“Those who are curious cannot avoid learning.”
― Cameroonian proverb
About The Project
The African Artifacts Project is a long-term initiative dedicated to documenting, preserving, and sharing a lifetime of collecting. Over more than twenty-five years, this collection has grown into a carefully assembled body of classical African art, with a particular focus on metal objects, that reflects the extraordinary artistic traditions, craftsmanship, and cultural diversity of Western and Central Africa.
From the beginning, collecting was driven not simply by the appreciation of beautiful objects, but by a desire to understand their history, purpose, and cultural significance. Over time, individual acquisitions evolved into focused collections, each telling a broader story than any single object could tell alone. It is this integrity of the collections that the project seeks to preserve.
The African Artifacts Project was created to ensure that these collections remain accessible to future generations. Rather than remaining unseen in private storage, the objects are being carefully photographed, documented, and presented online so they may be explored by scholars, students, museum professionals, collectors, and anyone with an interest in African art and material culture. More than 100 object-types, represented by over 2000 specimens, will eventually appear on this website.
The project also reflects a commitment to stewardship. The hope is that, over time, these collections will find appropriate new homes within museums, universities, or other cultural institutions where they can continue to support education, research, and public appreciation.
Ultimately, this project is an invitation—to explore, to learn, and to appreciate the remarkable diversity of Africa's artistic heritage. Every collection presented here represents years of careful selection, and enduring respect for the cultures from which these objects originate. By making them accessible to a wider audience, the African Artifacts Project hopes to contribute, in its own way, to the continuing study and appreciation of classical African art for generations to come.
About The Founder
For more than twenty-five years, Mark Clayton has assembled one of the most comprehensive private collections of classical African metal art, guided by a love of non-Western material culture and a commitment to the preservation of cultural heritage.
Throughout his collecting journey, he has sought to build coherent collections rather than acquire isolated objects, believing that groups of related works provide deeper historical and cultural insight than individual pieces alone.
His commitment to stewardship has already resulted in significant donations to leading museums, where collections continue to support research, exhibitions, and public education. The African Artifacts Project represents the continuation of that philosophy: to document, preserve, and ultimately help secure appropriate futures for these collections through education and institutional collaboration.