The Tribal Arts of Africa – now in paperback – is the only book in any language presenting the entire range of black African art in an accessible form.All the objects included were made between the beginning of the first millennium and the early 20th century, before the commercial production of art aimed at the tourist trade.

Jean-Baptiste Bacquart has divided Africa south of the Sahara into forty-nine cultural areas. Each section studies the most important tribe within the area, surveying its social and political structures as well as its artistic production. The art of the tribe is analysed according to type – masks, statues and everyday objects such as utensils, furniture and jewelry.

Each section contains its own bibliography and both documentary black-and-white illustrations and lavish colour photographs of all the major object groups.