Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Untitled (Central African Ngbaka bow-harp, Kuba cammwood powder container and Kongo clay vessel)
Not on view
Marjorie Griffiths—who, as staff photographer for the Harmon Foundation, documented the activities of Harlem Renaissance artists—was engaged by the foundation to create a set of twenty-six photographs of works from the Blondiau-Theatre Arts Collection. These images were meant to circulate along with a text by Alain Locke in exhibitions promoting African art to a larger audience.
In this balanced still life, Griffiths carefully arranged before a contrasting background the bow-harp, camwood-powder container, and ceramic also on view in the exhibition. Since the photograph was taken, both the bow-harp and the vessel have endured losses: the strings of white beads that once adorned the harp’s waist and ankles are now missing, while the neck and edges of the vessel have experienced significant breaks.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
