The Newark Museum's collections of African Art are drawn from the entire continent. This selection of objects is designed to show the diversity of the museum's holdings and the extraordinary creativity of African artists and craftsmen.

These objects satisfy practical needs, such as clothing or a household container, or the desire to communicate with the realm of the spirits--a major function of masks. Other works help to establish or maintain contact with the deceased or are used as emblems of status or prestige.

African artists' openness to new ideas is most evident in their incorporation of new materials, like colored electrical wire in place of plant fibers, into their work. Whatever form they take, all attest to the creativity of their makers.