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Simon Ottenberg Collection of African Art

Dr. Simon Ottenberg, professor emeritus from the University of Washington, is a noted scholar of African art. His collection, assembled between 1950 and 1991, includes materials of wide ranging ethnic origin throughout West Africa. Included are over 300 carvings, masks, household tools and objects, ceremonial objects, and objects of personal adornment. Outstanding items include full body ceremonial costumes from the Igbo of Nigeria, a rare leather-covered Janiform headpiece (associated with the Nkaumbuk cult in the Ikom region of Nigeria), several maternity figures from Sierra Leone, and a ceremonial drum stick from the Ivory Coast. The collection is well documented through Dr. Ottenberg's published work and numerous unpublished notes. The MSU Libraries hold Dr. Ottenberg's fieldnotes.

Donors and Fieldworkers

Simon Ottenberg Simon Ottenberg

Exhibitions

"African Connections: Perspectives on Collecting Culture," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, Jan. 31, 1999 - Sept. 5, 1999.

Publications

Raymond A. Silverman. "African Connections Perspectives on Collecting Culture," [virtual exhibition]

Divining tray, Chukwu Okoro, Igbo people, Nigeria, 1959