Vessels and Containers at Jacaranda Tribal

A new online exhibition at Jacaranda Tribal presents a showcase of exquisite African vessels and containers.  Highlighting the diversity of form and myriad aesthetics brought to these utilitarian objects by a wide variety of traditional cultures from across the continent, Jacaranda's newest assemblage features refined lidded vessels from the Lozi of Zambia and the Hima of Rwanda; a graceful and elegant South African snuff container carved from a single piece of horn; a remarkable North African powder flask; and much more.  The images below present a selection of the exhibition's highlights.  Visit the Jacaranda Tribal website for detailed information on these items and many more.

Lidded bowl  -  Lozi, Zambia  -  First half of 20th century

Milk vessel  -  Hima, Rwanda  -  First half of 20th century

Meat bowl  -  Nyoro, Uganda  -  19th century

Lidded vessel  -  Shi, D.R. Congo  -  First half of 20th century

Lidded basket  -  Sotho, Lesotho  -  First half of 20th century

Wooden vessel  -  Tsonga or Matabele, Zimbabwe  -  Late 19th or early 20th century

Snuff container  -  South Africa  -  19th century

Powder flask  -  Morocco or Tunisia  -  19th or early 20th century

Visit the Jacaranda Tribal website

Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermes Collection

On Display: September 4, 2010 - December 5, 2010

An exhibition of spectacular jewelry and historic photographs from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia, Desert Jewels presents never-before-exhibited pieces of stunning North African jewelry and late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century photographs by some of the period’s most prominent photographers.

Collected over three decades by Xavier Guerrand-Hermès,Desert Jewels illuminates the diversity and beauty of traditional North African jewelry design. Ornate necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings show the inventive compositions and dazzling creations of North African jewelry designers and silver workers. Crafted from combinations of silver, coral, amber, coins, and semiprecious stones, the exquisite collection includes wedding necklaces, hair ornaments, bracelets, earrings, and fibula used to keep veils in place. The jewelry shows both the common threads that run through North African societies and local variations in materials and motifs.

North African jewelry came to the attention of Western collectors in the nineteenth century, when North Africa’s historic monuments and archaeological sites were being explored, visited, and, in some cases, pillaged. The most important photographers of the day, including the Scotsman George Washington Wilson, the Neurdine brothers from France, and the Turkish photographer Pascal Sabah, visited the region and photographed landscapes, architecture, markets, and people adorned in their jewels.

Organizer - Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection is organized by the Museum for African Art, New York

Sponsors - This exhibition is supported, in part, by the Robert Lehman Foundation.

Curator - Dilys Blum, The Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles

Location - Spain Gallery, Perelman Building

Source: Philadelphia Museum of Art

http://philamuseum.org/exhibitions.391.html