the scene of the Opening Ceromony     Kang Jie the deputy director general of Henan Provincial Cultural Department makes a speech.     Mr. Yang-Eielson, the famous weapons collector of Africa addresses at the opening ceremony.  

African weapons

   

African weapons'exhibition

Central African Weapons’exhibition opens in Henan Museum on Jan.15, 2014. This is the first large international exhibition which was introduced from the world to Henan Museum.

Many official leaders of Henan province attended the opening ceremony. Such as: the Deputy director of the China National Museum Dong Qi, Zhang We-jun, the inspector of Henan Provincial Department of culture, Kang Jie, the deputy director general of Henan Provincial Department of culture, Lu Zhong-jin, the well-know businessman of Hong Kong, Mr. Yang-Eielson, the famous weapons collector of Africa. And some other guest speakers from all sectors of society attended the opening ceremony.

Ms. Li Hong, the deputy leader of Henan Museum made a speech at the opening ceremony and a introduction. She said that this opening ceremony was jointly sponsored by Henan Museum and Guang Zhou Zhanfeng Exhibition limited Company. Totally, there were more than 300 pieces of African weapons were exhibited in Henan Museum. All these exhibits on display came from two Belgian, who are the famous African weapons collectors. Both of them have lived in Africa for more than 30 years. They have had a deep love of African weapons for along time and they had collected all kinds of African traditional weapons. Most of the weapons were come from 19-20 centuries. On this exhibition, the visitors not only could enjoy the real objects, the African weapons but they also could enjoy a large number of photographs, videos and many other background information. So, this special exhibition totally reflected the individual nation, manners and customs, native culture and the aesthetic standard and so on.

So, all of the visitors were deeply shaken and moved by the special African culture and their moving and forceful.

Ms. Kang Jie, the deputy director general of Henan Provincial Department of culture, said that from these African weapons we could find the pure, beauty, nature and the honest.

She also side, between Africa and China, we had a long history of traditional friendship. Through this African weapons exhibit, Chinese will know much better about African history and culture. At the same time, it also promoted the cultural exchange between Africa and China.

African culture is full of passionate, simple and passion. All these 387 pieces of weapons exhibited in Henan Museum came from Gaboon，Congo，Sudan，Agra，Zambia，Rwanda，Burundi，Uganda，Cameroon，Kenya，Tanzania, Central African Republic and other about ten areas and countries.

Many activities for visitors was arranged to complement the special exhibition, including some computer interaction games, shooting with bows and arrows, custom seal with weapons, saying the painting Africa etc.

The African weapons exhibition was exhibited in the eastern temporary exhibition hall. It was said that, the exhibition will last from Jan.16 to Mar. 16, 2014.

Some detail introduction about the ancient African weapons:

The difference between Central Africa and most of the rest of the world is the tremendous variety and range of their arms. People can see so many strange forms that it is sometimes hard to imagine that some of these objects are indeed weapons. But expect for currencies and insignia in the ship of weapons, and some rather recent creations, most of these weapons are much more functional than one might imagine.

Before the rise of armies, everybody possessed weapons, including in Central Africa. As in any society, the higher an individual’s status the better the quality of these weapons will be. In the overview of the finest of these weapons it will be seen that all regions and not produce them in the same manner, quantity or quality. For this reason Central Africa has been sub-divided into eighteen regions in which the inhabitants share certain types of weapons.

One catalogue is about traditional Central African weapons. It is also the story of their smelters, blacksmiths and sculptors. If we look at the typology of their weapons we can see that most of their forms were, at one or another time, used all over the world. But we will also see several uniquely Central African weapons and we will discover how their African creators personalized these traditional weapons.

In order to show the highest possible quality, the selection of objects for this exhibition and catalogue, was made from several private collections. They represent the most accomplished artistic achievement for each given region. We would like to showcase the ingenuity of African Craftsmen who were able to make real “jewels” with only every primitive tool. These weapons are indeed utilitarian objects that nevertheless combine design and function to a high degree.

Up until the beginning of the 20th century traditional African weapons were prized as collectable objects in the western world, where they were more valued than masks, status or other forms of traditional “ethnic” art. In Africa, all artifacts were essentially functional, no matter how beautiful. The selection for this exhibition proves, however, that Africans valued quality as well. After World War I came a period of disinterest for Africans weapons since European “modern artists and collectors focused more on gathering figures and masks. After World War II interest in the glitter and glamour of traditional weapons declined even further. Since the 1970’s, however, there has been a revival of fascination for traditional African weapons. In the last few years several weapons passed hands for prices up to over 250000 US $. Collectors no longer regard them as just weapons or curiosa but as works of art created by highly qualified craftsmen.

 African Weapons’ exhibition

  one piece of African weapons     watch a show     Ms. Li Hong, the deputy leader of Henan Museum makes a speech.      the opening ceremony of the Central African Weapons’exhibition