I love the press previews at the Met and not just for the pistachio gelato eaten after. This Monday's exhibit was a reminder I used to passionately collect French Colonial stamps when I was 11-12...
Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures - Sept 21 - Jan 29, 2012 brought back memories. Those packets of exotic stamps cost only a few bucks but provided an escape route out of daily life to 'lands of many contrasts' with unpronounceable names. 
The sculptures in this show are classically iconic...
They remind you of figures like this Etruscan goddess in the museum's west wing... 
The forms change dramatically region to region throughout Africa.. 
A twin flattened Cycladic head sits in a nearby gallery...
An African head almost plate-like, wimsical... 
Did Picasso see these? 
Exquisite Yoruba terra cotta heads almost certainly made by women.. 
The vertical facial striations could be shadows cast by strings of beads hanging from the base of a crown... 
These classic forms cry out for a pencil and paper... 
Only heads were recovered. Yet it's clear bodies were attached but lost - these are 16th century. 
Where would the Cubists... 
And Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon be without the influence of African sculpture? 
French chocolate master Pierre Herme made this 75% pure dark Ghanaian chocolate mask from a cote d'Ivoire statuette. 
Part of his series of primative chocolate masks. They could easily be at the Met but one might be inclined to nibble...
Photos by Phyllis Galembo enrich the Mets show.
Some attendees dress appropriately for the Met preview. Or you could grab something in the gift shop and throw it on... 
African singer, Angelique Kidjo will perform at the Met. She was at the preview. Click to hear her sing. BONJOUR HEROIC AFRICANS!