African Personal
Art and Adornment

April 15 through December 31, 2006

When one thinks of African art, masks and figural sculptures come immediately to mind. While masks and figures are prominent in European and North American collections of African art, they are seen relatively rarely in African communities, typically in the context of ritual and ceremonial activities. There is a wealth of art in Africa, however, that figures in the daily lives of individual men and women. Such objects are practical and utilitarian but their form goes far beyond mere function. Some are elaborately decorated with human or animal images, while others celebrate pure geometry in their form or surface ornamentation.