the crest rail of this chair. Chihongo represents a royal or chiefly male spirit, embodying a role of authority and wealth, who could be the patron of such a chair and overseer of society. Across the center-back of the chair, three masqueraders bearing tall, conical masks portray the spirit Chikunza. The masks are of the akishi type that embody ancestral spirits in the context of initiation ceremonies that usher boys into adulthood. Below the seat, scenes appear along each rung. In front, a top-hatted figure representing a trader reaches out to a horned bovine; at right, a pair of figures beat a slit drum. At the back, a seated figure poses as in greeting; and, finally, at left, two women prepare food by pounding pestles in a mortar.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 7:1943

Reported provenance: Private collection, Lisbon, Portugal; by 1942 Raphael Stora, New York, New York, United States; 1942 Saint Louis Art Museum

The Benin Kingdom and Transatlantic Narratives

In the Benin Kingdom, located in present-day Nigeria, the 16th-century ruler (oba) Esigie (reigned 1517–1580s) instituted an ambitious program of visual arts and ceremonies to reinforce his legitimacy. This campaign included architectural ornament and altar sculpture, represented here, among other types. These initiatives were essential tools Esigie employed to quell dissent following a troubled path to the throne, which was contested by his half-brother Arhuaran after the death of their father Ozolua (reigned 1481–1517).

Following more than three centuries of trade and contact with Europeans, in 1897, the British military raided Benin City, burned the palace, confiscated the royal arts, and exiled Oba Ovonramwen (reigned 1888–1897). Much of this art then entered the art market and museum and private collections worldwide. Fundamental to Benin Kingdom royal history, its dispersed historical arts are the subject of international calls for their restitution.

Conversely, some descendants of enslaved Africans in the Americas also consider historical Benin Kingdom arts essential to their own legacies. Citing the Benin Kingdom’s wealth, derived from engagement with transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, as inherent in those arts, they seek to retain them in the public domain in the United States and United Kingdom.

Edo artist, Nigeria

Carved Tusk for Royal Altar, c.1816–18
elephant ivory

Likely commissioned by Oba Osemwende (reigned 1816–1850) for his father’s altar, this relief-carved tusk includes references to the much earlier reign of Esigie. Esigie, recognizable by his chest bead and three Portuguese-head waist pendants, stands over two leopards. These animals may allude to the “cubs” Esigie and his brother Arhuaran. He also stands over an oba in the divine guise of the
deity Olokun, shown with the legs of a mudfish. Esigie’s entourage includes a high-ranking warrior and a cross-wearing member of the Ewua guild of royal caretakers.

Among multiple Portuguese figures are one bearing a matchlock gun, another holding coral beads, and several equestrians—all of whom wear the fashions of 300 years earlier. This ensemble attests to the persistence of Esigie’s narrative even in much later reigns of succeeding obas. This tusk was presented as a diplomatic gift from the then-Prime Minister of Nigeria to United States President John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1961. The sculpture continues “to serve as an ambassador of our culture around the world,” as recently stated by Oba Ewuare II regarding historical Benin Kingdom arts displayed globally.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Boston, MA, National Archives & Records Administration 2024.310

Reported provenance: 1816–1818 Oba Osemwende, Benin Kingdom, Benin City; by 1961 Government of Nigeria; July 27, 1961 President John F. Kennedy, Washington, DC, United States, gift received from Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Abuja, Nigeria; 1965 John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Boston, Massachusetts

Edo artist, Kingdom of Benin

Figure Portraying a Queen Mother (aseberia), 18th century
copper alloy

Esigie’s mother Idia, who sacrificed her life to protect her son’s in a pivotal battle that secured his kingship, inspired this figure. Its high, beaded headdress in a curved, conical form echoes that of high-ranking generals. Her title, iyoba, or queen mother, made her part of the generals’ chieftaincy group, although she did not attend their meetings. Since the 18th century, the aseberia, a brass figure representing the most recently deceased iyoba in idealized form, became the focal point of ancestral altars dedicated to iyobas. As the first and most ideal iyoba, Idia became the role model for all subsequent queen mothers. In a sense, all later iyoba imagery embodies Idia.

Private collection 2024.243

Reported provenance: by February 9, 1897, Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, Benin Kingdom; after February 9, 1897, Captain E. R. G. Harvey, United Kingdom; Descendants of Captain E. R. G. Harvey, Torquay, United Kingdom; 1974 Private collection, United Kingdom; 1994 Private collection, United Kingdom; 1997 Private collection, United States; 2018 Heinrich Schweizer, New York, New York; 2018 Private collection, United States

Edo artist,
Kingdom of Benin

Commemorative Head (uhunmwun elao) Portraying a King, 17th century
copper alloy

With a tall beaded collar (odigba) and netted crown of coral beads, this stylized brass head was commissioned by an oba. The head honored his immediate predecessor on a dedicated ancestral altar. Esigie invented the tradition of commissioning copper-alloy cast heads to install on the altar dedicated to his father, Ozolua (reigned 1481–1517). All subsequent obas have continued this practice to honor and bolster continuity of the royal lineage.

Dating at least 100 to 200 years after Esigie’s reign, the thickly cast copper alloy seen here (and nearby in Benin Kingdom metal sculptures) suggests a plentiful supply of the metal. This material was sourced from manillas, currency pieces Portuguese traders imported to the area after 1489 (see image). As part of transatlantic trade, the Benin Kingdom received European goods like manillas, guns, and cloth in exchange for ivory, palm oil, pepper, and captive people destined for the trade in enslaved Africans.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 674:1949

Reported provenance: by February 9, 1897, Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, Benin Kingdom; before 1949 Josef von Sternberg, Vienna, Austria, New York, New York, United States, and Hollywood, California; 1949 Saint Louis Art Museum

Edo artist,
Nigeria

Ceremonial Sword (eben), mid-20th century
iron, ivory, cotton

Drs. Nicole and John Dintenfass 2024.161

Reported provenance: by c.1980 Drs. Nicole and John Dintenfass, United States

Edo artist,
Kingdom of Benin

Plaque Portraying a Ceremonial Attendant, 16th–17th century
copper alloy

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Shop Fund and gift of Sharon McDonald Hollander and Stuart Hollander 10:1996

Reported provenance: by February 9, 1897, Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, Benin Kingdom; after February 18, 1897, Norman Pretty, Esq.; 1969 Charles Ratton, Paris, France; 1976 Merton D. Simpson Gallery, New York, New York, United States; 1976–1996 Stuart and Sharon Hollander, Lake Forest, Missouri; 1996 Saint Louis Art Museum

This plaque fragment shows a high-ranking warrior, indicated by his full odigba collar, a warrior’s circlet with upturned leopard teeth, and the leopard-head pendant at his hip. The latter two attributes represent the monarch’s delegation of the right to kill. An eben, or sword, which was the personal property of an Edo soldier, appears at right. The eben signifies that the occasion is ceremonial rather than martial.

Oba Esigie instituted an installation of at least 850 copper-alloy plaques that portray richly varied court scenes and covered the pillars in the oba’s reception hall (see image). Reinforcing court hierarchies and protocols and often complementary to oral traditions, the plaques helped to burnish Esigie’s authority and recognize his allies.

Digital rendering showing installation of plaques in the palace court as proposed by Kathryn Gunsch, 2018. Image: Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch.

Ibrahim Njoya
(c.1860–c.1933, Bamum Kingdom and Cameroon)

Kings List of the Bamum Dynasty, c.1930
ink and colored pencil on paper

King Njoya (reigned 1889–1933), bedecked in beads and medals and surrounded by symbols of religious and secular authority, appears at the center of this drawing. This chronology, called a “kings list” because it illustrates generations of Bamum fons (kings) dating back to the late 14th century, begins at bottom left with Nsha’ro (reigned 1394–1418). The sequence then follows clockwise, ending with Njoya at center. Each portrait features the leader with his or her principal royal attributes. Some of these seem to descend through several generations, such as N’sharo’s single-bead necklace or Moonju’s (reigned 1461–1498) iron staff. The inscriptions are written in one of the Indigenous scripts Njoya invented.

Having already adopted Islam, Njoya embraced new modes and materials that arrived with colonialism. These included portrait photography, mapmaking, and industrially produced paper, pencil, and ink. He enthusiastically integrated these elements with the rich, expressive culture already long established at Bamum. Njoya positioned himself as an equal to his German colonial counterpart, Wilhelm II. The king created writing systems to transcribe and assert the oral histories that legitimized his authority and the Bamum royal lineage on parallel terms.

Courtesy of Musée d’ethnographie de Genève. Inv. ETHAF 033559 2024.325

Reported provenance: 1929–1932 Pastor Jean Rusillon, collected in Foumban, Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon; 1966 Musee d’ethnographie de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland

Cameroon Grassfields artist,
Cameroon

Chief’s (Fon) Gown, early 20th century
cotton

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Shop Fund 61:1995a-c

Reported provenance: by 1995 Alexander Gallery, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, United States; 1995 Saint Louis Art Museum

Cameroon Grassfields artist,
Cameroon

Chief’s (Fon) Gown, c.1910–30
cotton

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Endowment Fund 119:2022

Reported provenance: 1980s collected in Foumban, Cameroon; 1980s–2021 Galerie Afrique (Alain Dufour) and Galerie Kanem (Frantz Dufour), Paris, France; 2021–2022 Duncan Clarke (Adire African Textiles), London, United Kingdom; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum

Each of these garments features a double bell as a decorative element (see image). On the left, this percussive instrument appears as an appliquéd design at each shoulder and along the bottom edge of the underskirt. On the right, the motif is outlined in embroidery under the collar. These designs represent the bronze or iron double bell, which are sounded with batons. A prominent insignia of the court, the symbol evokes the “voice” of the fon (king or chief).

The primary, circular motif covering the gown at left represents the spider, a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. The colorful band of the robe at right is composed of factory-printed cloth featuring open hands. This imagery and the imported cloth reinforced the power and reach of the fon. The voluminous robes, along with their colorful embroidered, appliquéd, and printed symbolism, amplified the physical and metaphorical presence of the fons who wore them in the Grassfields region of northwest Cameroon.

In a courtyard of the king’s palace at Foumban, Cameroon, Bamum men strike large double bells to create a soundscape alongside the performance of a masquerade during the annual nja festival in December, 1984. National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives EEPA 1993-001-1792, Photograph by Christraud M. Geary.

Leadership and Power Play: Dahomey Kingdom Arts and Their Legacies

Precolonial rulers of the Dahomey Kingdom exploited a local mode of oral expression to enhance their authority and legacies. They masterfully translated xó—word play that communicates ideas, anecdotes, achievements, and more—into an extensive array of visual arts celebrating their own reign. These range in size from monumental, like at the royal palace complex in Abomey, Republic of Benin, to the selection of smaller-scale works presented here.

These visual arts served as an extension of oral histories delivered by the royal kpanligan (see image). Like a griot, or oral poet, the kpanligan recites the political and military victories of each king since the kingdom’s founding by the ruler Houegbadja (reigned 1645–1685). These narrations are accompanied by the persistent rhythm of a double iron bell, also called a kpanligan.

In 1894, the Dahomey Kingdom succumbed to French colonial rule that exiled King Béhanzin (reigned 1889–1894). Since then, a succession of kings and the court have retained a ceremonial status. The iconography, or symbolic representation, on view here is pervasive in present-day Abomey and demonstrates the persistence and relevance of the kings’ legacies today.

Julien Sinzogan
(born 1957, Republic of Benin)

Departure of the Spirits and Return of the Spirits II, before 2009
colored inks on paper

The sinuous, fine lines and forms of the ships’ sails as they bend and bow in these drawings suggest an “umbilical cord.” Artist Julien Sinzogan emphatically insists this cord must reconnect Africa and its diaspora. The colorful, multipatterned cloths of the sails reflect the artist’s Pan-African vision. They echo Fon and Yoruba egungun masquerades and the diverse diasporic textile traditions that he researched while traveling in French Guyana, Brazil, and Cuba.

Sinzogan frequently revisits the four hundred years of maritime trade in captive Africans for artistic consideration. The spirits evoked by this pair of drawings are those who were forcibly removed from the African continent to become enslaved laborers in the Americas and the Caribbean. The drawings also recall those who have returned jubilantly to reclaim their places in Africa. Trained as an architectural engineer and known to be a collector of antique ship parts, the artist depicts structurally and proportionally accurate ships in these works.

The Newark Museum. Purchase 2010 Alberto Burri Memorial Fund established by Stanley J. Seeger 2024.308, 309

Cyprien Tokoudagba
(1939–2012, Republic of Benin)

Pouvoir Soglagada, 1992
acrylic on canvas

My father’s pictures speak. This picture is part of the history of the kings. The metal rod on the left is called a zusẽn and is used by the bokonon (diviner) for the vodun in the middle. My father represented the vodun Soglabada [also called Hevioso] with the head of a ram or an ox. He also wears an as˜en between his horns, with a cockerel that is sacrificed to the vodun. His fiber outfit is that of another vodun, Zangbeto. To his right, on top of the column, I recognize the ax of thunder, topped by a flame; it is about the intervention of lightning, the power of the king. But the full interpretation is only known by the initiated . . . The vodun helps to bring out what is hidden. Soglabada may be linked to war; he does extraordinary things for the king.
— Elise Takoudagba, artist and daughter of Cyprien Takoudagba

In the late 1980s, the royal palaces in Abomey were listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Afterward, the original low-relief sculptural panels adorning the walls were removed in their entirety, and their reconstruction was entrusted to the blacksmith Cyprien Tokoudagba. Tokoudagba took charge of their modeling and coloring. The artist began to innovate upon this work in a new medium—acrylic on canvas—to tell the story of the kings, voduns, spirits, and prestigious figures of Dahomey.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Jean Pigozzi, 2005.162 2024.267

Reconstructed Palace of Glèlè. Photo by Susan Middleton

Fon artist,
Republic of Benin

Figure Group Portraying Lion and Birds, late 19th–early 20th century
iron, copper, wood

The burden of life is not carried by just anyone; it is to you [Glèlè] that fate has attributed it.
—Excerpt from a Fon poem

Two birds flank a central lion, the large cat linking this scene to King Glèlè (reigned 1858–1889). One bird bears an elongated neck and wings. The other appears to lack wings and its head is pierced with an upholstery nail. This vignette refers to a song and allegory dedicated to Glèlè. The nail head represents a burden, and the wingless bird alludes to the verse at left, translated from the Fongbe language. The taller bird evokes the Fon allegory: “The bird of prey that catches other birds and carries them off into the air just like the king of Dahomey catches enemies and carries them off into the air.” Together, the visual and verbal resonances suggest the formidable power and responsibility assumed as the duty of any Dahomey king.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D. May 404:1955

Reported provenance: by 1952 Dr. George Rony, Los Angeles, California, United States; after 1952 Frank Perls Gallery, Los Angeles; by 1955 Morton D. May, St. Louis, Missouri; 1955 Saint Louis Art Museum

Yémadjé family,
Republic of Benin

Parasol, early to mid-20th century
cotton, wood, iron, rubber

This parasol’s appliquéd designs celebrate Hevioso, god of thunder, and underscore the critical interdependence between the royal court and Vodun religion. There is a parade of musicians and dancers, and above them, a band of crescents and red circles symbolize the combined moon and sun spirits, Mawu-Lisa. A ram spitting fire
(see image) or a double-blade, the ultimate symbol of Hevioso, repeats atop the parasol around a large, central star. Grand parasols such as this one amplify the presence of the highest-ranking Fon leaders. They were held aloft, with pumping and twirling motions performed by attendants, during ceremonial processions while porters carried the leader in a palanquin, like a hammock, below. The circular expanse of the parasol shielded a leader from the sun while its imagery magnified the sources and strengths of a Fon king’s or chief’s authority.

Lent by Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Simmons Family Endowment for Textiles 2024.302

Reported provenance: by 2016 Galerie Berdj Achdjian, Paris, France; 2016 Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, United States

Fon artist, Republic of Benin; Ceremonial Axe (Recade), late 19th–early 20th century; wood, brass and steel; 12 1/8 x 11 x 8 1/2 inches; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Smiley (Cecilia Sahlman, class of 1950) SC 1982.30.2

Fon artist,
Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), late 19th–early 20th century wood, metal, stone

Evoking the regality and force of its subject, this recade signifies Béhanzin (reigned 1890–1894) as the shark with its mouth open and stone eyes shining red. Tautly covered with textured metal repoussé, the recade evokes the persistence of Béhanzin’s memory despite his role as the last precolonial ruler. The recently enthroned ruler at Abomey is named Béhanzin (Dada Houegbadja Dêwênonde Béhanzin, reign 2022–present), a descendant of both the shark king and Houegbadja (reigned 1645–1685).

Schweizer Premodern, New York 2024.234

Reported provenance: by 1990 Alfred L. Scheinberg, New York, United States; c.1990–2017 Edwin and Cherie Silver, Los Angeles, California; 2017 Heinrich Schweizer, Schweizer Premodern, New York, New York

Yémadjé family,
Kingdom of Dahomey

Display Cloth, 1850–56
cotton, silk

With their bare hands and swords, three warriors subdue a lion and two enemy fighters in this textile. Identifiable by their white caps, detailed with a blue crocodile representing a specific battalion, the red figures represent the agoodjié, the Dahomey Kingdom’s female army.

The black figures reference neighboring Yoruba people, evident by linear marks suggesting facial scarifications. King Guezo (reigned 1818–1858), father of Glèlè (reigned 1858–1889), commissioned the lion motif for this display cloth in 1850—well before his son chose the lion as his own icon. Guezo offered this work to the French Emperor Napoleon III around 1850. At that time, the two negotiated over trade in palm oil, contingent upon the Dahomey Kingdom’s cessation of its trade in Yoruba captives to enslavement in Brazil. The cloth could have been a veiled protest against French interference in Guezo’s economic affairs.

Collection of the Musée des Antiquités nationales in the care of the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac 2024.311

Reported provenance: by 1850 King Guezo, Abomey, Dahomey Kingdom; c.1850 Napoleon III, Paris, France, by gift from King Guezo; Musée de l’Homme, Paris; before 1995 Musée national de la Marine, Paris; 1995 Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris

Fon artist,
Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), late 19th–early 20th century
wood, metal, stone

Schweizer Premodern, New York 2024.234

Fon Recades

Handheld scepters or recades (pronounced: ray-KODS) display iconography, or symbolic representations, of the precolonial kings of Dahomey. Based on the form of the agricultural hoe, recades were carried over the shoulder by the leader or by a royal messenger. A recade could stand in for a respective leader to the extent that a citizen would address the recade with the necessary honorifics, as though the leader himself appeared in person.

The word “recade” derives from the Portuguese term for “message.” Certain leaders of the locally practiced Vodun religion also carry recades, underscoring the critical interdependence between the royal court and Vodun. The recades’ imagery reinforces the strong names, mottos, and feats associated with the precolonial rulers. Commissioned by a French colonial officer from 1902 to 1914, this group was never utilized by Fon individuals for royal or religious purposes.

Reported provenance: 1902–1914 Auguste Le Hérissé, collected in Dahomey Kingdom; 1931 Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro, Paris, France; 1938–2003 Musée de l’Homme, Paris; 2003 Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris

Fon artist, Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), c.1910
wood, metal

I am the lion; I have my teeth; I have my claws; I spread terror.
—Strong name associated with Glèlè

Glèlè (reigned 1858–1889) was famous for his prowess and ferocity similar to that of a lion, as seen on this recade. Glèlè rebuilt the royal palace following fires set by cousins who challenged his succession to the throne after Guezo’s (reigned 1818–1858) death. Guezo’s own rule by coup was also contested. As a tool to reinforce his authority, Glèlè expanded the presence of pictorial arts throughout the kingdom.

Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Gift of Auguste Le Hérissé 2024.315

Fon artist, Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), c.1910
wood, metal

An allusion to twins, this recade illustrates a percussive double bell. The bell likely represents Hangbe (reigned c.1708), the woman leader who served as regent following the death of her twin brother, Akaba (reigned 1685–1708). However, her legacy is largely unappreciated due to her gender or her support for the rival of Akaba’s ultimate successor, Agaja (reigned 1711–1740).

Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Gift of Auguste Le Hérissé 2024.312

Fon artist, Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), c.1910
wood, metal

The hammer has its weight; the anvil has its own.
—Strong name associated with Guezo

Menacing despite its simplicity, this recade features a plain curve of wood with a spine of metal barbs. The form evokes the blacksmith’s hammer and Guezo’s motto above. Guezo (reigned 1818–1858) is credited with securing the kingdom’s independence from the Yoruba Oyo Empire. His motto captures the one-upmanship of a leader’s claim to distinction from his predecessor. Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Gift of Auguste Le Hérissé 2024.314

Fon artist, Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), c.1910
wood, metal

The galleon ship seen on this recade represents Agaja (reigned 1711–1740). He oversaw the kingdom’s expansion to the coast through the capture of the city of Ouidah, in present-day Republic of Benin. This strategic acquisition allowed the inland kingdom access to the economic windfall of transatlantic trade.

Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Gift of Auguste Le Hérissé 2024.313

Fon artist, Republic of Benin

Scepter (makpo), c.1910
wood, metal

The angry shark who troubled the sandbar.
—Strong name associated with Béhanzin

The shark, seen here, symbolizes Béhanzin (reigned 1890–1894), the final precolonial king of Dahomey, who resisted French colonization.

Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Gift of Auguste Le Hérissé 2024.316

Master of the Long-Horned Ram,
Republic of Benin

Commemorative Altar (asẽn), early 20th century
iron, cloth

A fashionable top hat, high-backed chair, umbrella for shade, and elongated pipe suggest the elevated status of the seated figure atop this staff. He represents the honored ancestor that this asẽn, or portable altar, commemorates. Livestock and imported liquor, typical offerings at ancestral altars, surround the figure. These items suggest a character of prominence underscored by access to foreign prestige items and rooted in local religious ideologies that merge Vodun and Christian practices and iconography. Gu is the Vodun deity of iron.

The imagery of the asẽn can intersect with proverbs, puns, and other oral traditions. Descendants would access a group of asẽn in a prayer room, where they would make offerings to the ancestors and seek guidance from the spiritual realm. Forged from iron and staked upright into the earth, the asẽn reinforces a family’s deep connections between lineage and land.

Yale University Art Gallery, Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection 2024.297

Reported provenance: by 2006 Charles B. Benenson, Greenwich, Connecticut, United States; 2006 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

Memory: Place and Commemoration

Memory is dependent upon the human capacity to construct narrative. This section explores arts that commemorate, document, or perpetuate histories—with particular emphasis on place. Interconnections between lineage, land, and home are invoked through a range of works in which artists make tangible traces of memory that propel individual and community identities. Many artworks address the powerful persistence of memory despite historical and contemporary challenges, including transatlantic trade, colonialism, environmental degradation, war, and migration. Most works defy linear constructs of time, suggesting the fluidities and compressions of time that are inherent to memory.

Modern and contemporary paintings, sculpture, and photography by artists working in Africa and abroad appear here in conversation with historical sculpture in wood, ivory, and metal. Audio and video works bring their subjects’ voices into the galleries as each person expresses their own narrative about rootedness in a homeland, or about leaving home behind and forging ahead in new lands.

Zizwezenyanga Qwabe
(c.1900–late 1960s or early 1970s, South Africa)

Storage Rack Panel, 1950s–60s
wood

The central motif of this carved panel consists of two concentric circles. The inner circle contains cattle, and the outer displays a microcosm of life, including dwellings, pets, and people at work. This outer circle is the kraal, the historic center of the Zulu homestead around which life was literally and figuratively organized for hundreds of years. At the right of the central scene, a chief and council represent the ibandla, a local political assembly led by a chief.

During the artist Zizwezenyanga Qwabe’s lifetime, Black South Africans were systematically disenfranchised from their historic land rights during apartheid, which destabilized structures like the ibandla and decentralized the kraal. As a result, Qwabe’s carving becomes a site of remembering traditional ways of life and resisting colonial rule.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Dori and Daniel Rootenberg, Jacaranda Gallery, New York 24:2022

Reported provenance: mid-1960s–2001 Private collection, United Kingdom; 2001–2022 Jacaranda Tribal, New York, New York, United States; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum

Gonçalo Mabunda
(born 1975, Mozambique)

The Throne of Beyond, 2019
mixed media

Firearms, mortars, and munitions compose this sculpture. Following Mozambique’s long civil war (1975–1992), government and private agencies encouraged citizens to exchange weapons of war for developmental tools such as farming implements, sewing machines, or bicycles. Using those decommissioned arms, Gonçalo Mabunda reinvented the throne, a principal symbol of authority. The resulting seat of power echoes the silhouette and ornamentation of historical Chokwe chiefs’ chairs (displayed in the Leadership section) from Angola, a former Portuguese colony that also endured its own prolonged civil war (1975–2002). The Throne of Beyond symbolically serves as a collective seat of empowerment for society to transform the devastation of war into generative possibilities.

Larkin Durey, London 2024.244

Sokari Douglas Camp
(born 1958, Nigeria, active England)

Relative, 2010
steel, acetate, glass, gold leaf

It was always nice to go to this island and to walk around the palm groves and the mounds where our people are buried. Now we have a roaring oil well beside the island and so much pollution. It is no wonder that in the region, where there are still few modern conveniences, Kalabari people are only living to their fifties.
—Sokari Douglas Camp, 2023

A pair of figures hold a framed photograph showing a pelican and its watery surroundings. Here Sokari Douglas Camp referenced memorial traditions of the eastern Niger River Delta region where she was born. During Kalabari memorial traditions, family members carry photographs of recently deceased relatives to demonstrate their relationship to those who have passed on.

Kalabari communities have long engaged in political resistance against oil companies that exploit the region’s resources. With the bird and its environment occupying the place of honor in this work, the artist invites us to consider our relationship to creatures and places we have lost due to human-caused climate change, for fear that even more become pure memory.

Courtesy of the Artist 2024.288

Sue Williamson
(born 1941, England, active South Africa)

Better Lives, I and II, 2003
single-channel color video and sound
duration: 21 minutes, looped;
each portrait 3 minutes, 30 seconds

In these video portraits, select individuals were filmed while they listened to their own voices tell their personal stories of migration to South Africa from other African countries. Each person contemplated their own journey in silence in front of a still image of urban Cape Town. The artist, also a transplant to South Africa, noted that, despite their quietude, “inevitably, small movements,– hand tapping, little nods, gave away their reactions to hearing their story.” The subjects’ subtle reactions and powerful recollections connect with universal remembrances of home and experiences of relocation. The names of each individual and their country of origin are listed below in order of appearance.

Part I
Albert and Isabelle Ngandu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
François Bangurambona, Burundi
Richard Belalufu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Part II
Cynthia Gabriel, Angola
Deka Yusuf Farrh and Nitshma, Somalia
Nelson Manuel, Angola

Courtesy of the artist and Axis Gallery, NY & NJ 2024.289

Gosette Lubondo
(born 1993, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Imaginary Trip II, no. 3, 2018
inkjet print

I read somewhere that the best journeys are the ones that don’t end. Sometimes we know where it starts, but we don’t know where it ends. It’s important for me to leave puzzles in the work.
—Gosette Lubondo, 2020

Five figures wearing blue-and-white school uniforms stand in a line facing Elikia, the artist’s invented character, who wears a red dress. This image belongs to Gosette Lubondo’s series of photographs taken at the ITP Gombe Matadi school. The institution began as a Christian mission school in 1936 and once boasted a student body of more than 500. Through the use of double exposure, the artist represented some of the school’s few present-day students as translucent figures. Although their see-through quality could suggest ghost-like visions referencing the past, it could also foreshadow dreams for the future.

Saint Louis Art Museum, The Helen Kornblum Fund for Women Photographers, and Gift of August A. Busch Jr., by exchange 40:2021

Gosette Lubondo
(born 1993, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Imaginary Trip II, no. 1, 2018
inkjet print

The majestic school is like an abandoned cemetery. I have pictured myself on stage in this setting, appearing as children, teachers, workers, silhouetting their souls in order to preserve the collective memory that is slipping away with time.
—Gosette Lubondo, 2020

Briefcase and umbrella in hand, the artist appears in a red polka-dot dress at the entrance to ITP Gombe Matadi, a regional middle school. Population flight to urban centers since the 1970s caused the school’s enrollment to dwindle. This photograph is the first in a set of 23 images. The series follows Gosette Lubondo’s character Elikia, whose name means “hope” in the Lingala language. Elikia (re-)occupies the school grounds as Lubondo envisions them through stories from her parents, local elders, and current students.

Courtesy of the artist and Axis Gallery, NY & NJ 2024.290

from left to right:

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Staff of Office (misupi), 19th century
wood, iron

Private collection 2024.240

Reported provenance: possibly Albert de Bailliencourt, Paris, France; by 1977 Alain de Monbrison, Paris; 1977 Murray Frum and Barbara Frum, Toronto, Canada; David Frum, by inheritance; 2015 Private collection, United States

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Staff of Office (kibango), early to mid-19th century
wood, iron

The concave, rectangular form of a lukasa, seen nearby, often repeats as a prominent motif along Luba chiefs’ staffs, which could also be read orally. Introduced by Mbidi Kiluwe, the first sacred king of the Luba empire, and his son Kalala Ilunga, in roughly the 17th century, a Luba chief’s staff is a key item of his inauguration. It links the leader with his ancestral lineage and migrations. The staff emphasizes the chief’s right to the land—from its iron point at the base, to its lower sculptural segment, with the fullest expression of the chief’s political power at the top.

Those staffs mirroring the lukasa motif are called kibango, and are known to be particularly mnemonic, or memory-assisting, among chiefs in the savanna. Alternatively, staffs with segments resembling paddles, called misupi, are resonant for chiefs in the river areas, evoking ancestral migrations and the legendary ferrying of Mbidi Kiluwe across a river.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2004.85 2024.292

Reported provenance: by 1888 Chief Msidi (c.1830–1891), Yeke (Garanzange) Kingdom (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 1888–1914 Frederick Stanley Arnot, probably Glasgow, Scotland; 1914–1987 Dr. Arthur A. Arnot, New York, New York, United States; 1987–c.1996 Philippe and Hélène Leloup for George Feher, New York, New York; by 1996 Morris Pinto, New York, New York; 1996–2004 Philippe and Hélène Leloup, Paris; 2004 Marie Victoire Koch, Saint Mandé, France; 2004 The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Staff of Office (kibango), late 19th–early 20th century
wood, iron, copper alloy, aluminum, brass tacks

Collection of James C. Jamieson, III 2024.150

Reported provenance: Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium; Marc Leo Felix, Brussels; by c.1997 Fred and Jens Jahn, Munich, Germany; c.1997–2008 Walter and Molly Bareiss, Greenwich, Connecticut, United States; 2008 James C. Jamieson, III United States

Sammy Baloji
(born 1978, Democratic Republic of the Congo, active United States)

Pungulume, 2016
single-channel color video and three-channel audio
duration: 28 minutes, 49 seconds, looped

I am Mpala Swanage. I am the current chief and my place in history is still in progress.
— Chief Mpala Swanage Pascal Musenge, September 2013, Fungurume, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

From three vantage points, Sammy Baloji combined interviews, landscape vistas, contemporary mining practices, and historic footage made by Belgian colonists. The artist merged these elements to examine the past, present, and future of the town of Pungulume. The Belgians could not pronounce Pungulume correctly, erroneously calling it Fungurume instead. The town and its mining corporation are referred to as Fungurume to this day. Baloji interlaced historical information and present circumstances to produce a portrait of the mountainous landscape and its inhabitants in equal measure.

History of Congo Series

That’s the significance of what I produce: It is to help one another so that we learn the history of our country correctly.
—Tshibumba Kanda Matulu

This group of four paintings represents selections from an extensive series, History of Congo, that Tshibumba Kanda Matulu painted during the 1970s. The artist created these works to document and situate events during the preceding two decades associated with the movement toward and aftermath of Congo’s independence within a longer historical context.

At the core of the History of Congo series is a narrative arc that traces Patrice Lumumba’s rise to international leadership. Lumumba advanced from a little-known bureaucrat to an activist for independence from Belgian colonial rule and ultimately to his role as the independent nation’s first prime minister.

Tshibumba Kanda Matulu
(1947–c.1981, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Attaque de l’Union Minière, c.1970–73
acrylic on flour sack

The smokestack of the Gécamines smelter at Lubumbashi marks the one place where there was fighting throughout the entire Katanga war.
—Tshibumba Kanda Matulu, 1973–1974

Remembered with intensity in this statement, the unmistakable silhouette of the mining operation’s mountainous slag heap became a lasting site of memory for pivotal moments immediately following Congo’s independence. Here the artist depicted aerial attacks and ground fighting during the Katanga war. This secessional conflict was a struggle for land rights and political unity, and became a Cold War proxy conflict. Tshibumba repeatedly revisited this subject in his paintings a decade after the 1960–1963 clash.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Eric and Jeanette Lipman Fund, 2017.81 2024.272

Reported provenance: 1970–1974 Victor Bol, Belgium, collected in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; by 2017 Etienne Bol, Belgium, by inheritance; 2017 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, United States

Tshibumba Kanda Matulu
(1947–c.1981, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Discours du 4 janvier 1959,
Les Martyrs de l’Indépendance, 1970–74
acrylic on flour sack

This painting imagines Lumumba at the fore of a pivotal anticolonial uprising at Léopoldville (present-day Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo) on January 4, 1959. Lumumba breaks away the chains of colonialism while carrying the flag of Zaire anachronistically, or chronologically out of place. Although the actual scene did not occur, the placement of Lumumba’s portrait on the left third of the composition suggests the significance of an anticolonial speech published in the Léopoldville press a day before the revolt. That uprising is now recognized as Day of the Martyrs. The artist explained that the side-by-side images “show that this event started with Lumumba’s speech.” The appearance of a flag that would not represent the country officially until 1971 highlights the artist’s ability to present compressions of time that are inherent to memory itself.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Eric and Jeanette Lipman Fund, 2017.71 2024.271

Tshibumba Kanda Matulu
(1947–c.1981, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Lumumba Signing the Livre d’Or, 1970
paint on board

I am an idea.
—Patrice Lumumba

A caricatured grin on the face of King Baudoin of Belgium, at left, contrasts with the serious expression of Patrice Lumumba as he signs the livre d’or, or golden guest book. This act served as formal acknowledgement of Congo’s independence decrees on June 30, 1960. In September 1960, Lumumba was removed from office by Joseph Kasavubu (president from 1960 to 1965) and was assassinated in January 1961 as part of a Western-backed coup plot. A martyred figure himself, Lumumba endures as a touchstone for modern Congolese memory and post-independence disappointments, as well as hopes for the future.

Collection of Nancy Rose Hunt 2024.236

Reported provenance: 1970s–c.2000 Private collection, Belgium, collected in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; c.2000 Nancy Rose Hunt, United States

Tshibumba Kanda Matulu
(1947–c.1981, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Marche d’Esclaves, 1970–74
acrylic on flour sack

In this painting, a procession of yoked and tethered captive Africans recedes into the distance. They are prodded by a figure in the foreground who wears a long blue garment and whose lighter skin color denotes a foreigner. Here Matulu referenced Congo’s involvement in both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean trades in enslaved Africans from the 16th through 19th centuries. The artist offered a reflection on the region’s complex history of trade and interaction with foreign interests that preceded the advent of European colonial rule in the late 19th century.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Gift of Pamela K. and William A. Royall, Jr., 2018.440 2024.270

Reported provenance: Pamela K. and William A. Royall, Jr., Richmond, Virginia, United States; 2018 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Memory Board (lukasa), late 19th–early 20th century
wood, beads, metal

As a mnemonic, or memory-assisting device, the lukasa is a principal tool of the elite Mbudye society, whose members are initiated to safeguard and project historical knowledge orally. The society members also serve as a political counterbalance to chiefs among Luba communities. A lukasa is not only “read” aloud, but it is also spoken into being by a mwadi, a female incarnation of a king who transmits royal memory. The mwadi dictates the design and form of a lukasa via divine inspiration.

Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marcia and John Fried 2024.280

Reported provenance: by 1976 Marcia and John Friede, Rye, New York, United States; 1976 Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Memory Board (lukasa), late 19th century
wood, beads, metal

The concave, long sides of a lukasa allowed it to be easily held in the palm of an expert’s hand. This individual could read and interpret the constellation of beads and pins dotting the surface of one side. Singular beads or beads in circles may signify specific founding leaders or noted chiefs and advisers of a community’s lineage. For example, a prominent blue bead may denote Mbidi Kiluwe, the handsome foreign hunter who succeeded Nkongolo Mwambe, remembered as the drunken and cruel first Luba king in the 16th century. A large bead encircled by smaller ones may symbolize a king or chief surrounded by dignitaries.

Private collection 2024.241

Reported provenance: Jacqueline Millodot Loudmer, Paris, France; c.1996–2016 Private collection, Paris, France, by inheritance; 2016 Private collection, United States

Kongo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, or Angola (Cabinda)

Carved Tusk, 1850–60
elephant ivory

Likely produced by a Kongo artist named Boange, this relief-carved tusk from coastal Congo bears this artist’s distinctive style. In addition to the rich detail of each scene, the figures are portrayed with physicality and expressivity that transcends their small scale.

The artist also had a knack for effectively representing the complicated local dynamics at play in this region, where many cultures interacted and influenced each other. He conveyed the violence associated with the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, the forced labor associated with colonialism, and the mixture of local and foreign dress worn by various classes of Africans. This massive sculpture is carved from the tusk of a savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana); the smaller tusk sculptures nearby originated from the diminutive forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).

The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, 71.586 2024.317

Reported provenance: c.1910 Tiffany & Company, New York, New York, United States; c.1910–1931 Henry Walters, Baltimore; 1931 The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

Kongo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, or Angola (Cabinda)

Carved Tusk, late 19th century
elephant ivory

The spiral border extending from base to point of this tusk is a suitable frame for the carver’s keen social observations presented in a series of scenes. In the Kikongo language, luzingu suggests “the coil of life,” or life cycle. Therefore, the spiral—reflecting the cycle of life in Kongo thought—is an appropriate format for depicting social life.

Kongo ivory sculptors produced carved tusks like these for sale to foreigners. The artists descended from a class of Kongo traders. They inherited a long history of service as mediators between foreigners and Indigenous peoples, since the 16th century. This legacy of cross-cultural trade and interaction likely informed the artists’ approach to crafting artworks, like this, as souvenirs for Europeans. The sculptors profited from this exchange, appealing not only to their patrons but also to long-standing local practices of visual expression.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of David R. Human Jr. 391:2020

Reported provenance: c.1991 Jeanette L. Windegger, St. Louis, Missouri, United States;
c.1991–2020 Antonio and Mary Longrais, St. Louis; 2020 Marisa Longrais Human, St. Louis; 2020 Saint Louis Art Museum

Kongo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, or Angola (Cabinda)

Carved Tusk, mid-19th century
elephant ivory

Although oriented as a spiral, the scenes carved in relief along these elephant tusks suggest a procession of figures advancing across a landscape. A medallion along the base of the tusk at left likely represents a profile of Queen Victoria of Great Britain (reigned 1837–1901). This element underscores the fraught nature of this landscape and the social dynamics depicted.

The vignettes illustrate activities associated with the bustling commercial atmosphere of 19th-century west-central Africa’s Loango coast, where the Congo River meets the Atlantic Ocean. There are porters bearing loads of trade goods overhead, captive Africans restrained by yokes and chains, and European traders. At this time the Loango coast was contested territory, as various European and American interests competed fiercely for positioning along the shore to facilitate the extraction of local natural resources.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. The Jerome L. Joss Collection. 2024.257 Reported provenance: by 1991 Jerome L. Joss, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1991 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles

Foretelling: Destiny and Healing

Diviners are mere megaphones.
— Sakutemba, a Luvale diviner in Zambia

Ritual specialists, such as diviners, are endowed with the ability to communicate between spiritual and earthly realms. Often the specialist employs objects created by artists to facilitate this work on behalf of a client who seeks to resolve any
of life’s physical or relational problems. Together, diviner and object amplify messages from the otherworld, yielding prescriptive narratives toward resolution, healing, and alignment with one’s destiny.

In this section, traditions-based works from cultures in west, central, and east Africa represent some of the many forms and techniques associated with divination practices. Historical and contemporary arts for healing facilitated by diviners, other experts, or the artists themselves, demonstrate art’s ability to foster curative and vital inspiration.

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Divination Gourd (mboko), early 20th century
gourd, bone, feathers, metal, fur, seeds

Natural items, such as seed pods, animal teeth, and bird feet, join manufactured items, like a sculpted wood figure and metal forms, to reflect the world at large. When shaken together inside the closed gourd and tossed out onto a surface, the resulting arrangement was interpreted through narrative by a diviner. These selected items served as a visual code transmitted by the spiritual realm to communicate insights toward resolving a client’s concerns. Reserved exclusively for royal diviners, called kilumbu, this technique also engaged the diviner to serve as a channel for a spirit that granted the specialist powers of clairvoyance and prophecy.

Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts. The Barry D. Maurer (Class of 1959) Collection of African Art purchased with Amherst College Discretionary Fund and funds from H. Axel Schupf (Class of 1957) 2024.287

Reported provenance: by 1999 Barry D. Maurer, West Orange, New Jersey, United States; 1999 Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Luba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Figure Portraying Diviner with Bowl, 20th century
wood, antelope horn

This figure’s composed posture, elegant hairstyle, geometric scarifications along the torso, and filed teeth suggest idealized beauty. These traits are preferred for a sculpture intended as a visual expression of mediation between the living and spiritual realms. The bowl she holds represents a gourd used as an instrument of divination. The horn placed at the top of her head would have contained powerful substances meant to enhance divinatory potential. This figure may represent the wife of the mythical diviner Mijibu wa Kalenga. An important component of a Luba diviner’s implements, the figure was placed to the left of the specialist during consultations.

Reported provenance: by 1999 Barry D. Maurer, West Orange, New Jersey, United States; 1999 Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Kuba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Friction Oracle (itoom), late 19th–early 20th century
wood, fiber

The four-legged animal portrayed here may represent a warthog or a dog. The warthog’s ability to see in the dark and the dog’s hunting prowess, fostered by its enhanced sense of smell, are ideal characteristics for divination. A diviner must harness these traits to determine the sources of clients’ concerns and the means to resolve them. Here a diviner manipulated the attached knob, in the form of a man’s head, by rubbing it rapidly across the dampened back of the animal figure while asking questions about a client’s problem. When the piece did not stick to the surface in affirmative or negative response, another question was posed. The moments when the knob got stuck along a passage back or forth were interpreted as answers.

Private collection 2024.242

Reported provenance: by 1996 Anne and Jean-Pierre Jernander, Brussels, Belgium; 1996–2004 Christophe Evers, Brussels; Patrick Didier Claes, Brussels; Michael Oliver, New York, New York, United States; 2013 Private collection, United States

Kongo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Slit-Drum, early 20th century
wood

The head carved atop this slit drum features an upright gaze and open mouth. These details suggest both the diviner singing during a consultation and the presence of an ancestor spirit who “speaks” through the instrument. When viewed in profile, the crescent-shaped silhouette of the drum may refer to the special relationship between diviners and the moon.

Reported provenance: 1932 Hans Himmelheber, Heidelberg, Germany; 1933 Carl and Amalie Kjersmeier, Copenhagen, Denmark; 1977 Laurence Sunde, Copenhagen; by 1988 Irwin and Marcia Hersey, New York, New York, United States; 1988 Barry D. Maurer, West Orange, New Jersey; 1999 Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Songye artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Friction Oracle (katatora), early 20th century
wood

Two faces looking in opposite directions are often seen on divination implements. Their function is to facilitate an exchange between the dual realms of the living and the spiritual. Both the diviner and client interacted closely to activate this ring-shaped oracle. Facing one another, each individual held the object between them by grasping the object’s opposite handles with their thumbs and first two fingers. Opening a conversation with the consulting spirit, the diviner inquired into the cause of the client’s misfortune using a series of yes-no questions. As long as the queries did not pertain directly to the problem, the instrument remained motionless. However, when the questions touched upon the problem, the object moved in coded ways that helped shed light on the cause of the client’s affliction.

Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts. Gift of the Estate of Barry D. Maurer (Class of 1959) 2024.281

Reported provenance: by 1999 Barry D. Maurer, West Orange, New Jersey, United States; 1999 Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Yaka artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Slit-Drum Power Object (n-kookwa ngoombu), 19th century
wood, iron, seedpods, fiber, fur, horn, glass, beads, organic material

Originally produced as a percussive instrument, this sculpture was transformed into a power object by the addition of materials and substances considered medicinally and spiritually potent. The prominent ears of this anthropomorphic, or human-like, instrument indicate the vital importance of auditory input for Yaka ngoombu diviners. When this object was struck, the diviner’s speech changed from conversational to a stylized vocalization that indicated the ancestors were speaking through the n-kookwa ngoombu. The high-crested headdress reflects the diviner’s important status as a leader in society.

Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund 22.1461 2024.279

Reported provenance: by 1922 François Poncelet, Brussels, Belgium; 1922 Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, United States

Baule artist,
Côte d’Ivoire

Mouse Oracle Bowl (gbékré sè), early to mid-20th century
wood, metal

This divination device consists of three parts: container, lid, and set of metal rods. However, mice are required to fully activate the object. During
a consultation, the diviner placed the attached metal rods inside along with food to attract the mice, whose movements rearranged the rods while the client gently tapped against the exterior and posed questions. The diviner then interpreted the configuration of rods in light of the client’s specific problem.

Reported provenance: by 1999 Barry D. Maurer, West Orange, New Jersey, United States; 1999 Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Ifá: Yoruba Divination

Ifá is the name of a divinity who also goes by the name of Orunmila among the Yoruba religion’s many deities, or orishas. Ifá also includes a divination technique observed by millions of people worldwide and a body of oral narratives. These elements serve as the basis of Yoruba divination practice and training of its specialists, who are called a babalawo if male or an iyalawo if female.

This vast divination canon, which is entirely oral and comprised of myths, legends, praise poetry, historical accounts, and lists of sacrifices and medicines and their effects, is organized as 256 odus, or chapters. Each of those odus consists of 800 verses. Although its study and recitations aim to preserve and retain the integrity of the odu Ifá, the diviner has freedom to innovate in certain parts of the verses. Thus Ifá oral narratives are not timeless and immutable, but are shaped by history.

In order to identify which sections of the divination canon are relevant for a client, the babalawo or iyalawo relies on a sophisticated method to single out one of the 256 odu. This technique involves several tools, including a tapper, a board, and a divining chain, as well as a set of 16 palm nuts.

Yoruba artist,
Nigeria

Oracle Chain (opele), mid-20th century
beads, nuts, metal, fibers

For less important matters, the diviner utilizes a more efficient technique involving the opele Ifá, or divination chain. The opele Ifá consists of eight bisected fruit capsules from the opele tree (Schroebera arborea) joined on a single chain. With his right hand, the babalawo tosses the chain in front of him in such a way that the halved nuts fall in two parallel lines. Each half nut will land either hollow side up or convex face up, generating one of 256 permutations, or specific results, in a single cast.

It is crucial to be able to distinguish the left and right sides of the opele, which is why there is an asymmetrical distribution of bead colors and patterns. Here a Christian medallion is attached to one half nut. This remarkable addition illustrates the creativity on the part of the ritual specialist in visually combining different belief systems for greater efficacy.

Lent by Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Rebecca and Ben Field Endowment for Art Acquisition 2024.304

Reported provenance: by 2015 Seward Kennedy, London, United Kingdom; by 2019 Michael Backman LTD, London; 2019 Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, United States

Yoruba artist,
Nigeria Divination

Tapper (iroke Ifá), mid-19th–early 20th century
ivory, iron

To initiate a divination session, the babalawo, or diviner, strikes the point of the tapper several times against the tray in order to invoke the Yoruba god of fate, Orunmila. The diviner then continues to make markings on the tray that record the results of a series of eight castings of the palm nuts. These markings refer the diviner to a specific chapter of the 256 odu Ifá (Ifá divination canon) to address a client’s needs. The more visually appealing the diviner’s tools, the more pleasing they are to Orunmila, and thus more effective with the appeals of the diviner and client.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of William C. Siegmann 37:2013

Reported provenance: c.1987–2013 William C. Siegmann and estate, New York, New York, United States; 2013 Saint Louis Art Museum

Areogun of Osi-Ilorin
(c.1880–1954, Nigeria)

Divination Board (opon Ifá), early to mid-20th century
wood

Although the sculptural border of this divination board is organized into eight segments, the large, stylized face of Eshu, dominates. Eshu is the messenger and trickster god who mediates between the spiritual and living worlds. A circular pattern representing cowrie shells surrounds the flat surface of the board. This open plane is the site where the diviner first applies a coating of sand or sawdust and then casts 16 palm nuts to initiate a consultation.

The Newark Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Bernard M. Wagner, 2007 2024.307

Reported provenance: Charles Jones, North Carolina, United States; by 2007 Dr. Bernard and Patricia Wagner, United States; 2007 The Newark Museum of Art, Newark, New Jersey

Romuald Hazoumè
(born 1962, Republic of Benin)

Extraction, 2009
acrylic and earth pigments on canvas

I began to paint my research and to answer my questions about Fâ.
—Romuald Hazoumè

Geometric forms and layers of earthen and synthetic colors make up this painting. They reflect the artist’s extensive study of divination systems relevant to his own cultural heritages. Ifá, the Yoruba divination system explored in this section, has been adapted throughout West Africa—including by Fon people, whose version of this system is called Fâ.

Descended from a famous Yoruba diviner, the artist embarked on extensive research into Ifá, Fâ, and related practices in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Since 1993 Romuald Hazoumè has created a related series of paintings. From that series, Extraction evokes the sacredness of Fâ and may allude to the opon Ifá’s round or circular form and du symbols that the bokonon, a Fâ diviner, interprets. Additionally, the painting reflects religious values associated with the Vodun religion, which originated among Fon peoples, and for which Fâ is an essential aid.

Courtesy of the artist and October Gallery, London. 2024.160

Bamana artist,
Mali

Power Object (boli), 20th century
organic materials over wood and nail support

The undulating form and encrusted surface of this boli figure conceal layer upon layer of symbolically potent materials. In this way, the boli serves as a metaphor for the development of narrative itself, accumulating many meanings over time.

A Bamana diviner instructed a client about the specific materials to gather for incorporation into a figure such as this one. The practitioner prescribed each item in accordance with symbolism drawn from Bamana and Islamic oral traditions, adapted to suit the needs of the particular client. This powerful composite of object, its specific components, and the orally communicated meanings informing it made the boli an effective mediator for healing and resolution.

Private collection 2024.148

Reported provenance: by 1997 Tambaran Gallery, New York, New York, United States; 1997 Private collection, United States

Ethiopian Scrolls

Religious or mystical imagery, such as guardian angels and an eight-pointed star, served as meditative focal points for the clients who commissioned these scrolls.

Healing scrolls served as items for personal restoration and protection according to hybrid modes of faith. A ritual specialist prepared the healing scroll for the specific needs of a client. This process involved uniting script in the Ethiopian liturgical language, Ge‘ez, with imagery drawn from local, Christian, and Islamic sources. The scroll’s extensive text offered a narrative of ritual that directed the client-owner in the necessary curative actions and utterances and imbued the scroll itself with protective power.

Amhara artist or Tigrinya artist, Ethiopia

Healing Scroll, late 18th century
parchment, pigment

Saint Louis Art Museum, Mary Jo and David Abrahamson Endowment 102:2022

Reported provenance: c.1980 Private collection, Paris, France; 1999–2007 Joseph Knopfelmacher, Manhattan, New York, United States; 2007–2022 Milos Simovic, New York, New York; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum

Ethiopian artist, Ethiopia

Healing Scroll, c.18th–19th century
ink on parchment

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, From the Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection, Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2012.314 2024.269

Reported provenance: by 2004 Robert Hendler, Los Angeles, California, United States; 2004–2012 Robert and Nancy Nooter, Washington, DC; 2012 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia

Gedewon (1939–1995, Ethiopia)

Mähärabi, 1988
pen, marker, ink on paper

Swirling, gridded, and multicolor elements make up the protective designs in this drawing. The artist referred to his creations as “talismans of research and study.” After carefully interviewing his clients to understand the possible origins of their ailments, the artist devised his compositions of protective motifs and selected colors intended to lure and trap the malignant forces plaguing a client. The practice of amuletic arts, like the healing scrolls nearby, and Qene, an oral improvisational poetic form integral to his formation in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, informed Gedewon’s artistic practice.

Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac 2024.322

Ibrahim El-Salahi

When I work, I don’t feel pain at all . . .
Images enter my mind and flow through to my fingers.
—Ibrahim El-Salahi, 2019

Ibrahim El-Salahi has long created art that intertwines calligraphic lines and marks with prayer, as seen in these drawings. As a young student of Islam, he practiced drafting Qur’anic verses on writing boards, like the example nearby. In 2016 El-Salahi began suffering from extreme back pain, followed by a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The artist then began transforming the cardboard packaging of his prescription medications into a surface for hundreds of drawings. El-Salahi has described his experience of finding transcendence from physical pain through the meditative process of drawing.

Ibrahim El-Salahi (born 1930, Sudan)

Pain Relief Drawing, 2016–18
pen and ink on paper

Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, NY 2024.163, 164, 165, 166

Hausa artist,
Nigeria

Writing Board, late 20th century
wood, leather, plant fiber, pigment

The faded ink of handwritten Arabic script on the surface attests to this board’s use by students of Islam to practice memorizing verses from the Qur’an. Learning is acquired through repetition by writing and washing away the scripts over and over. Muslims and others have also ascribed healing properties to the boards and the scripts written upon them. Powerful or prayerful verses pertinent to a follower’s needs would be washed off, and the ink water collected and ingested to receive the healing Word of God more effectively.

Gift of Dr. Martha J. Ehrlich 101:2024

Reported provenance: Charles Jones, North Carolina, United States; c.2010 Martha Ehrlich, United States

Inland Niger Delta artist,
Mali

Protective Tunic, mid- to late 20th century
cotton, ink

Constructed from eight strips of locally spun and stripwoven cloth, this tunic is designed to convey good fortune to the wearer. The garment is covered with the name of Allah, prayerful words in Arabic, “magic squares,” and other geometric designs considered talismanic or miraculous. An Imam would first write an appropriate section from the Qur’an with ink on a wood prayer board, then wash off this text into a container with other ingredients. This liquid would then be painted onto the cloth as a primer. When dry, the resulting smooth, stiff surface would support additional scripts and symbols applied in ink. An individual requiring this special protection would wear the finished tunic secretly beneath outer garments.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Endowment Fund 120:2022

Reported provenance: Yaya Fofana, Segou, Mali; by c.2010 Herve Derrien, London, United Kingdom; c.2010–2021 John Gillow, London; 2021–2022 Duncan Clarke (Adire African Textiles), London; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum

Bamana artist,
Mali

Cloth (bogolanfini), 20th century
cotton, natural dye

The spray of dots at the top of this cloth is called tiga farani. These words refer to peanut shells and the female domain of cultivating peanuts, emphasizing women’s association with fertility and productivity.

Bogolan, or “mud cloth,” can offer supernatural protection for its wearer. These textiles are created by submerging the cloth in a series of botanical dye baths and hand applying mud-resist patterns. Artists may select sources of natural pigments according to the desired effects of color and tone, as well as the gender identity or related spiritual needs of a cloth’s intended wearer. Some of these materials or their sites of origin may be considered especially fertile to promote procreation, or medicinal to foster a hunter’s success and safety in the wild. The patterns themselves may also symbolically communicate messages that reinforce these meanings, describe a historical event, or reference the tale of an epic hero.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of William C. Siegmann 1175:2010

Reported provenance: 1984–2010 Dr. William C. Siegmann (1943–2011) and estate, Brooklyn, New York, United States; 2010 Saint Louis Art Museum

Gora Mbengue (1931–1988, Senegal)

Amadou Bamba and Kneeling Devotees, early 1970s
paint on glass

This painting and another nearby feature a man wearing a voluminous white robe and head covering that conceals much of his shadowed face. The subject is Sheikh Amadou Bamba (1853–1927), who founded the Mouride sect of Sufi Islam in Senegal. These portrayals, based on the only known photograph of Bamba, published in 1917, have spurred imagery created by his followers as acts of devotion. The likenesses bestow baraka, or blessings, on the artist and anyone who lays eyes on the representation. Quiet scenes like this one exemplify piety and the devotional nature of this imagery. Here the saint holds prayer beads and the Qur’an while devotees kneel at his feet. His followers are known to touch their foreheads to images of Bamba in moments of prayer and to receive blessings and healing.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Patsy O’Connell 81:2021

Reported provenance: c.1973–2021 Patricia O’Connell, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, collected in Dakar, Senegal; 2021 Saint Louis Art Museum

Mor Gueye (born 1926, Senegal)

Amadou Bamba Praying on the Waters, 1998
acrylic paint on glass

This painting portrays a pivotal moment in Amadou Bamba’s biography and one of his many miraculous acts. Considered a political threat by the French colonial administration in Senegal, Bamba was exiled in 1895. He was prohibited from praying aboard the ship transporting him to Gabon, the first location of his deportation, and was taunted by passengers. In this scene Bamba disembarks to cast his prayer mat upon the water. There, he completes his prayers and ablutions assisted by angels, who also protect him from dangerous sea creatures and the colonial sympathizers on the ship.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Doran H. Ross. 2024.258

Reported provenance: by 1988 Doran H. Ross, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1998 Fowler Museum, Los Angeles

Ancestral Wisdoms and Allegory

Visual arts illuminate ancestral connections and orally transmitted knowledge. This is relevant not only for elite or spiritual pursuits but also for guiding everyday approaches to life or making social commentary.

A spectrum of proverb-rich Akan arts from Ghana provides a basis for exploring intersections between the visual and verbal in other African regions. The meanings of these works are highly variable according to the context. Many employ allegorical modes based on iconography recognizable by their intended audiences, while others incorporate text with images to impart morals to their viewers.

Other artists honor their sources of insight and empowerment less directly. The convergence of studio-based, traditions-based, and vernacular artistic modes from past to present demonstrates their enduring value to artists and their audiences alike. These works make accessible and more tangible wells of inherited wisdom through visual forms.

Asafo Company Arts

In principle, a Fante town’s Asafo companies must set aside their differences and collaborate in times of war to protect and defend their community against a familiar foe. In peacetime, though, they are competitors.
—Nii Quarcoopome, 2024

Asafo companies originated as military groups that protected their communities from instability and warfare caused by regional activities associated with the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Today, the groups are primarily social organizations, comprised of lineage-based members, promoting general civic well-being. Rivalries between companies inspire boasting about military or political accomplishments, especially those pertaining to Europeans. Companies also taunt and ridicule one another. The use of flags is highly competitive; opposing companies often react to each other’s flag imagery. Newly created flags respond to and fuel an ongoing, dynamic dialogue.

A long banner being paraded by Dentsifo No. 2 Company Gomoa Dago during the Akwambo Festival, Cape Coast, Ghana. Photograph by Silvia Forni, 2014

Akedaa Nana Obosu
(born late 19th or early 20th century, Ghana)

Asafo Banner, 1945–50
cotton, synthetic fiber

An orator leads a royal procession. He is followed by sword-bearers, musicians, and other attendants surrounding a queen mother, who is seated upon a royal stool. These figures look upon a landscape and witness an important event.

A yellow band suggests a river, seen teeming with fish and surrounded by waterfowl. Beyond, wide-leafed trees represent oil palms (Elaeis guineensis) that frame a multicolored orchard. Between the stream and plantation, two figures wearing pith helmets share a document while an inkwell and pen sit on the table nearby. These individuals appear to be a Fante leader and a European, represented in black and pink cloth, respectively. Their placement among rich natural resources and the suggestion of document signing indicates that land rights—possibly those of a Fante community
(re-)gaining ownership from a colonial concession—are central to this banner’s narrative.

Yale University Art Gallery, Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903, Fund 2024.295

Reported provenance: by 1995 Omar Diakite; 1995 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

probably Kweku Kakanu
(c.1910–1982, Ghana)

Asafo Flag (frankaa), 1930s–40s
cotton, silk

Four large figures, two black and two white silhouettes, focus their attention on an orb where two small yellow figures play a game of checkers. The female figures to the right represent ancestral female spirits, evident by their representation as white and their tall, pointed hairstyle, popular in the 19th century. To the left of the figures, a spider rests on a royal stool. The insect is Ananse, the originator of Akan wisdom and oral traditions. Through the inclusion of Ananse, spirit mothers, and a game of strategy like checkers, the Asafo company that owned this flag boasted its ability to outwit any opponent through its claims to ancestral sources of intellect and strength.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given in memory of Pauline E. Ashton 117:2022

Reported provenance: Yaw Denteh, Kumasi, Ghana; by c.1990 A. Danquah, London, United Kingdom; early 1990s–2022 Peter Adler, London; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

probably Kweku Kakanu
(c.1910–1982, Ghana)

Asafo Flag (frankaa), 1930s–40s
cotton, silk

From the right, two soldiers carrying rifles follow behind a spirit mother. In front of her, a figure squats carrying a drum. Typically, the drummer would lead and inspire warriors into battle. Instead, this one sits still, not on a prestige stool, but on another stool in fear. He is unable to lead his group to military and political success. This scene was intended to taunt opposing Asafo groups by accusing them of cowardice.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Endowment Fund 118:2022

Reported provenance: Yaw Denteh, Kumasi, Ghana; by c.1990 A. Danquah, London, United Kingdom; early 1990s–2022 Peter Adler, London; 2022 Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

A dancer wielding a flag belonging to his Asafo company at the Fetu Afahye festival, Cape Coast, Ghana. Photograph by Silvia Forni, 2015

Osei Bonsu
(1900–1977, Ghana, active England)

Orator’s Staff (okyeame poma), c.1930
wood, gold leaf

Nea adee wo no na odi, nye nea ekom de noi.
The food is for the man who owns it and not for the man who is hungry.
—Akan proverb

Two men sit facing each other at a table; one reaches for food while the other holds his stomach. This staff communicates the Akan proverb above, suggesting the responsibility of power rests with the king or chief. It bears the signature style of Osei Bonsu, a renowned artist who worked for the royal Asante court in Kumasi, Ghana. Bonsu’s work is recognizable by the high, sloping heads and almond-shaped eyes of the human figures.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Steve and Linda Nelson. 2024.248a-c

Reported provenance: by 1988 Steve and Linda Nelson, United States; 1988 Fowler Museum,
Los Angeles, California

Asante artist,
Ghana

Orator’s Staff (okyeame poma) Finial, 1970–90
wood, gold leaf, pigment

The boy does not know the lion.
—Akan proverb

A boy’s hand hovers over the back of a lion, warning of the dangers of naivete in unequal power relationships. The intersection of visual imagery and spoken language is most evident in Akan political contexts. Proverb use became integral to Akan royal courts and blossomed as an art form. Akan orators’ staffs, are especially emblematic of this relationship between the verbal and visual—which scholars have dubbed “the verbal-visual nexus.”

Dr. Martha J. Ehrlich 2024.305

Reported provenance: Martha Ehrlich, United States

Osei Bonsu
(1900–1977, Ghana, active England)

Orator’s Staff (okyeame poma), 1947–56
wood, gold leaf

A man sits upon an Akan traditional stool, which is an official emblem of chiefly office. He holds an egg upright with his fingertips, signaling the delicate responsibilities of governance. An orator’s staff (okyeame poma) like this features a figurative finial, usually covered in gold leaf or foil atop a carved stem, that communicates a message. Held only by an orator, or linguist, who speaks on behalf of a king or chief, the okyeame poma signals both important political messages and the orator’s authority as a liaison between the ruler and public. While simultaneously suggesting authority and the elusiveness of power, the finial of this staff also affirms the leader’s avowed commitment to protect the state.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr., 97.1267.1,.2 2024.266.1,.2

Reported provenance: by 1997 Alfred C. Glassell, Jr, Houston, Texas, United States; 1997 The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Asante artist,
Ghana

Orator’s Staff (okyeame poma) Finial, 1895–1905 wood, gold leaf

Ananse a mpe anwene hi anwene, na onwene tempon mu.
A spider that does not wish to spin spins its web on a much-frequented road [where the people passing soon break it].
—Akan proverb

Several spiders rest on a circular spiderweb, while two figures face each other on either side. The spiders represent Kweku Ananse, the Akan folkloric character credited with endowing wisdom and knowledge to humans. Ananse is also known as a trickster whose cunning can cause chaos. The staff adorned with this finial would have communicated the chief’s character or suggested the attitude of his court more generally. However, an audience’s understanding of the message varied according to the specific context in which a linguist carried the staff.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr., 97.1269 2024.264

Reported provenance: by 1997 Alfred C. Glassell, Jr., Houston, Texas, United States; 1997 The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Counterweights for Measuring Gold
(mrammuo)

Miniature cast brass sculptures that precolonial Akan peoples used to accurately measure gold dust abound with symbolic or proverbial significance. Commonly referred to as “gold weights,” some represent familiar animals or objects while others portray more complex interactions. These symbols and narratives often communicate moral guidance and sources of wisdom, or convey critiques about power dynamics. The meaning of some interpretations is unclear, which highlights the changeability of gold-weight symbolism dependent on a specific context, a challenge fundamental to oral traditions.

Visit Global Connections Gallery 237 in the Main Building to see more examples of gold weights from the Museum’s collection. The gallery explores historical contexts of trade and commerce in precious materials that linked regions including West Africa to global networks during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Moral Guidance and Sources of Wisdom

Akan artists, Ghana
Figurative Counterweights

18th century
copper alloy

The mythical bird who looks behind to learn from history and the ancestors embodies the Akan principle called Sankofa. Move forward by learning from the past.

19th century
copper alloy

Nyansapɔ, kwasea ntumi nsane gye sɛ nyansafoɔ,
The knot of wisdom, a fool cannot untie it; it takes a wise man.
—Akan proverb

c.1600–1720
copper alloy

The ram’s horns represent strength and humility in balance, suggesting the Akan principle of dwennimmen.

c.1600–1720
copper alloy

Anoma ne nua ne nea goie no da.
—Akan proverb

Like the English expression “birds of a feather flock together,” this image and its corresponding proverb convey the importance of collective social ties.

19th century
copper alloy

The chief permitted to use the elephant tail is the greatest chief.
Wealth is synonymous with feces, and the elephant delivers the most.
—Akan proverb

late 18th–early 19th century
copper alloy

Even the farmer has time to smoke his pipe. As long as the head remains, there will be loads to carry.
—Akan proverb

19th century
copper alloy

The talking drum communicates messages over the furthest distance.
—Akan proverb

late 18th century
copper alloy

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D. May 596:1983, 727:1983, 631:1983, 715:1983, 719:1983, 764:1983, 617:1983

Reported provenance: by 1974–1983 Morton D. May, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; 1983 Saint Louis Art Museum

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin S. Novack 50:1957

Reported provenance: by 1957 Mr. and Mrs. Alvin S. Novack, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; 1957 Saint Louis Art Museum

Power Relations

Akan artists, Ghana
Figurative Counterweights

19th century
copper alloy

Ana ka wo yayaya, a woku no yayaya.
When the scorpion stings you mercilessly, you must kill it in the same spirit.
—Akan proverb

c.1600–1720
copper alloy

The chameleon catches the scorpion as its prey.
—Akan proverb

late 19th century
copper alloy

When the snake attacks the frog, it is not because of the sweet taste of the meat; it is for the poison.
—Akan proverb

19th century
copper alloy

Onankanini da ase anya ngwam.
The python lies patiently on the ground yet captures a toucan.
—Akan proverb

c.1600–1720
copper alloy

Nnkoko ntokwa.
Conflicts are resolved through dialogue.
—Akan proverb

Birds pecking at the back of this creature is futile because it has a protective shell. This image embodies the proverb above.

late 18th–early 19th century
copper alloy

A commentary on power dynamics, this counterweight portrays a leopard who has caught a bird as its prey.

19th century
copper alloy

The hunter carries a gun but does not see the leopard behind him.
—Akan proverb

19th century
copper alloy

The chief permitted to use the elephant tail is the greatest chief. Wealth is synonymous with feces, and the elephant delivers the most.
—Akan proverb

19th century
copper alloy

A bird of warfare carries a keg of gunpowder. This image embodies the Akan principle, santrokofi, encouraging careful consideration of the consequences of war.

19th century
copper alloy

When you conquer your enemies, take their jawbone. They will sing your praises.
—Akan proverb

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D. May 579:1983, 621:1983, 573:1983, 578:1983, 746:1983, 698:1983, 753:1983, 708:1983

Reported provenance: by 1974–1983 Morton D. May, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; 1983

Saint Louis Art Museum Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin S. Novack 65:1957, 48:1957

Reported provenance: by 1957 Mr. and Mrs. Alvin S. Novack, St. Louis, Missouri, United States; 1957 Saint Louis Art Museum

Kwame Akoto / Almighty God Artworks
(born 1950, Ghana)

Stop Let Us Sell Him, 2012
automotive enamel paints on board

A man stands in a suit and tie while a group of earthly and otherworldly creatures perch above in a tree. Text on his forehead suggests the man is “for sale” at the price of 15,000 Ghanaian cedis. In this painting, just one installment in Kwame Akoto’s wide-ranging Witches and Wizards series, the artist critiques prominent individuals’ susceptibility to corruption. Based in Kumase, Ghana, the seat of the Asante court, Akoto has innovated the verbal-visual nexus by drawing upon the Bible and evangelical Christian perspectives. By incorporating text into his paintings, the artist communicates his intended messages more directly with his viewers.

The Newark Museum of Art, Purchase 2012 2024.306

Akan artist,
Ghana

Comb (duafe), late 19th–early 20th century
wood

The high forehead, sweeping eyebrows, thin nose, pursed lips, and neck rings of this comb’s central figure identify her as an embodiment of physical beauty. She echoes the akua’ba fertility doll (see image) positioned here above a prestige stool. On either side of the akua’ba and stool are nyansapo, or wisdom knots. Just above the comb’s teeth, a rifle is lightly incised. This comb would have been given from a husband to his wife. The gift’s rich symbolism is intended to embody the life the couple would hope to build together. They dream of a family, wise decision-making, power, and protection from rivals.

Yale University Art Gallery, Bequest of Paul F. Walter 2024.301

Reported provenance: 1965 Merton D. Simpson, New York, New York, United States; René Rasmussen, Paris, France; William W. Brill, New York, New York; 2006–2017 Paul F. Walter, New York, New York; 2018 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

Asante artist, Ghana; Doll (akua’ba), early–mid-20th century; wood, glass beads; 16 1/2 x 6 7/8 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Thomas Alexander 155:1977

Ewe artist,
Ghana or Togo

Man’s Wrapper (adanuvor), 1920–39
cotton, silk

Amagba le gbe ŋuti ha nye ame na e f e fometכwo.
A leaf on a shrub is critical to the plant.
[Every person is vital to the family.]

Asi f odi kpekpe magbe nu gbכ
A dirty hand is still a friend of the mouth.
[Useful things may still be useful despite flaws.]

Koklo masenu okple botsui zona.
The chicken that misbehaves goes together with botsui, the cooking spice.

—Ewe proverbs

This cloth features five repeated motifs: hat, snake, leaf, chicken, and hand. The hat (dzegba) refers to that worn by a ritual specialist. The snake references a deity (Da). The leaf (ama) may indicate that the cloth’s original owner was an herbalist expert in the healing and protective powers of plants.

Like several neighbors of the Akan of southern Ghana, Ewe peoples also possess a rich tradition of visual language involving not only proverbs but metaphors, riddles, poetry, and song. Most Ewe consider woven cloth as “vocal” through imagery as cloth-woven design speaks to social, spiritual, and moral issues.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by the Third Wednesday Group 19:2017

Reported provenance: c.1990–1995 Karun Thakar, London, United Kingdom; 2013–2017 Duncan Clarke, London; 2017 Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Fante artist,
Ghana

Drum (ntan), early 20th century
wood, hide, pigment, metal, wire

A pair of prominent female breasts above two circles bordered by bullet casings form the focal point of this drum. Considered the “face” of the entertainment group who performed with it, the drum appeared and was played at social functions. The representation of ammunition suggests the military origins of Asafo companies and the competitive spirit that bolsters each group’s collective visual and verbal expressions.

On the instrument’s other side, the inscription, “FOSO NTSINMA NUMBER ONE,” hints at the Asafo company’s ownership and origin in Assin Fosu, located in the Cape Coast region of Ghana. The drum may have served as an Asafo company’s official emblem, as suggested by the depiction of armed soldiers marching behind their leader carrying a whip. The relief-carved alphabet, scales of justice, and British pound sterling suggest the group’s alignment with British-colonial education, systems of law and governance, and sources of wealth.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Leah Ward Sears and Haskell Sears Ward 60:2021a-k

Reported provenance: Juanita St. John, Los Angeles, California, United States; by 1996–2021, Haskell Sears Ward, Atlanta, Georgia; 2021 Saint Louis Art Museum

Speaking through Khangas

Originating in the 19th century, khangas were worn by formerly enslaved women to signal their status as free members of Swahili Coast society. In the 20th century, the cloth emerged as a marker of Swahili identity worn by people from all walks of life to commemorate special occasions. Typically, a khanga design consists of a rectangle with a central motif, a border, and a line of text (see image). For women especially, the text on khangas has been useful to communicate critical or personal messages that might not be expressed aloud in a conservative, patriarchal society. Artists Kawira Mwirichia and Lawrence Lemaoana have found inspiration from khanga textiles to address contemporary issues as seen here.

Rivatex / Rift Valley Textiles (founded 1975, Kenya); Khanga (Pears: WAFINYANZI HUPIKIA VIGAE), c.1975; cotton; 43 x 120 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of an anonymous donor 55:2024

Kawira Mwirichia (1986–2020, Kenya)
printed by Haria’s Stamp Shop Limited,
Nairobi, Kenya, founded 1958

To Revolutionary Type Love: Brazil
(MZIKI WANGU MAISHA, NAWE VIATU VYA KUSAKATA RHUMBA),
designed 2017, printed 2023
digital print on polyester

In the central panel of this printed khanga cloth, layered “thumbs-up” outlines form black and white semicircles on a green background. Full-circle versions line the cloth’s purple border. The thumbs-up design was sourced from the logo for the São Paulo Pride Parade Association (Associação da Parada do Orgulho LGBT de São Paulo), which has organized that Brazilian city’s annual Pride parade since 1999. This cloth is one of some 40 khangas that Kawira Mwirichia designed digitally as part of a series (see selections nearby). Mwirichia expanded khangas’ history of speaking out against oppression by adopting the khanga format to advocate for queer people worldwide.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 56:2024

Zulu and Xhosa Beadworks

Across Zulu- and Xhosa-speaking cultures in South Africa, beaded adornments convey social information about identity, social rank, personal style, and status of romantic involvement. The larger, multipaneled neckpieces likely indicated their wearers’ married status. The small square or rectangular components suggest an earlier iteration popularly referred to as “love letters.”

Young women created these versions for their beloveds to “read.” The maker selected colors and patterns to communicate her affections and sentiments about the progress of the relationship. Such readings were facilitated by language; male recipients were often dependent on sisters, cousins, and other female friends and relatives to explain the intricacies of meaning. Regional differences and changes over time added to the challenge of the interpretation.

Zulu artist, South Africa

Neckpiece (ithemba/ipasi), late 19th century
beads, string, metal

Yale University Art Gallery, Leonard C. Hanna Jr., Class of 1913, Fund 2024.299

Reported provenance: c.1990s Michael Graham-Stewart, London, United Kingdom; Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa; 2000 African Bank Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa; 2020–2021 Michael Stevenson as agent for African Bank, Johannesburg; 2021 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Zulu artist, South Africa

Neckpiece (ithemba/ipasi), late 19th century
beads, string, button

Yale University Art Gallery, Leonard C. Hanna Jr., Class of 1913, Fund 2024.300

Mfengu artist, South Africa

“Keeper of the Heart” Necklace (isigcina), first half 20th century
glass beads, mother-of-pearl buttons, fiber, sinew

Saint Louis Art Museum, Director’s Discretionary Fund 33:2023

Reported provenance: by 1980s Lionel Finneran and Marion Finneran (neé Philips), Cape Town, South Africa; late 1980s–1997 Gerald Philips, Cape Town, South Africa; 1997–2023 Axis Gallery, West Orange, New Jersey, United States; 2023 Saint Louis Art Museum

Zulu artist,
South Africa

“Love Letter” Necklace, 1970s
glass beads, fishing wire

Bold, graphic text in white stands out against a black background on the pendant of this beaded necklace. The phrase “mina ngabelwa” in the Zulu language roughly translates to “I was assigned.” The individual words mina, nga, and belwa may be interpreted as “I,” “may,” and “fight,” respectively.

Although the identities and context surrounding this necklace’s maker and recipient were not recorded, either message implies strong opposition to the situation. For instance, she may have fought an assigned marriage. If, instead, the text was made for the late 20th-century art market for foreign travelers in South Africa, it might communicate resistance to that country’s systemic apartheid, or racial segregation that disenfranchised the non-white majority, in a bold declaration of self-realization and autonomy.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Morton D. May, by exchange 48:1987

Reported provenance: Les and Edie Dishy, Johannesburg, South Africa; by 1987 Alona Dishy (La Perla), St. Louis, Missouri, United States; 1987 Saint Louis Art Museum

Lawrence Lemaoana
(born 1982, South Africa)

Fortune Tellers 3 (Sign Up to Be a Man), 2008
cotton

A rugby player, comprised of pink printed and solid cloths, kneels and gazes upward without eyes. Above, another patchwork figure poses with fist raised and knee hiked. Embroidered text reads: “Manly Sun / Sign Up to Be a Man!”

The celebratory figure references a 2008 photograph of Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. That image appeared on the front page of a South African newspaper just before Zuma overcame charges of corrupt arms dealings and two years after he was acquitted of rape charges. Subsequently, Zuma was elected president of South Africa. The khanga held particular significance in the latter trial. The politician cited the victim’s attire—a khanga—as evidence that their interaction was consensual. While Zuma serves as a specific example, the rugby player alludes to a larger culture of misogyny and homophobia represented by a national obsession with the sport’s version of masculinity.

Collection Gervanne + Matthias Leridon, Paris. (Courtesy of Afronova Gallery) 2024.321

Aïda Muluneh
(born 1974, Ethiopia)

Denkinesh: Birth on the Ground, Climbing, Standing, 2016
archival digital prints

From within the earth, she rises. From hands and knees, she stands. Aïda Muluneh gives a face, a body, and a visual narrative to Denkinesh. Paleoanthropologists excavated the partial skeleton of this 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis in Ethiopia in 1974. Called Denkinesh in the Amharic language, the remains became known in Western media as “Lucy.”

This discovery provided evidence that hominins, extinct predecessors to humans, stood upright. By picturing a contemporary human model in her reimagining of Denkinesh, Muluneh asks viewers to reconsider the categories of human, animal, nature, and culture and each of those categories’ connections to land. If standing upright does not distinguish us from early hominins, perhaps culture, as signified by paint and cloth here, does. Or perhaps these distinctions are not rock solid; we are all united by living life on Earth.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Friends Endowment Fund and funds given by Adrienne D. Davis 60:2024a-c

Chéri Samba
(born 1956, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Water Problem, 2004
acrylic on canvas

I paint with a moral to educate the public about art and ideas.
—Chéri Samba, 2004

Lost on his futile water-seeking mission in outer space, the artist’s own face reflects the weighty responsibility we all bear as future ancestors. Behind his self-portrait, Chéri Samba painted a repeating constellation of five-pointed stars echoing those found on many national flags. In this image and its inscription, Samba laments the already severe, unequal distribution and diminishing supply of life-giving resources on Earth. How will all our own and our ancestors’ wisdom help us correct our course for the future?

The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection. Gift of Jean Pigozzi, 2019 2024.276

Chéri Samba
(born 1956, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Hommage aux anciens créateurs (Homage to the Ancestral Artists), 1994
acrylic and glitter on canvas

This is a tribute to my ancestors, the earlier artists who lived before me and whose works have remained anonymous . . . The people who brought [the sculptures] back didn’t try to identify the creators; but they were great artists, and well-known throughout their regions.
—Chéri Samba, 2002–2003

Through self-portraiture and the combination of image and text, as seen here, storytelling is essential to Chéri Samba’s art. The painter situates himself among the historical Congolese artists who created the masks and figure sculptures spread out before him. A Hemba ancestor figure, like one nearby, stands meditatively at far left. Just as that sculpture venerated powerful ancestors and bolstered the authority of successors, Samba counts himself as an heir to those great artists and a safeguard for their legacies. The text describes the artist’s visit to a European ethnographic museum. Samba was shocked to discover that the collector who formed that museum collection of African sculpture did so without traveling to Africa and meeting the artists.

Collection of B. de Grunne, Brussels 2024.146

Papa Mfumu’eto, Jaspe-Saphir Nkou-Ntoula
(born 1963, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Ba Mitu-Rouges batomboki na Kinshasa comic book proof, 2007
digital scan (mimeograph on paper [zine])

The comic book zines, or bandes dessinées, of Papa Mfumu’eto demonstrate continuity in the Kongo telling of wisdoms and social critique through narrative imagery. Like many works on view nearby, Mfumu’eto’s often employs animals as symbolic messengers. In this digital presentation of the zine, Mfumu’eto has chosen reptiles—specifically chameleons and lizards—as the tricksters of his cautionary parable against believing what others tell you.

Here two boys sell a chameleon to European Union Forces, or “Eufor,” soldiers for 30 dollars, and word quickly spreads. Soon, locals all over town are catching chameleons and lizards with the intent to sell them to Eufor soldiers. However, these would-be entrepreneurs are unsuccessful, and they abandon masses of creatures in the streets, hurling the reptiles at every mundele (foreigner) in frustration.

The story ends with thousands of the reptiles decomposing and attracting flies around the Eufor base. Set in Kinshasa in September 2006, the story follows the August 20 election of President Joseph Kabila (in office 2001–2019). It may suggest the artist’s critique of the illegitimacy of that election and the adverse impact of continued political corruption upon common citizens, despite the Eufor’s presence and other international observers.

Courtesy of the Papa mfumu’eto 1er Papers. George A. Smathers Libraries, Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida.

Yinka Shonibare
(born 1962, United Kingdom)

The American Library Collection (Activists), 2017
hardback books, Dutch wax printed cotton textiles, gold foiled names, bookcase

Through names printed on their spines, the books seen here represent wisdom and knowledge that immigrants and their descendants have contributed to American society. Selected for their shape and size rather than content, the books are wrapped in Dutch wax printed cloth. The fabric, which originated in Europe as a trade commodity, has become deeply linked to African fashion.

The books speak to the constructed nature of identity and knowledge. Simultaneously celebratory and satirical, this library comments on the limiting notion that the written word is somehow the only definitive source of truth. This work also challenges xenophobia, or discrimination against foreigners, in the United States by honoring the essential and diverse contributions immigrants have made.

Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts. Purchase with William K. Allison
(Class of 1920) Memorial Fund 2024.286

Hemba artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Commemorative Figure (singiti), 19th–early 20th century
wood

In this idealized portrait, the figure gazes contemplatively toward posterity and directs his hands toward his navel. Swelling with life force, the abdomen emphasizes the primacy of chiefly genealogy. Combined with oral traditions, each singiti sculpture connected the histories and experiences of families to their ancestors. A single chief could own as many as 20 figures, reinforcing his relationship with the land and with the important leaders represented, further legitimizing his authority. Inspired by commemoration and communication through dreams, each sculpture was commissioned to represent a specific ancestral chief, although in stylized form.

Malcolm Collection courtesy of Schweizer Premodern, New York 2024.230

Reported provenance: c.1972–1977 Martial Bronsin and Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium; 1977 Private collection, France; 1978 Merton D. Simpson, New York, New York, United States; 1978 Mathias Komor, New York, New York; 1978 Drs. Marian and Daniel Malcolm, United States

Woyo Proverb Lids

The relief-carved images on these vessel lids communicated proverbs within a household. The center-most sculptural element served as both a focal point of the message and, more practically, as the lid’s handle. Each lid motif could relate to several proverbs a woman might find relevant to a situation she wished to discuss with her family. A married woman would have many carved lids to prompt conversation about a variety of topics, and she could commission or borrow others as needed. She would choose an appropriate lid to cover the vessel in which a meal was served, and encourage dialogue with her husband and family about that proverb’s relevance to their lives.

Woyo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola (Cabinda)

Vessel Lid (Slit Drum), early 20th century
wood

The drum beats louder when next to a big tree.
—Woyo proverb

A relief-carved tree abuts one long side of a slit drum, while smaller seed and shell motifs appear opposite. The chief’s voice or leadership is strongest with the support of the community.

Saint Louis Art Museum, Eliza McMillan Trust 197:2019

Reported provenance: by c.2004 Drs. John and Nicole Dintenfass, New York, New York, United States, and Paris, France; c.2004 Bruno Frey, Arnay-le-duc, France; 2018 André Vanhecke, Brussels, Belgium; 2018–2019 Galerie Olivier Larroque, Nimes, France; 2019 Saint Louis Art Museum

Woyo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola

(Cabinda) Vessel Lid (Foot on Leopard), early 20th century
wood

A human foot stepping on the back of a leopard forms the sculptural handle of this vessel lid. This image suggests a reminder to respect—or a warning against disrespecting—power relationships. The leopard is a typical central African symbol representing a king or chief.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum purchase with funds provided by Jay T. Last. 2024.249

Reported provenance: Henrion collection; Marc Leo Felix, Brussels, Belgium; by 1999 Jay T. Last, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1999 Fowler Museum, Los Angeles

Woyo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola (Cabinda)

Vessel Lid (Hen), early 20th century
wood

If the bird opens its beak, then the fruit will fall out. The partridge rests in the evening, but it is in order to leave better the next day.
—Woyo proverb

The first proverb indicates someone is choosing not to speak for fear of making a situation worse. The second proverb urges a guest not to overstay their welcome.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum purchase with funds provided by Jay T. Last. 2024.251

Reported provenance: Washaert collection; Marc Leo Felix, Brussels, Belgium; by 1999 Jay T. Last, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1999 Fowler Museum, Los Angeles

Woyo artist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola (Cabinda)

Vessel Lid (Key and Box), early 20th century
wood

If the key to a box is nearby, that means that it is empty.
—Woyo proverb

Often the same lid could serve multiple purposes. For example, this lid could have issued a warning about offers too good to believe or served to criticize someone who looks attractive but is immoral.

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum purchase with funds provided by Jay T. Last. 2024.250

Reported provenance: Washaert collection; Marc Leo Felix, Brussels, Belgium; by 1999 Jay T. Last, Los Angeles, California, United States; 1999 Fowler Museum, Los Angeles

Mud Flaps of Boda Bodas (Taxi Motorbikes)

Along the Swahili Coast, Africa’s eastern seaboard with the Indian Ocean, the appearance of proverbs and aphorisms such as those printed on khangas, like the one displayed nearby, is pervasive. These sayings also appear on the surface of rubber mud flaps visible over the rear tire of taxi motorbikes, locally called boda bodas (see image).

Whether clever, proverbial, or religious, these phrases suggest the perspectives of each driver and highlight the value of everyday citizens sharing common wisdoms. These expressions encourage human connection and good humor amid the busy urban traffic of Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, Tanzania. There, boda bodas are sometimes viewed as a nuisance due to their ability to speed and weave among cars on congested roadways.

A boda boda operator in Mombasa, February 2017. Photo by Kevin Odit.

Swahili artist, Tanzania

Mud Flap: “Wema Usizidi Uwezo,” c.1991
paint on rubber

Goodness should not exceed capacity.
—translation of the Swahili inscription on mud flap

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.254

Reported provenance: 1991 collected in Tanzania by Doran H. Ross; 1999 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

Swahili artist, Tanzania
Mud Flap: “Mbele Rafiki Nyuma Adui,” c.1991
paint on rubber

Forward friend, backward enemy.
—translation of the Swahili inscription on mud flap

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.252

Reported provenance: 1991 collected in Tanzania by Doran H. Ross; 1999 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

Swahili artist, Tanzania

Mud Flap: “A Kili Ni Mtaji,” c.1991
paint on rubber

The mind is capital.
—translation of the Swahili inscription on mud flap

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.255

Reported provenance: 1991 collected in Tanzania by Doran H. Ross; 1999 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

Swahili artist, Tanzania

Mud Flap: “You Never Know God’s Programmes,”
c.1991
paint on rubber

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.253

Reported provenance: 1991 collected in Tanzania by Doran H. Ross; 1999 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States

Swahili artist, Tanzania

Mud Flap: “Bidii Huvuta Bahati,” c.1991
paint on rubber

Diligence brings luck.
—translation of the Swahili inscription on mud flap

Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum Purchase. 2024.256

Reported provenance: 1991 collected in Tanzania by Doran H. Ross; 1999 Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, United States