Tribal Art Forum Links

These links to internet sites are provided as a convenience; they do not constitute endorsements. I do not link to sites when I have credible evidence of their dishonesty, but many sites are omitted for other reasons, the most common being that I don't know that they exist. I would be grateful to learn of sites that ought to be added or of any that are no longer functional.

Tribal Arts Discussion Boards

H-AfrArts Expressive Cultures of Africa Moderated scholarly discussion board; from Michigan State University

Tribal Arts Online World of Tribal Arts message board.

Yahoo African Arts Group Discussion forum run and moderated by Lee Rubenstein and Rand Smith.

Yahoo African Antiques Group David Norden's moderated discussion forum.

Museum and University Based Sites

African Art: Aesthetics and Meaning A nicely annotated on-line exhibition of African art from the University of Virginia.

African Art Course Materials for a University of Virginia course on African arts, with images, bibiliographic information, and web links.

African Odyssey Interactive Wide range of resources. From the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC).

Aienla Project  Non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of traditional tribal cultures of northeast India.

Akan Cultural Symbols Explanations of the iconography used in Akan art. From Marshall University.

American Museum of Natural History - Congo Expedition (1909-1925) An extraordinary resource, including articles, notes, photographs and relevant references.

American Museum of Natural History - Division of Anthropology Includes anthropological material from well beyond Africa, with more than 100,000 images.

Art and Oracle: Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition African art and divination rituals. Includes a map of sub-Saharan Africa, and essays on divination.

Art and Life in Africa Project A rich source of information based on the Stanley Collection at the University of Iowa.

Art Tribal  Website of periodical devoted to tribal arts, with English and French editions.

Belgium's Royal Museum for Central Africa Periodic on-line exhibitions and a guide to the museum. Includes a search facility for finding websites with information about central Africa.

deYoung Museum African Collection Extensive collection of images and information from the San Francisco museum.

Dogon-Lobi-Mali More than a thousand photos of Egypt and a number of Subsaharan peoples, villages and towns, plus a very extensive, well organized page of links.

Emory University Collection of African Art Part of the university's permanent collection of African art. Good accompanying essays.

Exhibition and Conservation of African Objects: Considering the Nontangible Fascinating article from the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation.

Fake or Fabulous?  Neither a museum nor a university based site, but a strictly noncommercial source of information on how to distinguish Latin American artifacts from artifakes.

Fowler Museum of Cultural History Includes exhibitions and information about tribal arts, from UCLA.

G. I. Jones - S.E. Nigerian Art and Culture An outstanding collection of photographs, many showing objects of art in their cultural settings. From Southern Illinois University.

H-Afrarts Expressive Cultures of Africa A seriously scholarly site from Michigan State University.

The Maurer Collection Mostly about artifacts used for divination in Central and West Africa. Scholarly and well illustrated. From Amherst College.

Museum for African Art New York's Museum for African Art.

National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Site includes exhibitions, articles, museum calendar of events.

Two Outstanding Contemporary Sculptors

Although a bit outside the range of most of Afro-Dit, there are two contemporary wood sculptors whose work is so wonderful that I decided to include links to their sites.  One, Baxter Rains, is the sculptor of the piece shown in my essay, An Authentic Fake, with Provenance.  The other is his wife, Barbara Osmundsen.  I own two of her works, so my money is where my mouth is.

Noncommercial Sites and Commercial Sites with Significant Informational Content

Aboriginals: Art of the First Person Gallery of tribal art from West and Central Africa, Australia, and the Americas.

Adinkra Symbols in West Africa Symbolism in Ashante adinkra textiles.

Adire African Textiles Dealer site with lots of information on a wide range of African textiles.

Affrica Gallery Mona Gavagan's gallery in Washington, DC, with lots of information.

Africa and More  Dealer in a variety of tribal arts, mostly African.

Africa Direct Elizabeth Bennett's gallery of African tribal art, with good cultural information on many of the objects.

AfricaClub - Wide assortment of arts and crafts, with considerable cultural background on the objects.

African Antiques Belgian dealer David Norden's site, with lots of ethnographic information.

African Aperture Photography of Africa and its peoples, in all aspects.

African Arms Reproductions of traditional weapons, with lots of information about them.

African Art Collection African tribal arts dealer. Photographs and descriptions including some information on cultural significance.

African Art Shop Tribal Art (mostly African), links, and descriptions of some African styles.

Africa Cultural Gallery & Kumbu Kumbu Gallery Contemporary African sculpture, batiks, watercolors and oil paintings.

African Quintessence African art, mainly from Benin, with nice images and descriptions of cultural significance.

African Sculptural Art Papers on the development of sculptural art in Africa, from pre-iron age to modern.

African Sculpture Images of a private collection.

African Tribal Art Dealer in African tribal arts, located in Scotland.

African Tribal Art Museum A comprehensive collection of African art (700 objects; 90 ethnic groups) and lots of information on African tribal peoples.

Africa-Photo Databank with over 4,000 photos from 1870 to the present and a lot of cultural information.

Ancestral Images  Dealer in tribal art, mostly from Southeast Asia.  Nicely illustrated.

Antique Tibetan Rugs, Art and Textiles Nice site with lots of background information on Tibetan artifacts.

Antique Tribal Arts Dealers Association  Site includes much information for dealers in tribal arts, including calendar of events, news, and listings of stolen items.

Arts-Primitifs  Multilingual site of dealer in tribal arts.

Asian & Tribal Arts - Los Angeles A centralized source of information about dealers and experts in tribal arts in the Los Angeles area.

Axis Gallery Gary van Wyk's gallery, with excellent exhibitions. Emphasis on South Africa.

Azani Stone Gallery Zimbabwe Shona stone sculpture, including busts, abstracts and wildlife art.

Brightpath Commercial site with many images of tribal arts from around the world.

Canstock Photo Source of photos for commercial use.

Charles Jones African Art Traditional African art, with many images and explanations of cultural significance of the objects.

Cloudband A wide range of textile-related sections, includes sales, exhibitions, and articles. Includes some content on African tribal arts.

Cool Tribal Arts Gallery Mostly contemporary tribal-inspired arts and crafts.

Contemporary Makonde Art Collection, with some background on the artists and styles. Some of the pieces are for sale.

Coyote's Paw Gallery  Santa Fe gallery of folk art from around the world.

Craft Art  Multilingual site devoted to arts and crafts from around the world, including a section on African tribal arts.

Deborah Garner Collection Dealer in tribal textiles, artifacts and adornments from around the world.

Dimondstein Tribal Arts Many images and lots of information.

Douglas Dawson Gallery Non-Western art, including textiles, sculpture and vessels, ceramics, and furniture. Frequent on-line exhibitions.

Douglas Yaney Gallery Variety of African tribal art objects, with separate sections for items likely to interest the beginner and those likely to interest more advanced collectors.

The Ebony Tree Dealer in tribal artifacts.

Ethnix  New York dealer.  Site includes ethnographic information and photos.

Fotosearch Source of stock photos on various subject (this link goes to their Tribal section)..

Galerie Ezakwantu South African dealer in African tribal arts.

Gail Martin Gallery  Antique and modern textile art from around the world.

Gallery Lemaire Images of tribal arts from Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Galerie Peter Herrmann Bilingual (German and English), with many images of African items. Also has a section describing ongoing African art related exhibitions and events elsewhere.

Galerie Walu  Swiss dealer's site, with lots of information and periodic exhibitions.

Gîtes Ruraux de l'Ouest Cameroon gallery supporting contemporary African artists.

Hamill Gallery of African Art A commercial site with nicely documented thematic exhibitions that change every few months. Past exhibitions are viewable as well.

Himalayan Mercantile  Steve Brothers' gallery of tribal and ethnographic arts from the Himalayas.

I Antiques Guide  Links to sites about various categories of antiques and arts.

Jacaranda Tribal Artifacts from south and east Africa, with lots of cultural information.

J.K. Rasmussen African and Tribal Art Washington dealer who lived in west Africa for many years.

Joel Cooner Gallery Images of African, Asian, and Oceanic tribal art objects.

Kerr Museum Productions  Consultants.  Website has excellent images of African sculpture, with 3-D views.

Macan Tidur Textiles Beautiful, informative site dedicated to textiles of Indonesia and nearby islands of southeast Asia.

Marcusleatherdale.com  Marcus Leatherdale, a Canadian photographer specializing in the tribal peoples of India.

Masks and More Masks, african art and primitive paintings, beautifully presented.

Masks from Around the World  Bob Ibold's collection of masks, mostly modern and described accurately.

McCue Tribal Art Many images and some cultural information.

Merton D. Simpson Gallery African and Oceanian tribal art, with many images and current exhibition.

Mia Monde Dealer in African textiles, jewelry, baskets and wood sculpture.

Monoxyle  African art, mostly wood in large scale.  In German.

Origomundi Mostly African art, many images. in German and English.

Owen Hargreaves  London dealer in African artifacts.

Pan-Africa  Multilingual collection of categorized links to sites about African art.  

Picard Trade Bead Museum And African Art Gallery Dealer in African art and trade beads, with a trade bead museum.

Ralph Proctor Gallery A gallery of African art, with periodic thematic exhibitions.

Rand African Art  Images of a private collection with lots of pictures and information, not really a dealer.

Ryann Willis Ancient Art  Dealer specializing in ancient African arts (mostly terracotta), with nice exhibitions.

Sandtraks Australian production house with a focus on education celebrating indigenous culture.

Senufo Art Brief description of the Senufo aesthetic tradition; part of an auction house series.

Shani Gallery African masks and sculpture with brief descriptions of their traditional significance.

Shona Sculpture A collection of Shona sculptures from Zimbabwe, with some history of this genre.

Shoowa  Extensive information about Shoowa raffia textiles.

Sophie van Assche Belgian dealer in tribal arts.

Suaga Collection Noncommercial site showcasing a private collection of African works.

Sukuma Museum Museum devoted to the culture and art of the Sukuma (Tanzania).

Tamarin Gallery A gallery of African art. Periodic exhibitions and an excellent collection of links to other sources.

Tellem Gallery Sculpture and jewelry from many African regions; pre-Columbian art and pottery.

Tribal Art Directory Searchable directory of dealers, galleries, museums, with a calendar of upcoming events.

Tribal Art Africa  Dealer in tribal African artifacts (mostly masks and statues).

Tribal Art Asia Author David Howard's site, with tribal artifacts for sale and for rent, and an excellent directory of information sources.

TribalArtForum On-line auction house site with reviews of other auctions.  In German.

Tribal Arts Directory Directory of tribal art related sites.

Tribal Arts of Harrogate British dealer's site, with periodic exhibitions of tribal arts, mostly African.

Tribal Arts Online On-line version of the magazine, "The World of Tribal Arts". Exhibitions, book reviews, editorials and a discussion board.

Tribal Explorer  Categorized links to sites with content of interest to tribal arts collectors.

Tribal Hunter Dealer in tribal arts from around the world.

Tribal Melbourne Dealer in tribal arts from Melanesia, Polynesia, and island Asia.

Tribal Trappings  Thailand dealer in Asian tribal arts.  Site has lots of information along with artifacts for sale.

Turkotek Noncommerciaol site devoted to antique and tribal textiles. Hardly anything about Africa, but I edit it, so it's included here.

Uzbek Crafts Uzbekistan dealer in new and old central Asian crafts.

von Burg Gallery San Francisco dealer in African tribal arts.

The World of Beduin Weaving Extensive information on weaving by the Beduins of North Africa.

Whitehawk Antique Shows  Organizers of ethnographic and tribal antiques shows in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Zemanek-Münster Tribal Arts Auctions David Zemanek's auction gallery (four tribal arts auctions annually), in Würzburg, Germany.