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African art curator Alisa LaGamma reflects upon her personal connection to Africa.
My name is Alisa LaGamma. I am curator in the department of the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. My topic today is Africa.
I had a highly unconventional upbringing. I was born in what is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the city of Lubumbashi in the years following Congolese independence.
It was historically a region renowned for some of the great sculptural traditions that are represented by masterpieces in the Metropolitan's collection; works by artists like the Buli Master,
the Master of the Cascade Headdress. The reason my family lived in sub-Saharan Africa was that my father worked
in the Foreign Service, and for that reason we lived in a number of different places.
In later years we moved to the Ivory Coast. That was a very formative period for me.
Among our family photos are images of us visiting a Senufo village and watching a painter
produce one of the tapestries, a celebrated form of expression from the town of Korogho.
When I was a small child we had lots of African art. My father used to joke with us that, you know, we had our dolls and these were his.
So this is something that was very much a part of my upbringing. Among the many great masterpieces in the Metropolitan's collection is
a Baule Helmet Mask my parents gave to the museum when I was a small child. It was something that the curator at that time thought would be a useful addition to rounding out the collection.
It was an unusual circumstance that many years later I wound up working with the collection. After living in the Ivory Coast, my family
moved to Italy for six years. Italy was flooded with visits to museums and churches and other contexts and environments
for viewing art that also fired my imagination and greatly influenced my interest in studying art history.
When I was an undergraduate I majored in art history. We didn't have courses in African art. At the period when I was about to graduate from college my parents were
living in Senegal. It seemed like that might be one of the last times
I had a family connection to this part of the world.
It was important to me in the long term to maintain
a connection with Africa.
The idea of developing an expertise in African art became
a permanent bridge with a region that has especially meaningful
influences on my life as an individual.
I love that cultural diversity and youthful vitality
of the field that I work in.
Works of art in order of appearanceLast Updated: June 22, 2015. Not all works of art in the Museum's collection may be on view on a particular day. For the most accurate location information, please check this page on the day of your visit. |
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Stool 19th century The Buli Master Luba peoples; Democratic Republic of Congo Wood, metal studs Purchase, Buckeye Trust and Charles B. Benenson Gifts, Rogers Fund and funds from various donors, 1979 (1979.290) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Neckrest: Female Figure probably 19th century Democratic Republic of Congo; Luba or Shankadi Wood, beads Gift of Margaret Barton Plass, in Honor of William Fagg, C.M.G., 1981 (1981.399) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Face Mask (Kpeliye'e) 19th–mid-20th century Côte d'Ivoire; Senufo Wood, horns, raffia fiber, cotton cloth, feather, metal, sacrificial material The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1965 (1978.412.489) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Male Poro Figure (Pombia) 19th–mid-20th century Côte d'Ivoire; Senufo, Tyebara Wood The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1965 (1978.412.315) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Memorial Head 19th–20th century Côte d'Ivoire; Akan, Anyi subgroup Terracotta The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1964 (1978.412.394) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Helmet Mask (Bo Nun Amuin) 19th–20th century Côte d'Ivoire, central Côte d'Ivoire Wood, pigment, egg shell (?) The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Adrian Pascal LaGamma, 1973 (1978.412.664) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
The Journey of the Magi ca. 1435 Sassetta (Stefano di Giovanni) (Italian, Sienese) Tempera and gold on wood Maitland F. Griggs Collection, Bequest of Maitland F. Griggs, 1943 (43.98.1) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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European PaintingsSecond Floor | |
Madonna and Child probably late 1480s Giovanni Bellini (Italian, Venetian) Oil on wood Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.183.1) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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European PaintingsSecond Floor | |
Portrait of a Young Man 1530s Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano) (Italian, Florentine) Oil on wood H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.16) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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European PaintingsSecond Floor | |
Mukudj 19th–20th century Punu peoples; Gabon Wood, pigment, kaolin Purchase, Louis V. Bell Fund and The Fred and Rita Richman Foundation and James Ross Gifts, 2000 (2000.177) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Headdress (Ci Wara): Female Antelope 19th–20th century Bamana peoples; Mali Wood, metal bands The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1964 (1978.412.436) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Headdress 19th–20th century Bamana peoples; Mali Wood, metal bands The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1964 (1978.412.435) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Twin Mask (Nda) 19th–20th century Côte d'Ivoire, Bandama River region Wood, metal, patina stain The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.294) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Pair of Diviner's Figures 19th–mid-20th century Baule peoples; Côte d'Ivoire, central Côte d'Ivoire Wood, pigment, beads, iron The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978.412.390–.391) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Head of an Oba 16th century (ca. 1550) Nigeria; Edo peoples, court of Benin Brass The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.86) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Page from an Illuminated Gospel late 14th century Ethiopia, Highland region Parchment (vellum), wood (acacia), tempera, ink Rogers Fund, 1998 (1998.66) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
Reliquary Figure 19th–20th century Fang peoples; Gabon Wood, metal, oil patina The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1965 (1978.412.441) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the AmericasFirst Floor | |
© 2011 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |