Masterpieces from Central Africa
Nkisi figure, Kongo. Lower Zaire region
Phwo mask. Tshokwe. Mwakahila, South Kasai, Zaire
Figure (drummer), Nkanu. Lower Zaire region
The Royal Museum of Central Africa, commonly known as the Tervuren Museum, was founded in 1897 by King Leopold II of Belgium to promote commercial and public interest in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Tervuren Museum owns the world’s best collection of Central African art and is known not only for its encyclopaedic collections but also for the age and the aesthetic brilliance of many of the objects. Most date from 1890 to 1940, when these masks and sculptures were still in use, although the exact date and place of origin of some of the oldest pieces is unknown. Almost all of the pieces in this exhibition were collected before 1945.
This exhibiton was curated by Suzanne Greub of Tribal Art Centre Basel by selecting 100 masterworks from the collection of the Tervuren Museum and was praised highly by its international audience.
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The catalogue has been published by Prestel Publishing, Munich 1996 and 1999.
Exhibition venues:
Ottawa/Hull (Canada), Canadian Museum of Civilisation (October 17, 1996 – May 19, 1997)
Washington DC (USA), Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (June 25, 1997 – October 19, 1997)
Fort Worth, TX (USA), Kimbell Art Museum (November 09, 1997 – January 25, 1998)
San Francisco, CA (USA), M.H. de Young Memorial Museum (February 21, 1998 – April 19, 1998)
New York, NY (USA), Museum for African Art (May 14, 1998 – August 11, 1998)
Saint Louis, MI (USA), The Saint Louis Art Museum ( September 11, 1998 – November 29, 1998)
Chicago, IL (USA), The Art Institute of Chicago (December 16, 1998 – March 14, 1999)
Düsseldorf (Germany), Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (April 16, 1999 – June 27, 1999)
Barcelona (Spain), Fundació Caixa de Catalunya (July 19, 1999 – October 03, 1999)
