National Museum of African Art
The Ancient Nubian City of Kerma, 2500-1500 B.C.
July 26, 1995 – May 31, 2004
Forty objects celebrate the wealth and artistic traditions of Kerma, the oldest city in Africa outside Egypt that has been excavated. Kerma (located in present-day Sudan) was the capital of the kingdom known to the ancient Egyptians as Kush. Incredibly thin ceramics, colorful jewelry, and a variety of small ivory inlays in the shape of animals are among the objects that reveal Kerma's wealth and artistic traditions.
All objects are on long-term loan from the permanent collection of the Harvard University Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. Objects in this exhibition were excavated under the direction of George A. Reisner (1867-1942) between 1913 and 1916.
