Currently not on view.
Made almost exclusively for and about Africans, the objects in the PEM collection reflect the artists' powers of observation and abilities to render distinct human features. Works first acquired in the early 1800 by members of the East India Marine Society demonstrate the strengths of sub-Saharan and West African artists working with ivory, leather, wood, resin and other indigenous materials. Carvings and ceremonial masks with leopard fur and shells speak to African relationships with Europeans and other visitors interested in trade. Early and significant works from coastal East and West Africa, an important body of Zulu arts and storytelling devices illuminate cultural traditions. PEM also has one of the world's finest collections of Ethiopian Christian art - 16th- to 20th-century icons and metalwork with roots in the late Antique and Byzantine traditions.
Gift of Annie M. Lyman
Gift of Colonel Timothy Pickering
Museum Purchase
Museum Purchase
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Langmuir
Collected by the Colonial Dames National Society of Massachesetts
Gift of Captain William T. Julio
Gift of Charles Goddard Weld
Gift of Mary A. Barker and Harriet A. Barker
Gift of William Richardson
Donated by T.E. Paske and Hurst
Gift of George A. Perkins
Gift of Edward Ropes
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Langmuir
Donated by Dr. C.G. Weld
Gift of William C. Endicott
Museum Purchase
Museum purchase
Collected c. 1968
Gift of Mrs. Charles Loring
Gift of T. C. W. Nash