African Art

Mask, "The Owner of the Deep Set Eyes" (Olójú Foforo), Surmounted by a Figure of the Priestess of the Goddess Òsun

About African Art

The Yale University Art Gallery’s collection of art from Africa south of the Sahara began with gifts of several textiles in 1937 and now consists of some 2,000 objects in wood, metal, ivory, ceramic, and other materials. Major milestones in forming the collection occurred in 1954 with the acquisition of the Linton Collection of African Art, purchased for the Gallery by Mr. and Mrs. James M. Osborn, and in 2004 with the gift of the collection of nearly 600 African objects from Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933. Concurrent with the 2004 gift, Benenson endowed a new curatorial position, the Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation Curator of African Art, and the Gallery’s Department of African Art was born. In 2010 the museum received a collection of approximately two hundred African antiquities from SusAnna and Joel B. Grae.

The collection is strongest in figurative sculpture and masks from West and Central Africa, and terracotta antiquities from the Sahel region. There are also several specialized collections, such as Christian crosses from Ethiopia and miniature masks from Liberia. Several ancient African civilizations are represented, including the Djenne, Nok, Bura, Sokoto, Koma, Sapi, and Benin. Some of the outstanding objects in the collection include: from the Sahel area, a Bamana wooden equestrian figure and a Nok male figure with arms upraised; from the Upper Guinea Coast, a Senufo figurative rhythm pounder and a Temne bush cow mask; from the Lower Guinea Coast, an elaborate Ejagham skin-covered headdress and a Fante appliquéd banner; from Central Africa, a Luba female figure with bowl and a Fang female reliquary figure; and from southern Africa, an elegant Zulu stool.

The permanent-collection galleries present approximately forty African antiquities from throughout West Africa, a display of immense ceramic vessels from across the continent, a number of musical instruments, ritual dance costumes, silver jewelry from the Sahel, and masks and figures from hundreds of African cultures.

Note from the Curator

The African art collection has now moved to the first floor, where an updated selection of objects has been reinstalled with a fresh design. The new display of works allows visitors to look at the collection from a multitude of angles, deepen their understanding of the rich and varied art traditions of the African continent, and appreciate the aesthetic power of the artworks. It juxtaposes well-known cornerstones of the collection with rarely shown works, reflecting on their materiality, surface treatment, iconography, original function, or specific historical context.

One of the works on view in the reinstalled gallery is a miniature bocio figure. It is carved from wood and wrapped tightly in a fiber rope. Bocio literally means “empowered cadaver”; these figures are related to the Vodun religion of West Africa, whose followers believe in mysterious forces or powers that govern the world and people’s lives. Vodun sculptures are thought to protect humans but also empower them and help them achieve their goals. Cords and binding feature prominently in bocios and possibly refer to the violence and trauma that West Africans suffered for centuries through the slave trade. Bocios offered their owners a potent strategy to respond to difficult and threatening social conditions.

Unidentified Fon artist, Human Figure (Bocio), Republic of Benin, Agonly style, early 20th century. Wood, fiber, and feathers. Yale University Art Gallery, Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection