The Art Institute’s African collection includes over 400 works that highlight the diversity of tradition-based arts on the continent, with emphasis on the sculptural traditions of West and Central Africa.

Included are masks and figural sculpture, beadwork, furniture, regalia, and textiles from countries including Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. The Art Institute’s collection of over 80 African ceramics is the largest in an American art museum.