Treasures marks the National Museum of African Art's 25th anniversary as a Smithsonian museum. The first in a new exhibition series, Treasures is an old-fashioned show about visual exploration and aesthetic discovery--the affecting presence of African art.

Westerners and Africans alike revere aesthetic form. Each admires skillful technique and execution, exquisitely rendered forms, pattern, balance, symmetry, surface treatments and a sense of completeness. African artists, however, strive to portray more than the visible world. Whether depicting the human body or an animal, their artworks embody the world of ideas and beliefs, resulting in imaginative and visually exhilarating works of art. It is our response to this creativity, which we interpret as innovative and unique, that makes African art so appealing and riveting.

This eclectic display reveals aesthetic preferences for wood, ivory and bronze sculptures from East, West, Central and southern Africa created between the 15th and 20th centuries. Treasures denote rarity and value, art historical significance, pedigree, uniqueness and preciousness. There are rare works; works that have never been exhibited in the United States or have not been displayed in more than 10 years; works that once resided in the collections of renowned art critics, connoisseurs, dealers and curators. And, still others were included in pivotal exhibitions in the early 20th century, when American audiences and artists were first introduced to African art as art.

We have taken African art out of its familiar environs and present it as an ensemble of visual delights, a trove of treasures. There is a Yoruba saying, "Anyone who meets beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor."

Figure

Yoruba peoples, Nigeria
19th century
Wood
Height 38.9 cm (15 1/4 in.)
Collection of Sidney and Bernice Clyman

Figure

Baule peoples, Côte d'Ivoire
19th century
Wood, encrustation
Height 39.6 cm (15 5/8 in.)
Collection of Robert Bohlen and Lillian Montalto Bohlen

Figure

Mumuye peoples, Nigeria
20th century
Wood, pigment, quill, leather
Height 114.5 cm (45 1/8 in.)
Collection of Charles and Kent Davis

Figure

Mumuye peoples, Nigeria
20th century
Wood
Height 99.1 cm (39 in.)
Collection of Charles and Kent Davis

Figure

Mumuye peoples, Nigeria
20th century
Wood
Height 105 cm (41 1/4 in.)
Collection of Charles and Kent Davis

Figure with bowl

Yoruba peoples, Ekiti region, Nigeria
Early 20th century
Wood, pigment
Height 53.3 cm (21 in.)
Collection of Charles and Kent Davis

Figure

Dogon peoples, Niongon style, Mali
15th century (radio carbon test date)
Wood
Height 108.8 cm (42 3/4 in.)
Collection of Amy and Eliot Lawrence

Figure

Lobi peoples, Burkina Faso
20th century
Wood, ritual accumulation
Height 113.6 cm (44 3/4 in.)
Collection of Diana and Tom Lewis

Figure

Senufo peoples, Côte d'Ivoire
19th century
Wood
Height 116.8 cm (46 in.)
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Leyden

Figure

Mbole peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Late 19th to early 20th century
Wood, pigment
Height 56.5 cm (22 1/4 in.)
Collection of Drs. Daniel and Marian Malcolm

Figure

Chokwe peoples, Angola
Late 19th to early 20th century
Wood, hair, pigment
Height 38.5 cm (15 1/8 in.)
Collection of Drs. Daniel and Marian Malcolm