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Simon Ottenberg Collection of African Art
Dr. Simon Ottenberg, professor emeritus from
the University of Washington, is a noted scholar of African art. His collection,
assembled between 1950 and 1991, includes materials of wide ranging ethnic
origin throughout West Africa. Included are carvings, masks, household tools
and objects, ceremonial objects, and objects of personal adornment. Outstanding
items include full body ceremonial costumes from the Igbo of Nigeria, a
rare leather-covered Janiform headpiece (associated with the Nkaumbuk cult
in the Ikom region of Nigeria), several maternity figures from Sierra Leone,
and a ceremonial drum stick from the Ivory Coast. The collection is well
documented through Dr. Ottenberg's published work and numerous unpublished
notes. The MSU Libraries hold Dr. Ottenberg's fieldnotes.
Collectors/Fieldworkers/Donors:
Simon Ottenberg
Related Collections:
Cernyw and Morna Kline Collection of African Material Culture
Robert Glew Collection of Nigerien Material Culture
Ethiopian Material Culture Collection
Joseph Druse Collection of Nigerian Material Culture
Exhibitions:
"African Connections: Perspectives on Collecting Culture," Michigan State
University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, Jan. 31, 1999 - Sept. 5, 1999.
[see Raymond Silverman,
http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Virtual/AfCon/(28 March 1999) for more information on
collectors of African material for MSU Museum]
Publications:
Raymond A. Silverman. "African Connections Perspectives on Collecting
Culture," [virtual exhibition] http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Virtual/AfCon/
(Jan. 6, 2003)
--compiled by Raymond Silverman, Lynne Swanson, and Marsha MacDowell,
2005.
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