Abstract

The article discusses Afro-Brazilian sacred art status in Brazilian art historiography, focusing on a collection of sacred objects that, until 2020, belonged to the Civil Police Museum of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Emphasis is placed on the reception of Afro-Brazilian sacred art in the first half of the twentieth century, which was characterized mainly by racism and violence, factors that also underpinned the police repression of Afro-Brazilian religions during the early decades of the Brazilian Republic. In addition, Afro-Brazilian sacred art is considered in the broader context of the Brazilian modern art canon and its recent critical revision. Finally, based on the analysis of some objects from the collection of the Civil Police Museum, we propose the expansion of this canon to include Afro-Brazilian sacred art.