Art Review: ‘Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art’ at the Metropolitan Museum

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Holland Cotter

A mother and child from the 17th or 18th century, one of 14 sculptures
made by the Mbembe that are being displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

NEW YORK---Now, more than 40 years on, the news finally hits New York with the arrival of “Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art” at the Metropolitan Museum, one of the great sculpture shows of the season. They had been made by the Mbembe (m-BEM-beh) living in southeastern Nigeria, near the border of Cameroon. The religious tradition that had produced the work had been abandoned under colonialism. Tests revealed that some of the Mbembe pieces were from the 17th and 18th centuries, among the oldest wood carvings from Africa. [link]

Metropolitan Museum of Art: “Warriors and Mothers: Epic Mbembe Art” (Ends Sept. 7, 2015); 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street), New York, NY; 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org.