Sword and Scabbard
Culture: Hausa
Country: Nigeria
Brass
Approximately 900 distinct cultures are found on the continent of Africa. The objects included in this display from the countries of Mali, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire and Kenya were created by peoples whose cultures are quite different from those in the Western world. Also, an understanding of the history of African art by the West is limited by a number of factors, including the quick deterioration of objects made form organic materials like wood and cloth after a generation of use, and scant written documentation about the are by the peoples themselves, who instead have a rich oral tradition. In those regions of the continent where field research has not been systematically conducted, often only a general classification of art objects according to the general style of the culture is possible because the identity of the artist was not documented by Western collectors. While all the objects included in this display were made in the twentieth century, many belong to visual traditions that reach back in time several centuries.