SAHEL, art and empires on the shores of the Sahara

303pp., 4to., b/w & colour illus., maps, hardback, d.w., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2020

ISBN: 9781588396877

This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2020.

Richly illustrated, it is the first book to present a comprehensive overview of the diverse artistic and cultural achievements and traditions of the African region known as the Sahel (“shore” in Arabic), a vast area on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert that includes present-day Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad. Spanning more than 1,300 years from the pre-Islamic period through the 19th century, it features some of the earliest extant art from Africa as well as iconic sculptures by the Dogon and Bamana peoples of Mali.

Contributions by Alissa Lagamma, Yaëlle Biro, Mamadou Cissé, David C. Conrad, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Roderick McIntosh, Paulo F. de Moraes Farias, Giulia Paoletti and Ibrahima Thiaw discuss the art, architecture, archaeology, literature, philosophy, religion, and history of the Sahel, exploring the unique cultural landscape in which these ancient communities flourished.

Lubumbashi-born scholar Alisa LaGamma is Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Curator in Charge in the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2010 she was a fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership and in 2012 the Bard Graduate Center recognised her work with the Iris Award for Outstanding Scholarship.

Yaëlle Biro is Associate Curator of African art at the Met.

Mamadou Cissé is Chief of the Cultural Mission of Kangaba, Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel du Mali.

David C. Conrad is Emeritus Professor of History, State University of New York, Oswego.

Souleymane Bachir Diagne is Director, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University; Roderick McKintosh, Professor of Anthropology, Yale University.

Roderick McIntosh is J. Clayton Stephenson / Yale Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven

Paulo de Moraes Farias is Honorary Professor, Department of African Studies and Anthropology, University of Birmingham, UK.

Giulia Paoletti is Assistant Professor of Art, University of Virginia.

Ibrahima Thiaw is Associate Professor of Archaeology, Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.