Artefact: Benin leopard This bronze Benin leopard is one of a pair made in about 1950 but characteristic of West African craftsmanship from earlier centuries.

Artefact: Bow lyre This bow lyre is a type of harp.

Artefact: Calabash bottle The hollowed-out and dried skins of calabashes or gourds (pumpkin-like plants) were widely used as containers or to make bowls and bottles in parts of Africa

Artefact: Calabash guitar This is a decorated calabash guitar with a bow for playing the single string.

Artefact: Carved wooden figure This figure is of an enslaved African breaking free of his chains in what may be seen as a symbolic gesture.

Artefact: Ceremonial headdresses These ceremonial headdresses are from the Konkomba people, Ghana.

Artefact: Cowrie-shell belt This belt from the Congo region of Africa is made from cowrie shells.

Artefact: Cowrie shells These cowrie shells are from the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, and were used as decoration to show the wealth and status of the owner.

Artefact: Drum from Haiti In the French and Spanish islands of the Caribbean, including Haiti (or St Domingue as it was previously known) the religious beliefs of enslaved Africans were adapted to the orthodoxies of the Catholic Church.

Artefact: Head of an 'oba' from the Edo of Benin This brass head from Benin, West Africa, dates from the mid-to late 16th century.