The Detroit Institute of Arts

African Arts, Winter, 2003 by Nii O. Quarcoopome

The African art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts did not emerge as a hallmark of the museum until after the 1920s, when the DIA's director, Dr. William R. Valentiner, began to build upon the modest bequest of objects from one of its original founders, Frederick Stearns. Valentiner cultivated a circle of enthusiastic local collectors, among them Robert H. Tannahill and Edsel Ford, who amassed fine personal collections of African art that would constitute the DIA's core corpus in this area. Some of the earliest acquisitions were unique works with extraordinary provenance, such as several Kuba vessels collected by Leo Frobenius and a Guro female figure from the collection of Tristan Tzara, an associate of Picasso's. The African holdings have grown substantially since the 1920s-1930s and now boast more than 300 pieces.

The 1960s saw the formation of the auxiliary group called the African Art Committee. Under the leadership of Arthur D. Coar, it fostered local support for African art and ushered in another round of important acquisitions. Probably the most significant individual contribution was the 1967 donation by Justice and Mrs. G. Mennen-Williams, who had assembled a fine collection during their years in Africa, when the Justice served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. With the subsequent generous bequest of Eleanor Clay Ford and the hiring of Michael Kan as Curator of African Art in the 1970s, the DIA made some of its most important acquisitions, pieces that reshaped and expanded the collection's scope.

Today the DIA's African art collection, comprising works from nearly one hundred sub-Saharan African cultures, ranks among the finest in the United States. This richly diverse corpus continues to grow through purchases and donations from local collectors. Several noteworthy pieces were added in the last year. These latest acquisitions fill significant gaps in the museum's African holdings, strengthen the collection's international stature, and bolster educational outreach in diverse ways.

The DIA is not only undergoing a total transformation of its physical structure, which comprises more than 160,000 square feet of space, but is also working toward a more accessible and appealing presentation of its collections. The changes will encompass building renovation, realignment of the curatorial departments, and a complete reinstallation of the permanent collection, all to be completed in late 2006.

Janus-faced head

Akan culture, Ghana, ca. 18th century

Terracotta, 22.9cm (9")

Museum Purchase, Friends of African and African American Art Fund, 2002.178

This sculpture's finely featured faces are in a style similar to that of other works attributed to the famous eighteenth-century archaeological site of Twifo-Hemang. Twifo Hemang produced some of the most engaging examples of Akan clay portraiture. Akan commemorative tradition focuses on capturing the likeness of the deceased, and heads constitute the preponderance of such memorial portraits. It is not unusual to see busts or heads serving as lugs for lids of large funerary vessels, especially among the Kwahu subgroup. A dark green blemish suggests that the DIA head fell on that side after breaking off a bust, figure, or lid.

Janus-faced human heads are rare in Akan terracotta sculpture; thus far, only one other example has been published. While they may be considered anomalous (Herbert Cole and Doran H. Ross, The Arts of Ghana [Berkeley: University of California Press], 1977:227), such heads express an Akan penchant for individualizing deceased persons with powers of clairvoyance. This portrait is the finer and more complete of the two double-faced examples in this style.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Ceremonial hat (emedot)

Karamojong culture, Uganda/Kenya

Earth, pigment, ostrich feathers, human hair, beads; 26cm x 25.4cm (10 1/4" x 10")

Gift of Dede and Oscar Feldman in honor of Bob Kan, 2002.211

Coiffures play a critical role in convoying status and identifying members of particular age-sets in Karamojong society For males, the insertion of ostrich feathers into such distinctive caps not only expresses their individuality but also represents their strength, masculinity, and courage.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Memorial screen

lie of Kalabari, Lower Niger Delta, Nigeria, 19th century

Wood, wicker, metal, pigment; 121.9cm x 889cm x 38.1cm (48" x 35" x 15")

Museum Purchase, Robert Tannahill Fund, 2003.21

This piece exhibits striking stylistic affinities with the renowned British Museum collection of memorial screens (nduein fobara) attributed to the Pekia family atelier, which operated in Abonnema village from the 1850s through 1916. In 1916 the production of nduein fobara ceased in the lie area when the self-styled local prophet Elijah II was said to have convinced most Ijo families to bum their ancestral screens (Roy Siober and Roslyn A. Walker, African Art in the Cycle of Life [Washington, DC : Smithsonian Institution Press], 1987). The British colonial administrator Lt. Percy Talbot, then residing in Abonnema village, succeeded in salvaging eleven pieces, nine of which ended up in Iha British Museum The remaining two were acquired by the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England, and the Minneapolis Museum of Art With this purchase, the DIA becomes only the second US museum to own one of these rare artworks The screen may be an additional example that survived the destruction in 1916. It has been documented in situ in Abonnema, where it was acquired from eiders of the village's Shakapu Trading Society