Design and sculptural innovation meet spiritual power in a new exhibition of art from Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea Bissau.  Culled from the African collections of the National Museum of Ethnology, Lisbon, In the Presence of Spirits features approximately 142 objects.  These objects are endowed with either spiritual or secular power.  They range from masks and figures, to carved combs, pipes, stools and chairs.  This exhibition marks the first time that many of the artworks will be on public view in the United States.

Showcasing a selection of the finest pieces from the Portuguese museum, highlights include important figures from various Kongo peoples, an extraordinary ensemble of stone funerary figures from the Solongo and Mbali, and a spectacular group of carvings from the Bidjogo peoples, ranging from monumental masks representing sharks, buffaloes and birds, to delicately finished figural spoons.  Other impressive objects come from the Chokwe, Songo, Yaka, Nkanu, Zombo, Suku, Matapa, and Ngangela peoples, as well as the Dan from Ivory Coast, the Baga from Guinea, and the Fang from Gabon.

Organized by the Museum for African Art and presented September 27-December 31, 2000 at the Museum's 593 Broadway location, New York, New York.

In the Presence of Spirits: Selections from the National Museum of Ethnology, Lisbon toured the following venues: in 2001 at the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama; in 2001 at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; and in 2001 at the Flint Institute of Art, Flint Michigan.