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OPENING THE STORAGE Berg en Dal—Uit de Kast … nu Op Zaal (From Storage … To the Galleries) is an exhibition on view through March 31, 2014, at Berg en Dal’s Afrika Museum. The title describes the movement of a selection of artworks—including anthropomorphic 44 and zoomorphic figures, ornaments, pottery, and other creations of various materials—made by some of the thousands of artifacts that are held in the museum’s non-display holdings. The exhibition’s purpose is to acquaint the public with the wealth of material it has, of which only some ten percent is usually on view in its permanent displays. At the same time, it will allow the development, or at least the reexamination, of the criteria generally used in deciding the presentation and subject matter of the museum’s exhibitions. DISCOVERIES UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS London—A major exhibition awaits visitors to Two Temple Place, a jewel of Victorian architecture in the heart of the British capital. From January 31 through April 27, 2014, Discoveries: Art, Science, and Exploration will display an exceptional selection of works from the University of Cambridge’s eight museums, which are home to some five million artifacts. Ancient fossils, zoological specimens, and anthropological objects will be among the items presented, as will con- Left: Nail figure. Yombe, Cabinda, Angola. Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal. Right: Mask. Gabon. Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal. temporary creations and even scientific instruments, to cite just a few examples. Together these invite one to consider the research that has been done in a wide variety of areas: astronomy, history, art, anthropology, and a long list of other disciplines. The exhibition is an ode to knowledge, one that explores the notion of “discovery” and the different circumstances in which it takes place—some fortuitous, and others in a context of in-depth investigation of the kind for which Cambridge is rightfully so well known. Through the simultaneous presentation of multiple areas of study, as well as of research results and the instruments made and used to investigate various phenomena, the exhibition inspires us to be curious about everything that surrounds us, to open our minds to innumerable questions, and to remember that the human imagination is the true engine of discovery. The fruit of the work of a number of research and curatorial specialists under the supervision of Nicholas Thomas, director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Discoveries: Art, Science, and Exploration is accompanied by a catalog that tells the story of the eight museums’ collections through a presentation of selected emblematic works. Maria. C. 1903/4. Collected on Nankauri Island, Nicobar Islands, Bay of Bengal. Wood, shell. H: 89 cm. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. Above: Tunic. Senufo, Côte d’Ivoire. Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal.


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