<p>Among the works of art in the permanent collection of the National Museum of African Art, one object-a life size male figure-stands out as a visually compelling masterpiece of beaded sculpture. Bead embroidery covers most of the carved, wooden figure. On other areas-including the face, back of the head, hands and feet-the artists applied a thin overlay of brass. At it's base, the figure has a pole like extension, which is not visible to the visitors of the gallery because of the way the sculpture is mounted in it's case. This extension suggests that it was once planted in the ground. This imposing figure comes from the Bamum kingdom located in the Grassfields region of what is now the Republic of Cameroon. This book is an essay presenting the first full examination of this art. The first part discusses the history of the Baum kingdom and their experience under German colonial rule. The second part is devoted to the figure's unique history, which was reconstructed through information from museum records, historical documents, and letters. The third section addresses the figure's physical properties, such as the materials used in its production, and its stylistic characteristics, it then interprets the sculpture's iconography. Author:Christraud M. Geary Published by:University of Washington Press Published in:Seattle, WA Year of Publication:1994 Softcover, 60pgs</p>

The Voyage of King Njoya's Gift: A Beaded Sculpture from the Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon, in the National Museum of African Art

Arts & Photography

Geary, Christraud M.

Sculpture

Univ of Washington Pr

This book accompanies an exhibition at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, on the role of photography in Central Africa. This is the first book to link two related themes: the role of photographic images in constructing and circulating fantasies, ideas, and sentiments in Europe and the US relating to the peoples of Central Africa; and the role of photography in enabling Africans to project images of themselves by becoming familiar with photographic technology. Broad in thematic and temporal scope, the book focuses on several time periods, especially on the years before and between the two world wars.This is also the first publication devoted to the important holdings of the Eliot Elisofen Photographic Archives, a department of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution and a unique repository with more than 200,000 historical and contemporary images from all over Africa.This book raises important issues associated with photographic practice in Africa, the distribution of images, the circulation of ideas in Europe and the US, and African responses to photography through several poignant case studies. This book also advances the scholarly discourse on colonial/anthropological photography, and contributes to a better understanding of African responses to photography.

In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960

History & Criticism

Philip Wilson Publishers

Images from Bamum: German Colonial Photography at the Court of King Njoya, Cameroon, West Africa, 1902-1915

Photography & Video

Smithsonian

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Books by Geary, Christraud M.