This work displays and defines the fruits of thousands of years of black African creative endeavour. All the objects included were made by Africans for their own use, spanning a period from the beginning of the first millennium to the early 20th century, before the commercial production of art aimed at the tourist trade.

The Brooklyn Museum was one of the first North American institutions to collect and exhibit African material culture as art rather than artifact. Today the museum's collection numbers more than six thousand pieces and is noted for its artistic quality and educational value, as well as a breadth and depth that would be impossible to achieve today. Ancient as well as contemporary art is included in the collection's vast holdings, while the figurative sculpture and masks of Central Africa comprise its most significant focus. Nearly two hundred of those pieces are featured in this large-format compendium, which includes essays by the museum's curator of African art and a leading scholar on the subject. Taking readers through a cultural exploration of the continent, the collection encompasses regions from Western Sudan and the Southwestern Congo to the Equatorial Forest and Ethiopia. Carefully photographed and presented in luminous colour, these pieces create a stunning introduction to the rich traditions of African art and culture. AUTHORS: William Siegman served as the Brooklyn Museum's curator of African and Oceanic art from 1987 until his retirement in 2007. He is currently a consulting curator with the Saint Louis Art Museum. Joseph Adande lectures at the National University of Benin, Abomey-Calavi. He was the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Kevin D. Dumouchelle is Interim Assistant Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands at the Brooklyn Museum. ILLUSTRATIONS 235 images

A survey of more than two millennia of African art describes the society and culture of forty-nine African tribes and presents seven hundred examples of their art, from ritualistic items to common utensils.

Based on the exhibition Africa: 100 Stm̃me, 100 Meisterwerke, sponsored by the Congress for Cultural Freedom at the Berlin Festival, 1964./ Includes bibliography.

This beautifully illustrated book showcases 110 objects from the Dallas Museum of Art's world-renowned African collection. In contrast to Western "art for art's sake," tradition-based African art served as an agent of religion, social stability, or social control. Chosen both for their visual appeal and their compelling histories and cultural significance, the works of art are presented under the themes of leadership and status; the cycle of life; decorative arts; and influences (imported and exported). Also included are many fascinating photographs that show the context in which these objects were originally used. Distributed for the Dallas Museum of Art

Over the course of numerous voyages to Africa's Omo Valley, Hans Silvester became fascinated by the beauty of the Surma, Mursi, Hamer and Kurma tribes, who share a taste for body painting and extravagant decorations borrowed from nature. This collection of photographs captures these accoutrements.

-A fascinating and essential overview of the Kuba people and their art through fifty exemplary pieces This volume explores the intriguing sculpture and decorative art of the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Best known for their king figures (ndop), considered among the greatest sculptural achievements of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Kuba actually produced little freestanding sculpture. Instead, they focused on a variety of decorative works that indicated success and achievement, and initiation-related pieces such as masks. The first book dedicated exclusively to this subject, Kuba examines the tribe's artistic development from the seventeenth century through the turbulent colonial and post-colonial periods. The authors also explore the impact of Kuba beliefs on their art and discuss the pervasive concerns that inform the tribe's art-making. With fifty beautifully reproduced examples and an engaging, informative text, Kuba is a fascinating introduction to African art.