Kongo: Power and Majesty at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 18, 2015 – January 3, 2016

Photographs by Corrado Serra.

“The exhibition focuses on one of the continent’s most influential artistic traditions, from the earliest moment of direct engagement between African and European leaders at the end of the 15th century through the early 20th century. The creative output of Kongo artists of Central Africa is represented by 146 works drawn from more than 50 institutional and private collections across Europe and the United States, reflecting five hundred years of encounters and shifting relations between European and Kongo leaders. From a dynamic assembly of 15 monumental power figures to elegantly carved ivories and finely woven textiles, the exhibition explores how the talents of Central Africa’s most gifted artists were directed toward articulating a culturally distinct vernacular of power.” — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Luxury Cloth, Kongo Peoples, 17th–18th century

Luxury Cloth, Cushion Cover, Kongo peoples, 17th–18th century

Luxury Cloth, Cushion Cover, Kongo peoples, 17th–18th century

Front: Oliphant, Kongo peoples, 16th century

Front: Horn (Pungi), Kongo peoples, 19th century

Masks, Kongo peoples, Yombe group, 19th–early 20th century

Garment (Nkutu), Kongo peoples, 19th century

Garment (Nkutu), Kongo peoples, 19th century

Prestige Caps (Mpu), Kongo peoples, left and center: 19th century, right: 17th–18th century

Prestige Cap (Mpu), Kongo peoples, 16th–17th century

Basket, Kongo peoples, 19th century

Ceremonial Vessel, Kongo peoples, 16th–17th century

Tusk with Figurative Relief (detail), Kongo peoples, Vili group, ca. 1880-1890

Power Figure: Kneeling Female with Serpents and Secondary Figures (Nkisi), Kongo peoples, Vili group, 19th century

Power Figure: Standing Female with Child (Wife of Mabyaala?) (Nkisi) Kongo peoples, Vili group, 19th century

Left and center: Ancestral Shrine Figure: Kneeling Female with Vessel and Seated Figure, Kongo peoples, Yombe group, 19th–early 20th century. Right: Ancestral Shrine Figure: Seated Female, Kongo peoples, Yombe group, 19th–early 20th century