The Kingdom of Kongo, situated in today's Angola and the DRC, had a sophisticated artistic and cultural life by the time the Portuguese arrived in 1483. Europeans admired particular forms of Kongo art; some Kongo elites converted to Christianity and started communicating with European courts through writing. A small number of Kongo students and diplomats made visits to Europe.

The development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, however, carried many less fortunate Kongolese to the New World. From the Chesapeake Bay to New Orleans, Kongo peoples left their imprint on the life, art, and cultures of the African diaspora; only recently have scholars begun to fully understand the extent of this influence.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition opening October 2013 at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art; scheduled to travel to Princeton, New Orleans, and Atlanta; and created in collaboration with the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, this volume allows leading scholars of Kongo history, anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, and art to examine the history of Kongo peoples from the early fifteenth century through today. These essays probe the historical interaction between the Kingdom of Kongo and the Atlantic world, Kongo presence and influence in the United States, and Kongo inspired artistic expression in contemporary art.

Visually and textually appealing, Kongo across the Waters is an overdue and valuable contribution to the literature on Africa’s history and its Atlantic connections.

Susan Cooksey is curator of African Art at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. Robin Poynor is professor of art history at the University of Florida. Hein Vanhee is head of collection management at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium.