New Acquisitions and Installations at the Carlos

top Tsonga (South Africa). Linked Snuff Containers. Late 19th century. Wood. Gift of the Charles S. Ackerman Fund.

above Xhosa (South Africa). Pipe. Late 19th century. Wood, metal. Gift of the Charles S. Ackerman Fund.

New African Acquisition Includes Nguni, Thembu, and Xhosa Pipes and Tsonga Snuff Containers

In spring 2021, the museum acquired four Nguni, Thembu, and Xhosa pipes and two Tsonga snuff containers. These personal objects are beautiful and highly designed and represent the rich visual culture of southern Africa. Pipes and snuff containers would have been used every day, resulting in deep patinas and smooth surfaces. Each of the four pipes is unique in its design. One pipe, attributed to either the Cape Nguni or Thembu people, has a playful carving of a hand grasping a bowl embellished with inlaid metal patterns. A pipe characteristic of a Thembu artisan features a long bone stem and geometric forms that elegantly exploit negative space and what appears to be, brass-lined finger holes on the shank. The Xhosa pipe includes beautiful metal inlay designs. The Tsonga snuff boxes are connected by carved wooden links, the smooth surface showing extensive use. The delicacy of the carving makes these everyday objects extraordinary. View these pieces in person when they are displayed in the Charles S. Ackerman Galleries of African Art later this spring. Z

above Fragmentary calyxkrater depicting the myth of the daughters of Kekrops, perhaps based on a tragic performance. Apulian, attributed to the Black Fury Group. Ca. 370 BCE. Ceramic. Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California.

Take a Trip to the Greek Theater

This spring, the Carlos will reinstall its Greek Theater case in the Greek and Roman galleries. Exploring the cultural and material significance of theater in both Athens and the Greek colonies of southern Italy, the display will feature objects from the Carlos' permanent collection alongside three exciting additions. Two Apulian vessels on long-term loan from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrate the importance of tragic and comic drama as it was adopted and adapted in South Italy. The loans include a red-figure mixing bowl (calyxkrater) depicting a scene that likely relates to a tragic performance of the myth of the daughters of the Athenian king Kekrops. Made as a grave good to be placed in a tomb, the calyx-krater demonstrates how the imagery of the theater was given new meaning in different contexts. A terracotta figure of an actor dressed as a bird joins the Attic red-figure wine container (pelike), also depicting an actor dressed as a bird already on display in the galleries (Carlos Collection of Ancient Art, 2008.4.1). This was one of several objects donated jointly to the Carlos and the Tampa Museum of Art by William Knight Zewadski, and has been transferred to Atlanta from Florida. Z