cI lili()l()t;\ . I he ur'cal 

 prcptiiKlcraiicc i>t' iiia - 

 tcrinl trmii l he ( On^o 

 ;is coiiiparcd u i t li 

 (it licr ri';;ii)ns of Al'ricii 

 iii.idc iicccssai'v the 

 alldlnicnl of :iii a|)- 

 |)a rcii t \\ (lispi-opor- 

 I i on a I (' anioiiiit of 

 space, a laru,c rcctaii- 

 U'lilararca in the center 

 l)cin<i' set aside for tliis 

 |)in'])osc. 'I'liere is a 

 cci-tain nieasnre of 

 justification, lio\ve\ cr, 

 for tile ])roniinence 

 tlius i;i\cn to a sinfjle 

 region. Tile ( 'ongo 

 enihi-accs within its 

 houixlaries tribes rep- 

 resent inj;' with special 

 ch'arness the dcNclop- 

 ment of negro culture 

 as uninfluenced l)y 

 extei-nal causes; it in- 

 chides not only (H\i- 

 sions of tlie Pygmy 

 race representing per- 

 haps the lowest of cultural stages to he found in Africa, hut also a num- 

 ber of Bantu-speaking negroes whose artistic work may be fairly taken as 

 representati\-e of the capacities of the African natixcs. 



The plan of arrangement was designed to be, as neai'ly as possible, 

 geographical. The as yet uninstalled collect ions from i)arts north, east, 

 south and west of the ('ongo arc to be placed ultimately in corresponding 

 position-- with reference to the large central rectangle; within this central 

 area de\"oted to the (Ongo a similar geographical ])lan was actually 

 followed as rigidly as the nature of the material and other practical condi- 

 tions permitted. Thus, the \ isitor entering the African Hall is confronted 

 l)y a row of cases e.xhibiting material from the southern ("ongo, while a 

 .series of mats from the same district is stretched in frames above. Passing 

 to the east, he finds along the eastern border of the central area the material 



from the eastern ('ongo, while the spac( , as yet unoccupied, between this 



13 



