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Accueil > Expositions > Medusa

Medusa

The African Sculpture of Enchantment

From 14 November 2008 to 31 January 2010
MEG | Carl-Vogt

The MEG displays 120 exceptional items from its collection that initiate the visitor to the "technology of enchantment" of African sculpture and masks.
These items were created to act upon the world and on the people taking part in initiation, religious, therapeutic and anti-witchcraft rituals.

Often surrounded by secrecy and displaying extraordinary mastery of the materials used, the masks and sculptures appeared, to both the layman and the initiates, in complex and impressive mise en scènes.

ETHAF 018740

Masque sachihongo. Mbunda. Zambie, Western Province
Acquis de la Vente des Missions (Suisse) en 1942
Début du XXe siècle. Bois
H 34 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 018740

The exhibition is designed to provide an introduction to African art against an allegorical backdrop, that of the myth of Perseus and Medusa. The masks brought back to the Museum have retained the disquieting power to mesmerise those who look at them, just like the severed head of the Gorgon Medusa petrified those who caught its gaze.

This exhibition is an invitation to look at a selection of masks and sculptures from a multiplicity of points of view, in detail and as a whole, in terms of the materials they are made of and of their social function. It also invites us to reflect on the place that these works occupy in our collections and the use we make of them in our museums. How a mask representing radical otherness often remains an individual or collective shield, a means of warding off evil, and how the "technology of enchantment" is precisely what enables societies to live "under the aegis of art" are questions that are addressed. Sculpture was chosen because it is no doubt more compelling for the public than other aspects of material culture. Therein lays the overarching goal of this exhibition: to have the public discover the fascination exerted by these works both in their original context and in their present setting, confronted by visitors in a museum.

ETHAF 009502

Cimier de masque Janus. Boki. Cameroun, Mamfé
Acquis d'Arthur Speyer en 1923
Fin XIXe - début du XXe siècle. Bois, peau, fibres végétales
H 27 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 009502

ETHAF 009735

Bouclier nguba. Kerebe ou Kara, Kerewe. Tanzanie, île de Bukerebe ou île de Bukara, lac Victoria
Acquis d'Arthur Speyer en 1923
XIXe siècle. Bois polychrome, fibres végétales
L 116 cm, l 28 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 009735

ETHAF 012780

Sculpture zoomorphe Janus kozo. Yombe. RD Congo ou Angola.
Acquise en 1930
Fin du XIXe siècle. Bois, fer, laiton, matières composites
H 33 cm, L 72 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 012780

ETHAF 019642

Masque Janus ngontang. Fang. Gabon
Acquis du pasteur Fernand Grébert en 1944
Début du XXe siècle. Bois, pigments
H 39 cm, DIAM 25 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 019642

ETHAF 032498

Masque lukwakongo. Lega. RD Congo, région du Maniema
Acquis d'Edgar Beer en 1964
Première moitié du XXe siècle. Bois, kaolin, fibres végétales
H 14,5 cm, l 8,3 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 032498

ETHAF 033697

Masque gyéla lu zahouli ou flali. Gouro, ou masque ndoma. Baoulé. Côte d'Ivoire
Acquis de l'ethnographe Hans Himmelheber en 1967
XXe siècle. Bois
H 50 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 033697

ETHAF 033987

Sculpture anthropomorphe. Zande-Mangbetu. RD Congo, nord Ituri.
Acquise de Pierre et Suzanne Vérité à Paris en 1968
Fin XIXe – début du XXe siècle. Bois (Uncaria sp.)
H 69,5 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 033987

ETHAF 044277

Masque mukuyi ou mukudji. Punu. Gabon, Ngounié
Don du peintre Émile Chambon en 1981
XIXe siècle. Bois, pigments
H 31 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 044277

ETHAF 044359

Masque buffle simbo lã. Nuna. Burkina Faso
Don du peintre Émile Chambon en 1981
Première moitié du XXe siècle. Bois
H 45 cm
MEG Inv. ETHAF 044359

© 2011 Musée d'ethnographie, Genève