An exhibition of objects from the Standard Bank African Art Collection will be on permanent display at the Standard Bank Gallery from 30 March 1999. As in most human societies, in Africa the head is conceived as one of the most significant parts of the body. It is the focus of many of the processes intended to transform the body from a "natural" entity into the body as a "cultural" identity. In many African conceptions of the being, the head is the seat of the ancestral soul, the container of the individual soul or psyche, of intelligence, but it is also a receptacle for power. All over Africa the head, in both aspects, is the focus of special attention which is manifest in a number of different forms of address, from physical inscription in face painting, scarification, cranial manipulation and hairstyling to metaphorical address through the dressing of the head in specific ways. The aim of this exhibition is to explore the ways in which the head is conceptualised in African societies through visual culture. Thus the objects on display have been selected because they can be used to shed light on African conceptions of the head as an object of aesthetic and philosophical contemplation. Objects on show include: masks, headdresses, combs, sculptures depicting various heads and hairstyles, heddle pulleys with carved heads, medicine gourds with carved stoppers, hats, headrests, barber signs, commemorative cloths, as well as objects carried on the head such as baskets. These items have been divided into a series of categories intended to draw attention to particular aspects of African practices with regard to the head. The exhibition has been curated by Professor Anitra Nettleton from the History of Art Department at the University of the Witwatersrand. The Standard Bank African Art Collection is permanently housed at the University of the Witwatersrand Art Galleries.