Rare African mask, sculpture acquisitions grow Kimbell museum’s collection

Kimbell Art Museum is growing its collection of African sculptures with two new acquisitions from one of the largest private collections in the world.

The Fort Worth museum acquired “Reliquary Guardian Figure (Mbulu Ngulu)” and “Mask with Curved Horns” from the esteemed Barbier-Mueller Collection of African, Asian, Oceanian and Pre-Columbian artworks.

The private collection began with Josef Mueller in the 1920s , but later grew when his daughter Monique married Jean-Paul Barbier. The family collections merged and a private museum was opened to display them in Geneva in 1977.

The guardian figure comes from the Kota tribe of Gabon and dates to the 19th century. The horned mask is a rare acquisition originating from the Kwele people of northeastern Gabon and northern Congo. Dated between