“Shaping Power: Luba Masterworks from the Royal Museum for Central Africa” was a powerful statement from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art emphasizing LACMA's new focus on giving the arts of Africa a more prominent presence at the museum. Many of the works were lent for the first time by the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium, a testament not only to this shift in focus, but also to the authority and expertise of Dr. Mary (Polly) Nooter Roberts, Consulting Curator of African Arts at LACMA and Professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, to bring greater visibility to African arts in Southern California.
The selection of works highlighted the roles that the objects played in granting the holders the authority of kingship. The works are not static objects but are imbued with the power and esoteric knowledge necessary in elevating a person to the status of...