Category: Research

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Publications Research

Among the primitive Bakongo (Weeks, 1914)

A very informative book with some great field-photos, available for free here (20 MB, file info).

Among the primitive Bakongo (Weeks, 1914)

As read here, more old publications on African art are downloadable in pdf-format on the website of the Cultural Heritage Library of the Smithsonian Libraries.

We’ve been building this Congolese collection at the Warren M. Robbins Library for 33 years and are pleased to be able to share it with scholars and students globally, especially those living and working on the continent of Africa, where none of these books are likely to be found. Of particular interest is the set entitled Congo illustré, which contains historical photographs of Congolese society, Belgian colonial & missionary enterprises, and flora & fauna.

Their database can be searched here.

Categories
Publications Research

The Who’s Who in African Art

An indispensable tool for anyone doing provenance research; giving short biographies of primarily Europeans and Americans who have been connected with researching and publishing on African art, as well as with collecting and selling African art, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Compiled by Guy van Rijn, the Who’s Who in African Art lists circa 18,000 names. Around 10 % of them are joined by a picture. These names have been extracted from 50 years of auction catalogues, and from approximately two thousand books and exhibition catalogues which included the names of authors, scholars, field collectors, dealers & collectors. It is not an address list, but is meant to be used as a reference guide for background information. Following the name there will be a brief description that does not aim to be conclusive at any time, e.g. authors cannot be listed with all of their publications, and therefore only one title is mentioned. It is a work in progress; every week entries are being updated and new names are being added.

Available online here and in printed format here (the 2012 edition with a beautiful cover created by the Dutch artist Ingrid Baars).

who-s-who-in-africain-art

 

Yours truly is also listed.

 

 

Categories
Research

On the banks of the Ubangi

This amazing field-photo comes from an old postcard. Unfortunately, the only contextual information available is the title of the picture: ‘Sur les rives de l’Ubangi’. So, if a reader knows which Ubangian people these two lovely girls originate from, be sure to get in touch.

UPDATE: I finaly found the origin of this picture, see here. These two Sango girls were photographed by Meulemans ca. 1890 in Banzyville.

sur les rives de lubangi