African Art

Gustav Conrau

Gustav Conrau (2 October 1865 – December 1899) was a German trader and explorer in the former German colony Kamerun. Apart from his mission of finding commercial opportunities for German trading companies, he acquired African traditional statues, species of botanical plants and of indigenous animals that he sent to museums in the German Empire. Since the late 19th century, ethnological and later art museums as well as private collectors in Europe and America have shown an increasing appreciation of African traditional sculptures, and sculptures collected by Conrau in the Bangwa kingdom of Cameroon have become internationally known as masterpieces of African art. In 1899, Conrau was held captive by his former trading partner, chief Assunganyi, following a failed agreement to transport goods, in which Conrau had returned without the Bangwa porters. Despite being imprisoned, Conrau still had access to a firearm and tried to escape. According to later reports, Conrau fatally shot himself to avoid being captured again. The German colonial authorities exiled Assunganyi in retaliation for Conrau's death.

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See also

• ▸List of awards and nominations received by Michael Jackson
• ▸Bahía de Ponce
• ▸Nok culture

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