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Kilengi: African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection Special Exhibition October 13, 2001–October 19, 2003 SAM Third Floor Galleries

Eighty sculptures from central and eastern Africa.

A chance to admire artwork from areas of Africa not well represented in most Western museums is offered by the Bareiss family collection. The nearly 100 pieces, gleaned from an area stretching from the Congo and Angola in the west to Mozambique and South Africa in the east, offer visitors some extraordinary contrasts in scale and style.

Monumental puppets, towering nearly seven feet, once used in dance competitions, face an exquisite series of slim staffs topped by miniature portraits. Females of massive proportions are set next to women as thin and elongated as a Giacometti sculpture. In the masks on view, a stark face mask covered with spots comes from the Byeru carvers living deep in the Ituri rainforest. In contrast, a buffalo mask carved by the Tabwa extends massive horns to obscure any association with a human face.

One gallery features art from the Makonde and Songye cultures in many media. The Makonde selection includes a body mask depicting a pregnant woman made out of wood and beeswax and several helmet masks of unsettling realism. Striated masks from the Songye appear calm to the viewer, belying their purpose in hiding the evil thoughts of their wearers, whereas power figures, fearsome to a Western eye, are evidence of a healer’s care for the community’s protection and comfort.

Mask (kifwebe)
Songye, Republic of Congo, early 20th century
Wood and pigment
h. 13 in.
The Molly and Walter Bareiss Family Collection of African Art

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