Books

The Terence Pethica Collection

After a visit to the notable Africa: The Art of a Continent exhibition in London in 1995, Terence Pethica, who had already been collecting for twenty-five years, became particularly interested in the unique arts of Southern Africa, an area long neglected by both scholars and collectors of African art. This book focuses on the material culture of the Zulu, Tsonga, Ngubi, and many other little-known tribes. These are art forms that are often surprising and include rare examples of figural sculpture, prestige staffs adorned with carved heads, canes, and ceremonial axes; most emblems of chiefly authority. These groups are also known for their stylistically varied headrests, which served both to protect the sleeper’s coiffure and to facilitate access to the realm of dreams, and hence communication with the ancestors. Tobacco pipes and containers served a similar function: tobacco was believed to clear the mind and allow it to hear the voices of the ancestors. The excellent illustrations and presentation of this book allow the reader to fully appreciate the significance of the pieces it presents.