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SHORE THING
This striking 19th-century bala
(Mandinka xylophone) is among
the highlights of a new exhibition
exploring the visual arts of the
Sahel, a semiarid region stretching
across Africa south of the Sahara,
perhaps named by Arab travellers
crossing the vast sand sea to its
southern shore (Sahel may be
derived from the Arabic for ‘shore’).
Over many centuries from A D 300,
the western Sahel became an im-
portant trade nexus, witnessing the
rise of great empires and kingdoms
based around the Senegal and Niger
rivers. Displays at New York’s Met
Museum trace the evolution of var-
ious art forms across these polities
and eras, from simple stone monu-
ments and gold body ornaments to
refined sculptures, elaborate textiles
and musical instruments, reflect-
ing step changes in those societies
including the arrival of Islam.
Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores
of the Sahara, until 10 May at the
Met Fifth Avenue, New York City
metmuseum.org/exhibitions
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