81 Indeed, in this gallery, the correspondences between the objects relate some of the most important masterpieces and workshops of African art to one another, although to prefer one work rather than another is merely a question of taste. Some will undoubtedly be most impressed by the two Tshokwe fi gures (fi g. 4), probably by two different artists active in what Marie-Louise Bastin has called the “Moxico Workshop,” or by the Yombe Kongo maternity (fi g. 10), which, as Bassani points out in the catalog, “has many features in common with an analogous type attributed to the Master of Kasadi.” This author was particularly struck by the nail fetish from the Horstmann Collection (fi g. 5), one of the fi nest works known from the notable Chiloango River Workshop, from which approximately a dozen masterpieces attributed to the hands of two or three masters are attributed. It bears repeating that it is diffi cult to single out one work or another in this fi rst gallery, since all of the pieces rightly deserve masterpiece status. Among these are a Dogon equestrian fi gure from the Dodier Collection, an anthropomorphic Dan spoon (fi g. 7) that resembles a Dadaist work, and a Hemba ancestor fi gure (fi g. 6). Similarly, as the catalog notes, a Bamana sculpture (fi g. 8) “could well be the image for a poster advertising a Cubist exhibition.” This arresting initial section of the exhibition is followed by an examination of the relationships between Europe and Africa throughout two key periods, the fi rst being that of the early voyages of exploration, and the second, that beginning with the Punitive Expedition of 1897, which marked the end of the effective infl uence of the Kingdom of Benin, one of the last states to have successfully resisted colonial domination. The fi rst of these moments of contact is documented with Afro- Portuguese ivories from the fi fteenth and sixteenth centuries, including a Sapi-Portuguese salt cellar by the Master of Symbolic Execution and an oliphant and ivory spoons from the Florentine Medici Collection. The second is represented by sixteenth- and seventeenthcentury brass memorial heads (fi g. 9) and by brass plaques that adorned the Royal Palace of Benin. These royal Benin objects were seized by the English as war booty. Some entered the collection of the British Museum, while others were sold to help pay for expenses associated with the Punitive Expedition. Like certain other works dating from as early as the seventh century displayed elsewhere in the exhibition, the pieces presented in this second gallery testify to the historical depth of African art. They also highlight the way in which African artists rapidly integrated European FACING PAGE FIG. 5 (far left): Power fi gure, nkonde. Yombe, Kongo, DR Congo or Cabinda. Late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, mirror, iron, ritual substances. H: 110 cm. Horstmann Collection. © H. Schneebeli, A. Fritschi. FIG. 6 (near left): Ancestor fi gure. Hemba, DR Congo. 19th–20th century. Wood, textile. H: 66.5 cm. Private collection. © Hughes Dubois. THIS PAGE FIG. 7 (far left): Spoon, attributed to a workshop in the Man region. Dan, Côte d’Ivoire. 19th or early 20th century. Wood, metal. H: 52 cm. Marceau Rivière Collection. © Pascal Barrier. FIG. 8 (left): Female fi gure. Bamana, Mali. 19th century. Wood. H: 59.5 cm. Horstmann Collection. Photo from the exhibition catalog, p. 23, produced by 24 Ore Cultura. FIG. 9 (right): Commemorative head. Bini or Edo. Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria. 16th–17th century. Brass. H: 28 cm. Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim, inv. IV Af 3093. © Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim. Photo: Carolin Breckle. The Land of the Spirits
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