Katie: About 10 years ago I went to Gabon as a consultant for CICIBA,
which is a cultural center for the Bantu civilizations in Africa. It was
then being planned to include a museum, an archives, a library, and an
extensive data base on Bantu. It has since been built, as I understand,
and operating. You may want to check it out in Libreville...where there
is also a natural history museum. We didn't go much beyond Libreville, but
one day visited a village where generations of men were carving beautiful
figures from soapstone...well worth the visit...and the figures are for sale.
At that time native arts could not be found in Libreville.

You may want to check with the American Embassy in Libreville for more
information...the Cultural Attache would be very helpful.

Have a great trip!     Jane Glaser,