MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD

Source: Jones and Keys and Africantiques | Africantiques

The best way to see quality authentic African Tribal Art is to visit one of the many great museums in the world. While some of the best art remains in private collections, museums do feature some of the world’s most reknown pieces and often represent a wide selection. Below you will find a list of the best museums for African Tribal Art, each with a link to their official website. The list is organized according to the continent and country of the museums.

EUROPE

Some of the greatest museums for African art are either in France, Belgium, or England, most notably due to the involvement each of these countries had in the colonization of Africa. Even outside of these central nations there are some great museums, so no matter what capital in Europe you find yourself in, check out what they have to offer as far as African art.

Belgium
Ethnographic Museum – Antwerp
Royal Museum for Central Africa – Tervuren

France
Musée du Louvre -Paris
Musée du Quai Branly – Paris
Musée Africain – Lyon
Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Asie – Vichy
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen

Germany
Ethnologisches Museum – Berlin
Museum fur Volkerkunde – Hamburg
Museum der Weltkulturen – Frankfurt am Main
Museum für Völkerkunde – Leipzig
Niedersachsisches Landesmuseum- Hannover
Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum – Köln

Great Britain
British Museum – London
Pitt Rivers Museum – Oxford
University Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology – Cambridge
World Museum Liverpool

Netherlands
Afrikacentrum – Cadier en Keer
Afrika-Museum – Berg en Dal bij Nijmegen
Museum Volkenkunde – Leiden
Tropenmuseum – Amsterdam
Wereldmuseum – Rotterdam

Switzerland
Musée Barbier-Mueller – Geneva
Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève – Geneva
Museum Rietberg – Zurich
Musée d’Ethnographie – Neuchâtel
Museum der Kulturen – Basel

Others in European Capitals…

Belgrade
Muzej afričke umetnosti - Belgrade

Copenhagen
National Museum – Copenhagen

Lisbon
Museu Nacional de Etnologia – Lisbon

Oslo
Kulturhistorisk Museum – Universitetet i Oslo

Prague
The Náprstek Museum – Prague

Rome
Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini” – Rome
Pontificio Museo Missionario-Etnologico – Vaticano / Roma

St. Petersburg
Musée d’anthropologie et d’ethnologie – Kunstkamera – St. Petersburg

Stockholm
Etnografiska museet – Stockholm

Vienna
Museum fur Völkerkunde – Vienna

Zagreb
Ethnographic Museum – Zagreb

USA and CANADA

Besides Europe, the USA (with a few in Canada) features some of the greatest collections of African art. Many are scattered in University collections across the US, but the major cities have a least one museum worth taking your time to visit. The greatest experiences without a doubt lie in New York City.

Atlanta
High Museum of Art

Baltimore
Baltimore Museum of Art

Birmingham
Birmingham Museum of Art

Cambridge, Massachusetts
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago

Cleveland
Cleveland Museum of Art
African Art Museum of Maryland

Dallas
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts

Denver
Denver Art Museum

Detroit
Detroit Institute of Art

Los Angeles
Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA

New Hampshire
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
University of Iowa Museum of Art
University of Pennsylvania, University Museum
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

New Orleans
New Orleans Museum of Art

New York City
American Museum of Natural History
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Brooklyn Museum
Guggenheim Museum, NYC
Museum for African Art

Portland,Maine
Museum of African Tribal Art
Field Museum of Natural History
Hampton University Museum

San Francisco
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University

Seattle
Seattle Art Museum

Washington DC
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

CANADA

Calgary,Canada
Glenbow Museum – Calgary

Montreal,Canada
Musée Des Beaux-Arts – Montréal

Toronto, Canada
Royal Ontario Museum – Toronto

AFRICA

It is sad to see that the Museums in Africa are not on par with collections from Europe and America due to economic instability and corruption but there are some museums worthwhile to visit. After all, not only is Africa the true home to these artifacts but also known to be the cradle of mankind.

Botswana National Museum and Art Gallery – Gaborone Botswana

Burkina Faso
Musée de la Bendrologie – Manega Burkina Faso
Musée des Civilisations du Sud-ouest – Ouagadougou Burkina Faso