Susan Rochfort has yet to travel to Africa, but the art collector feels close to its rich culture.

She owns hundreds of pieces of African art, some of which date back 300 years, she says.

Kimberly Smith/AJC (ENLARGE)

Susan Rochfort of Fitzgerald works at The Hudgens Center for the Arts in Duluth to install more than 230 pieces of African art and artifacts from the collection owned by Susan and William Rochfort.

• See more photos! ART EXHIBIT • "Gifts from Africa: Bronzes, Art and Artifacts," a new exhibit at Hudgens Center for the Arts at Gwinnett Center is a 230-piece exhibit of bronze sculptures, tapestries, decorative masks and other intricate artwork from the Republic of Benin, near Nigeria. The exhibit runs through Dec. 31. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Tuesdays-Fridays. 10 a.m. to 3p.m. Saturdays. $5. (School groups admitted for free). The gallery is located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-623-6002, www.artsgwinnett.org. Recent headlines: Single vote decides one Norcross City Council race  Voter turnout light but steady  Gwinnett redevelopment plans pitched     • Gwinnett County news

Rochfort and her husband, William, own a new exhibit at Hudgens Center for the Arts at Gwinnett Center, "Gifts from Africa: Bronzes, Art and Artifacts."

The 230-piece exhibit of bronze sculptures, tapestries, decorative masks and other intricate artwork from the Republic of Benin, near Nigeria runs through Dec. 31.

"There are pieces in this collection that I've had for 30 years," says Rochfort, who lives in Fitzgerald, Ga.

Along with art collecting, William Rochfort is an inventor and Susan, a former art teacher, is a longtime fixture on the Gem Shopping Network. She sells estate jewelry on the program, "Treasures with Sue."

Rochfort's fascination with Africa took root during childhood when her father read stories and tales set on the continent.

"I've always been intrigued. The stories just absolutely fired my imagination about Africa and tribal laws and the jungle," she recalls.

Smaller portions of the collection have been exhibited at the Albany Museum of Art and other Georgia galleries. The Hudgens exhibit is the largest display to date. Except for the cost of transporting the artifacts to the Duluth gallery, the collection is on loan at no additional charge on the condition that students on organized school trips be admitted for free. The exhibit will also be a part of the art center's children's programming this summer.

"We've got such an diverse population in Gwinnett and the Atlanta area, children need to know different histories," says Pat Swan, board chairwoman at Hudgens Center for the Arts. "We've got a [seven] month opportunity to interact with families, churches and schools."

In the process, Rochfort hopes folks will appreciate the skill behind the artwork.

"It pleases me to no end that people have come to realize what fabulous artisans they were," Rochfort says.

THE COLLECTION

The Rochforts obtained the artwork from private collectors, international art dealers and relatives of missionaries who brought pieces back from Africa.

"Many of these pieces were used in ceremonies. The fact that some survived is amazing. It was hard for different tribes to stay at peace. When an adjacent tribe conquered a neighboring village the first thing they would do is destroy the ancestral pieces," Susan Rochfort says.

• Art: The Bronze Lion

• Rochfort: "I'm very partial to the lion because it's difficult to look at without having a tremendous emotional reaction and connecting with it. It's a symbol of the royal family. They are the ruling class and have the power of the lion. It's symbolic of keeping people in line. You couldn't have one unless you were part of the royal family.

• Art: The Ngandusa Figure from the Bamara people of Mali is carved in wood and stands nearly 8 feet tall.

• Rochfort: She would be the equivalent of the Catholic religion's patron saint. It represents a woman in middle age, crippled and childless. She prayed everyday to ancestors to bless her with kids. The village mocked her because she kept saying she believed the ancestors would help her. The barren were not looked on favorably. She was heard and gave birth to twins. Her hands are holding up offering cups. Married women would place offerings for her to look favorably upon their request.

• Art: King and queen sculpted bronze heads made around the 1940s.

• Rochfort: This would have been commissioned by the royal family [in power] at the time. This was done with the lost wax process. You have to create a bronze sculpture literally with what you have around you. They had to secure wax from a bee hive and smoke out the bees. They melted down the hives and separated the honey from the wax. What was left over was the material we would use as clay. Then you would take your life in your hands and go down to the riverbank to get the rocks and sticks out of it. It's the same as racoo firing, they would cover the wax mold with clay and leave an opening at the bottom and build a fire around it, which bakes the clay and wax is running out the bottom. You're left with a clay mold that has every little nuance of what they had carved into the wax. They'd melt copper and brass and pour liquid into the clay mold and then allow it to cool. When it cooled they would break the clay and you would have a one of a kind piece.

• Art: A sitting river oba which represents tribal rulers.

• Rochfort: It's one of the largest pieces we have. When you approached the village from the riverside the oba [art fixture] was the first thing you saw. It was a welcoming sign that you were entering the village. It's a symbol of power of the royal family.