Happenings

Sowei masks – unique to the region around Sierra Leone – are worn by senior members of the all-female Sande Society during rite-of-passage ceremonies that signify a girl’s transition to adulthood. They are carved expressions of local ideals of feminine beauty, health and serenity that vary widely in their detail. Masquerade performances play an important symbolic role in the Sande Society. The mask is worn by the ndoli jowei (‘the sowei who dances’) along with a black raffia and textile costume which completely conceals her identity.
For more information, please visit the website of the British Museum.

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Terra Cotta: Twenty Years of Exhibiting African Ceramics, the eleventh exhibition on African ceramics mounted at this gallery, celebrates a quarter century of collecting, studying and promoting interest in this field. The exhibition will contain approximately thirty examples of rare, historic, traditional vessels and ceramic sculpture. Most pieces date between the late 19th century and World War 2, with priority given to pieces of significant aesthetic merit. Much of the African continent will be represented, many from cultures that abandoned pottery making decades ago.
For more information, please, visit the Douglas Dawson Gallery website.

It is no secret that the Navajo (who call themselves the Diné) excelled at weaving. While most of their textiles were produced for trade, they had a strong tradition of producing saddle blankets for their own horses. These weavings span the duration of Navajo weaving from the first half of the nineteenth century to the present. The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture plans to present They Wove for Horses: Diné Saddle Blankets, an exhibition that examines innovation and continuity in this quiet but important indigenous tradition. It also looks at the variety of weaving techniques employed as well as the range of yarns from which these blankets were formed. The horse trappings on display reveal the great pride the Navajo have long taken in their horses and how they adorned them for ceremonial and social events.

In an unprecedented dialogue between past and present worlds of fashion, “TRADING STYLE” presents over 500 historic objects, photographs and films from the Weltkulturen Museum’s collection together with new designs for clothing and accessories by four international fashion labels. Buki Akib(NG), A Kind of Guise (DE), CassettePlaya (UK) and P.A.M./Perks and Mini (AU).
For more information, please, visit the Weltkulturen Museum’s website.

Forget the Hollywood version, with its zombies and pins stuck in dolls! Vodou features more than 300 artifacts from one of the world’s most important collections. This exhibition is a rare opportunity to better understand a complex spiritual tradition, its beliefs and rituals, from the viewpoint of the people who practise it. You will see remarkable objects and will learn more about Vodou with the help of texts, documentary films and first-person accounts by Vodouists from Canada’s Haitian community. You’ll come away transformed!

“Women in African Art”, an exhibition of contemporary and African tribal art highlighting the beautiful photographs of Angèle Etoundi Essamba (Cameroun) and a collection of fifty statuettes representing women in African art. Opening attended by the artist and Mrs. Luz Gabás Ariño Mayor of Benasque: Saturday, March 9 at 7pm.
For more information, please, visit the Out of Africa Gallery website.

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Below is a list of results for recent auctions of African, Oceanic, American Indian, and pre-Columbian art. This information is generated by the individual auction houses that held the sales. Please don't hesitate to alert us to other results using the "contact" button to the left so that this space is always current.