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."