Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley

An impressive new showcase of traditional Nigerian art will open this week at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University. Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley presents more than 150 objects drawn from international collections, offering a comprehensive view of the arts from along the banks of the Benue, the great river that flows across the center of Nigeria and joins the Niger River on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. On view through October 14, Central Nigeria Unmasked reveals arts and cultures of diverse peoples who are far less known and studied than those of the majority populations in the country’s northern and southern regions.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Information and images courtesy of The Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Expanding Views of Africa at Stanford University

 Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University opened an enlarged and enhanced reinstallation of its African art galleries last year. Expanding Views of Africa includes 200 works from the collection and key loans, broadens conventional views of African art, from ancient cultures before the dynasties of the Egyptian Pharaohs to contemporary artists.

Visit the Cantor Arts Center's official website.

Bushoong mask  -  Kuba, D. R. Congo

Mask, mwana pwo  -  Luvale, Zambia  -  Late 20th century

Sarcophagus mask of a woman  -  Egypt  -  7th–6th century BC

Sengele, D. R. Congo

Head ornament, tcherot or tereout tan'eraf  - Tuareg, Algeria  -  20th century

Information and images courtesy of Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University