African art
History of art |
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African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other
The
African art has had an important influence on European Modernist art,[10] which was inspired by their interest in abstract depiction. It was this appreciation of African sculpture that has been attributed to the very concept of "African art", as seen by European and American artists and art historians.[11]
West African cultures developed bronze casting for reliefs, like the famous
Thematic elements
- In Western African art, there is a focus on being expressive and unique while still being influenced by the art of those who came before. The art of the Dan people is an example of this, and it has also spread to Western African communities outside of the continent.[13]
- Emphasis on the human figure: The human figure has always been the primary subject matter for most African art, and this emphasis even influenced certain European traditions.[10] For example, in the fifteenth century, Portugal traded with the Sapi culture near the Ivory Coast in West Africa, who created elaborate ivory saltcellars that were hybrids of African and European designs, most notably in the addition of the human figure (the human figure typically did not appear in Portuguese saltcellars). The human figure may symbolize the living or the dead, may reference chiefs, dancers, or various trades or even may be an anthropomorphic representation of a god or have other votive functions. Another common theme is the inter-morphosis of humans and animals.
- Visual abstraction: African artworks tend to favour visual abstraction over naturalistic representation. This is because many African artworks generalize stylistic norms.[14]
Scope
The study of African art until recently focused on the traditional art of certain well-known groups on the continent, with a particular emphasis on traditional sculpture, masks and other visual culture from non-Islamic West Africa, Central Africa,[15] and Southern Africa with a particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Recently, however, there has been a movement among African art historians and other scholars to include the visual culture of other regions and time periods. The notion is that by including all African cultures and their visual culture over time in African art, there will be a greater understanding of the continent's visual aesthetics across time. Finally, the arts of the people of the African diaspora, in Brazil, the Caribbean and the south-eastern United States, have also begun to be included in the study of African art.
Materials
African art is produced using a wide range of materials and takes many distinct shapes. Because wood is a very common material, wood sculptures make up the majority of African art. Other materials used in creating African arts includes clay soil. Jewelry is a popular art form and is used to indicate rank, affiliation with a group, or purely aesthetics.
Traditional African religions
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Traditional African religions have been extremely influential on African art forms across the continent. African art often stems from the themes of religious symbolism, functionalism and utilitarianism, and many pieces of art are created for spiritual rather than purely creative purposes. Many African cultures emphasize the importance of ancestors as intermediaries between the living, the gods, and the supreme creator, and art is seen as a way to contact these spirits of ancestors. Art may also be used to depict gods, and is valued for its functional purposes.[19] However, it is important to note that the arrival of both Christianity and Islam have also greatly influenced the art of the African continent, and traditions of both have been integrated into the beliefs and artwork of traditional African religion.[20]
History
The origins of African art lie long before recorded history. The region's oldest known beads were made from Nassarius shells and worn as personal ornaments 72,000 years ago.[6] In Africa, evidence for the making of paints by a complex process exists from about 100,000 years ago[7] and of the use of pigments from around 320,000 years ago.[8][21] African rock art in the Sahara in Niger preserves 6000-year-old carvings.[22] Along with sub-Saharan Africa, the western cultural arts, ancient Egyptian paintings and artifacts, and indigenous southern crafts also contributed greatly to African art. Often depicting the abundance of surrounding nature, the art was often abstract interpretations of animals, plant life, or natural designs and shapes. The Nubian Kingdom of Kush in modern Sudan was in close and often hostile contact with Egypt, and produced monumental sculptures mostly derivative of styles that did not lead to the north. In West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the Nok culture which thrived between 1,500 BC and 500 AD in modern Nigeria, with clay figures typically with elongated bodies and angular shapes.
More complex methods of producing art were developed in sub-Saharan Africa around the 10th century, some of the most notable advancements include the bronze work of
Influence on Western art
During and after the 19th and 20th century colonial period, Westerners long characterized African art as "primitive." The term carries with it negative connotations of underdevelopment and poverty. Colonization during the nineteenth century set up a Western understanding hinged on the belief that African art lacked technical ability due to its low socioeconomic status.
At the start of the twentieth century, art historians like
Traditional art
Traditional art describes the most popular and studied forms of African art which are typically found in museum collections.
Wooden
Statues, usually of wood or ivory, are often inlaid with
Contemporary African art
Africa is home to a thriving contemporary art and fine art culture. This has been understudied until recently, due to scholars' and art collectors' emphasis on traditional art. Notable modern artists include El Anatsui, Marlene Dumas, William Kentridge, Karel Nel, Kendell Geers, Yinka Shonibare, Zerihun Yetmgeta, Odhiambo Siangla, Elias Jengo, Olu Oguibe, Lubaina Himid, Bili Bidjocka and Henry Tayali. Art bienniales are held in Dakar, Senegal, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Many contemporary African artists are represented in museum collections, and their art may sell for high prices at art auctions. Despite this, many contemporary African artists tend to have a difficult time finding a market for their work. Many contemporary African arts borrow heavily from traditional predecessors. Ironically, this emphasis on abstraction is seen by Westerners as an imitation of European and American Cubist and totemic artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse, who, in the early twentieth century, was heavily influenced by traditional African art. This period was critical to the evolution of Western modernism in visual arts, symbolized by Picasso's breakthrough painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.[26]
Today, Fathi Hassan is considered a major early representative of contemporary black African art. Contemporary African art was pioneered in the 1950s and 1960s in South Africa by artists like Irma Stern, Cyril Fradan, and Walter Battiss and through galleries like the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. More recently European galleries such as the October Gallery in London and collectors such as Jean Pigozzi,[27] Artur Walther[28] and Gianni Baiocchi in Rome have helped expand the interest in the subject. Numerous exhibitions at the Museum for African Art in New York and the African Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale, which showcased the Sindika Dokolo African
Collection of Contemporary Art, has gone a long way to counter many of the myths and prejudices that haunt
A wide range of more-or-less traditional forms of art or adaptations of traditional style to contemporary taste is made for sale to tourists and others, including so-called "airport art". A number of vigorous popular traditions assimilate Western influences into African styles such as the elaborate fantasy coffins of Southern Ghana, made in a variety of different shapes which represent the occupations or interests of the deceased or elevate their status. The Ga believe that an elaborate funeral will benefit the status of their loved ones in the after-life, so families often spare no expense when deciding which coffin they want for their relatives.[29] These coffins can take the forms of cars, cocoa pods, chickens, or any other shape a family may decide best represents their deceased loved one.[30]
Pop art and advertising art
Art used to advertise for local businesses, including barbershops, movie houses, and appliance stores has become internationally celebrated in galleries and has launched the careers of many contemporary African artists, from Joseph Bertiers of Kenya to several movie poster painters in Ghana.[31] Ghanaian hand-painted movie posters on canvas and flour sacks from the 1980s and 1990s have been exhibited at museums around the world and sparked viral social media attention due to their highly imaginative and stylized depictions of Western films.[32][33] This creative interpretation of Western culture through African art styles is also on display with the tradition of praise portraits depicting international celebrities, which often served as storefront advertising art, and have since become widely valued and collected in the global art market.
Minimalist African art
Another notable contemporary African artist is Amir Nour, a Sudanese artist who lived in Chicago. In the 1960s he created a metal sculpture called Grazing at Shendi (1969) which consists of geometric shapes that connect with his memory of his homeland.[34] The sculpture resembles grazing sheep in the distance. He valued discovering art within the society of the artist, including culture, tradition, and background.[35]
By country, civilizations or people
West Africa
Ghana
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Ghana is famous for creating the most famous bonafide African expressions and makes, these range from wood carvings, brass works, figures, gems and different types of materials. Ghana still holds up to be notoriety as a nation with endless saves of minerals, such as gold, diamond, silver, bronze, etc. Ghana provides plenty of assistance for craftsmen to create and design jewelry, whether it be contemporary or traditional.
A Kente is a traditional, multi-coloured, hand-woven, quilted cloth. It is also a sort of silk and cotton texture made of interlaced cloth strips. The cloth is central to the Ghanaian culture and it is also traditionally used to be worn as a wrap-around both men and women with slightly different variations for both of them. This fabric is worn by almost every Ghanaian tribe member.
- Colors And Meaning
There are different color variations for the kente, each color has different meanings. Here are some examples:
Black: maturation
White: purification
Yellow: preciousness
Blue: peacefulness
Red: bloodshed
Akan art originated among the
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Asante king'sstate sword
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Doll (Akuaba); 20th century; 27.3 x 11.4 x 3.8 cm (103⁄4 x 41⁄2 x 11⁄2 in.); Brooklyn Museum (New York City)
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Soul washer badge (Akrafokonmu); 18th-19th century; gold; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Nigeria
Nigerian culture is illustrated through art and folklore. Nigeria draws its inspiration for their art from traditional folk heritage of the region. There are different types of artwork from the Nigerian culture. Some of these works of art can be stone carvings, potteries, glass work, wood carvings and bronze works. Benin and Awka are considered to be the central places for wood carving. Woodcarvers have been thriving throughout the south of Nigeria from time immemorial.
Examples of Nigerian Traditional Art
Masks
Masks are a piece of the animist confidence of the Yoruba individuals. The veils are painted, and fans wear them at memorial services and different functions to mollify the spirits.
Pottery
Pottery has a long custom in Nigeria. Pottery was well known from 100 B.C. These days Suleja, Abuja and Ilorin are viewed as significant figures of customary ceramics. Potters in Nigeria are frequently female, and usually practice for the methods to be passed on through families.
Textiles
Yorubas utilize a bush to make indigo-shaded batik-colored fabric. Ladies generally do the withering, while in the north, the specialty is drilled only by men. Weavers everywhere throughout the nation produce a splendid texture with ribbon structures. Oyo state is known for its fine loom materials while fabric from Abia state utilizes a broadloom strategy.
The Nok culture is an early
The function of Nok terracotta sculptures remains unknown. For the most part, the terracotta is preserved in the form of scattered fragments. That is why Nok art is best known today only for the heads, both male and female, whose hairstyles are particularly detailed and refined. The statues are in fragments because the discoveries are usually made from alluvial mud,[39][40][41] in terrain made by the erosion of water. The terracotta statues found there are hidden, rolled, polished, and broken. Rarely are works of great size conserved intact making them highly valued on the international art market. The terracotta figures are hollow, coil built, nearly life-sized human heads and bodies that are depicted with highly stylized features, abundant jewelry, and varied postures.
Little is known of the original function of the pieces, but theories include ancestor portrayal,
As a result of natural erosion and deposition, Nok terracottas were scattered at various depths throughout the Sahel grasslands, causing difficulty in the dating and classification of the mysterious artifacts. Two archaeological sites, Samun Dukiya and Taruga, were found containing Nok art that had remained unmoved. Radiocarbon and thermo-luminescence tests narrowed the sculptures’ age down to between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, making them some of the oldest in Western Africa. Many further dates were retrieved in the course of new archaeological excavations, extending the beginnings of the Nok tradition even further back in time.[42]
Because of the similarities between the two sites, archaeologist Graham Connah believes that "Nok artwork represents a style that was adopted by a range of iron-using farming societies of varying cultures, rather than being the diagnostic feature of a particular human group as has often been claimed."
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Musée du quai Branly(Paris). In this Nok work, the head is dramatically larger than the body supporting it, yet the figure possesses elegant details and a powerful focus. The neat protrusion from the chin represents a beard. Necklaces from a cone around the neck and keep the focus on the face.
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Relief fragment with heads and figures; 5th century BC – 5th century AD; length: 50 cm (19.6 in.), height: 54 cm (21.2 in.), width: 50 cm (19.6 in.); terracotta; Musée du quai Branly. As most African art styles, the Nok style focuses mainly on people, rarely on animals. All of the Nok statues are very stylized and similar in that they have this triangular shape eye with a perforated pupil, with arched eyebrows.
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Male head; 550–50 BC; terracotta; Brooklyn Museum (New York City, USA). The mouth of this head is slightly open. It maybe suggests speech, that the figure has something to tell us. This is a figure that seems to be in the midst of a conversation. The eyes and the eyebrows suggest an inner calm or an inner serenity.
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Male figure; terracotta;Detroit Institute of Art (Michigan, USA)
Benin art
Benin art is the
In 1897 most of the plaques and other objects in the collection were taken by a British force during the Benin Expedition of 1897, which took place as British control in Southern Nigeria was being consolidated.[45] Two hundred of the pieces were taken to the British Museum, while the rest were purchased by other museums in Europe.[46] Today, a large number are held by the British Museum,[45] as well as by other notable collections in German and American museums.[47]
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Plaque with warriors and attendants; 16th–17th century; brass; height: 47.6 cm (183⁄4 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
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Plaque equestrian an Oba on horseback with attendants; between 1550 and 1680; brass; height: 49.5 cm (197⁄16 in.), width: 41.9 (161⁄2 in.), diameter: 11.4 cm (41⁄2 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Plaque that probably represents a musician; 17th century; bronze; 48.26 cm (19 in.) x 18.42 (71⁄4 in.) x 8.89 cm (31⁄2 in.), irregular; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA)
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Rooster figure; 18th century; brass; overall: 45.4 cm (177⁄8 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Bronze Head of Queen Idia; early 16th century; bronze; Ethnological Museum of Berlin (Germany). Four cast bronze heads of the queen are known and are currently in the collections of the British Museum, the World Museum (Liverpool), the Nigerian National Museum (Lagos) and the Ethnological Museum of Berlin
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Leopard aquamanile; 17th century; brass; Ethnological Museum of Berlin. The bronze leopards were used to decorate the altar of the oba. The leopard, a symbol of power, appears in many bronze plaques, from the oba's palace
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Figure of a horn blower; 1504–1550; copper alloy; 62.2 x 21.6 x 15.2 cm (241⁄2 x 81⁄2 x 6 in.); Brooklyn Museum (New York City). Blowing a horn or flute with his right hand, his left arm is truncated. He also wears a netted cap with chevron design decorated with a feather
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Benin ivory mask of the queen mother Idia; 16th century; ivory, iron & copper; Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of four related ivory pendant masks among the prized regalia of the Oba of Benin; taken during the Benin Expedition of 1897 in the Southern Nigeria Protectorate
Igbo
The
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Maiden spirit mask; early 20th century; wood & pigment; Brooklyn Museum (New York City, USA)
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A mask known as the Queen of Women (Eze Nwanyi); late 19th-early 20th century; wood & pigment; Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama, USA)
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Bronze ceremonial vessel in form of a snail shell; 9th century; Igbo-Ukwu; Nigerian National Museum (Lagos, Nigeria)
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Bronze ornamental staff head; 9th century; Igbo-Ukwu; Nigerian National Museum
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Female figure for a small temple; 20th century; Indianapolis Museum of Art
Yoruba
Yoruba art is best known for the heads from
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Head of a king or dignitary; 12th–15th century AD; terracotta;Ife(Nigeria)
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Mask forIfe, Nigeria)[48]
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Gelede mask; circa 1900–1915; Detroit Institute of Arts (USA)
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Pair of door panels and a lintel; circa 1910–1914; by Olowe of Ise; (British Museum, London)
Other ethnic groups of Nigeria
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Carved door; circa 1920–1940; wood with iron staples; by Nupe people; Hood Museum of Art (Hanover, New Hampshire, USA)
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Headdress; early 1900s; wood, antelope skin, basketry, cane, metal; byEjagham people; Cleveland Museum of Art(USA)
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Headdress; early 1900s; wood, hair; Idoma people; Cleveland Museum of Art
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Otobo (hippopotamus) mask; byKalabari people; British Museum(London)
Mali
The primary ethnic groups in Mali are the Bambara (also known as Bamana) and the Dogon. Smaller ethnic groups consist of the Marka, and the Bozo fisherman of the Niger River. Ancient civilizations flourished in areas like Djene and Timbuktu, where a great variety of ancient bronze and terracotta figures have been unearthed.
Djenné-Djenno
Djenné-Djenno is famous for its figurines which depict humans and animals including snakes and horses. They are made of terracotta, a material that has been used in West Africa for some ten thousand years.
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Terracotta seated figure; 13th century; earthenware; 29.9 cm (113⁄4 in.) high; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, USA) The raised marks and indentations on the back of this hunched Djenné figure may represent disease or, more likely, sacrification patterns. The facial expression and pose could depict an individual in mouring or in pain
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Female figure; 13th-–15th century; terracotta covered with red ochre; height: 37.5 cm (14.7 in.), width: 31 cm (12.2 in.), depth: 24 cm (9.4 in.);Musée du quai Branly(Paris)
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Equestrian figure; 13th–15th century; height: 70.5 cm;Washington D.C., USA)
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Male figure; 14th-17th century; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)
Bambara
The Bambara people (Bambara: Bamanankaw) adapted many artistic traditions and began to create display pieces. Before money was the main drive of creation of their artworks they used their abilities solely as a sacred craft for display of spiritual pride, religious beliefs and display of customs. Example artworks include the Bamana n'tomo mask. Other statues were created for people such as hunters and farmers so others could leave offerings after long farming seasons or group hunts. The stylistic variations in Bambara art are extreme sculptures, masks and headdresses display either stylized or realistic features, and either weathered or encrusted patinas. Until quite recently, the function of Bambara pieces was shrouded in mystery, but in the last twenty years, field studies have revealed that certain types of figures and headdresses were associated with a number of the societies that structure Bambara life. During the 1970s a group of approximately twenty figures, masks and TjiWara headdresses belonging to the so-called 'Segou style' were identified. The style is distinct and recognizable by its typical flat faces, arrow-shaped noses, all-over body triangular scarifications and, on the figures, splayed hands.
- Masks
There are three major and one minor type of Bambara mask. The first type, used by the N'tomo society, has a typical comb-like structure above the face, is worn during dances and may be covered with cowrie shells. The second type of mask, associated with the Komo society, has a spherical head with two antelope horns on the top and an enlarged, flattened mouth. They are used during dances, but some have a thickly encrusted patina acquired during other ceremonies in which libations are poured over them.
The third type has connections with the Nama society and is carved in the form of an articulated bird's head, while the fourth, minor type, represents a stylized animal head and is used by the Kore society. Other Bambara masks are known to exist, but unlike those described above, they cannot be linked to specific societies or ceremonies. Bambara carvers have established a reputation for the zoomorphic headdresses worn by Tji-Wara society members. Although they are all different, they all display a highly abstract body, often incorporating a zig-zag motif, which represents the sun's course from east to west, and a head with two large horns. Bambara members of the Tji-Wara society wear the headdress while dancing in their fields at sowing time, hoping to increase the crop yield.
- Statuettes
Bambara
Two of these figures were ascribed great significance: a seated or standing maternity figure called Guandousou – known in the West as 'Bambara Queen' – and a male figure called Guantigui, who usually appears holding a knife. The two figures were surrounded by Guannyeni attendant figures standing or seated in various positions, holding a vessel, or a musical instrument, or their breasts. During the 1970s, numerous fakes from Bamako which were based on these sculptures entered the market. They were produced in Bamako.
Other Bambara figures, called Dyonyeni, are thought to be associated with either the southern Dyo society or the Kwore society. These female or hermaphrodite figures usually appear with geometric features such as large conical breasts and measure between 40 and 85 cm in height. The blacksmith members of the Dyo society used them during dances to celebrate the end of their initiation ceremonies. They were handled, held by dancers and placed in the middle of the ceremonial circle.
Among the corpus of Bambara figures, Boh sculptures are perhaps the best known. These statues represent a highly stylized animal or human figure, and are made of wood which is repeatedly covered in thick layers of earth impregnated with sacrificial materials such as millet, chicken or goat blood, kola nuts and alcoholic drinks. They were employed by the Kono and the Komo societies and served as receptacles for spiritual forces, and could, in turn, be used for apotropaic purposes.
Each special creative trait a person obtained was seen as a different way to please higher spirits.
Dogon
Themes found throughout Dogon sculpture consist of figures with raised arms, superimposed bearded figures, horsemen, stools with caryatids, women with children, figures covering their faces, women grinding pearl millet, women bearing vessels on their heads, donkeys bearing cups, musicians, dogs, quadruped-shaped troughs or benches, figures bending from the waist, mirror-images, aproned figures, and standing figures (Laude, 46–52). Signs of other contacts and origins are evident in Dogon art. The Dogon people were not the first inhabitants of the cliffs of Bandiagara. Influence from Tellem art is evident in Dogon art because of its rectilinear designs (Laude, 24).
Dogon art is extremely versatile, although common stylistic characteristics – such as a tendency towards stylization – are apparent on the statues. Their art deals with the myths whose complex ensemble regulates the life of the individual. The sculptures are preserved in innumerable sites of worship, personal or family altars, altars for rain, altars to protect hunters, in market. As a general characterization of Dogon statues, one could say that they render the human body in a simplified way, reducing it to its essentials. Some are extremely elongated with emphasis on geometric forms. The subjective impression is one of immobility with a mysterious sense of a solemn gravity and serene majesty, although conveying at the same time a latent movement. Dogon sculpture recreates the hermaphroditic silhouettes of the Tellem, featuring raised arms and a thick patina made of blood and millet beer. The four Nommo couples, the mythical ancestors born of the god Amma, ornament stools, pillars or men's meeting houses, door locks, and granary doors. The primordial couple is represented sitting on a stool, the base of which depicts the earth while the upper surface represents the sky; the two are interconnected by the Nommo. The seated female figures, their hands on their abdomen, are linked to the fertility cult, incarnating the first ancestor who died in childbirth, and are the object of offerings of food and sacrifices by women who are expecting a child.
Kneeling statues of protective spirits are placed at the head of the dead to absorb their spiritual strength and to be their intermediaries with the world of the dead, into which they accompany the deceased before once again being placed on the shrines of the ancestors. Horsemen are reminders of the fact that, according to myth, the horse was the first animal present on earth. The Dogon style has evolved into a kind of cubism: ovoid head, squared shoulders, tapered extremities, pointed breasts, forearms, and thighs on a parallel plane, hairdos stylized by three or four incised lines. Dogon sculptures serve as a physical medium in initiations and as an explanation of the world. They serve to transmit an understanding to the initiated, who will decipher the statue according to the level of their knowledge. Carved animal figures, such as dogs and ostriches, are placed on village foundation altars to commemorate sacrificed animals, while granary doors, stools and house posts are also adorned with figures and symbols.
There are nearly eighty styles of masks, but their basic characteristic is great boldness in the use of geometric shapes, independent of the various animals they are supposed to represent. The structure of a large number of masks is based on the interplay of vertical and horizontal lines and shapes. Another large group has triangular, conic shapes. All masks have large geometric eyes and stylized features. The masks are often polychrome, but on many the color is lost; after the ceremonies they were left on the ground and quickly deteriorated because of termites and other conditions. The Dogon continue an ancient masquerading tradition, which commemorates the origin of death. According to their myths, death came into the world as a result of primeval man's transgressions against the divine order. Dama memorial ceremonies are held to accompany the dead into the ancestral realm and restore order to the universe. The performance of masqueraders – sometimes as many as 400 – at these ceremonies is considered absolutely necessary. In the case of the dama, the timing, types of masks involved, and other ritual elements are often specific to one or two villages and may not resemble those seen in locations only several kilometres distant. The masks also appear during baga-bundo rites performed by small numbers of masqueraders before the burial of a male Dogon. Dogon masks evoke the form of animals associated with their mythology, yet their significance is only understood by the highest ranking cult members whose role is to explain the meaning of each mask to a captivated audience.
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Person who wears a Satimbe mask
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Figure of a kneeling woman; circa 1500; wood; height: 35.2 cm (137⁄8 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
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Equestrian figure; 16th–17th century; wood; height: 68.9 cm (271⁄8 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Stool; possibly late 19th to early 20th century; wood & pigment;Washington D.C., USA)
Other ethnic groups of Mali
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Black and white picture of a female figure with raised arm; 15th–17th century; wood (ficus, moraceae), sacrificial materials; height: 44.8 cm (175⁄8 in.); by the Tellem people; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
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Zoomorphic figurine; 12th-16th century; by Tennenkou culture; Museo de Arte Africano Arellano Alonso (Valladolid, Spain)
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Equestrian figurine; by Bankoni culture; Museo de Arte Africano Arellano Alonso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a small, landlocked country north of Ghana and south of Mali and Niger. Economically, it is one of the four or five poorest countries in the world. Culturally, it is extremely rich. In part, this is because so few people from Burkina have become Muslim or Christian.[49] Many of the ancient artistic traditions for which Africa is so well known have been preserved in Burkina Faso because so many people continue to honor the ancestral spirits, and the spirits of nature. In great part, they honor the spirits through the use of masks and carved figures. Many of the countries to the north of Burkina Faso had become predominantly Muslim, while many of the countries to the south of Burkina Faso are heavily Christian. In contrast, many of the people of Burkina Faso continue to offer prayers and sacrifices to the spirits of nature and to the spirits of their ancestors. The result is that they continue to use the sorts of art that we see in museums in Europe and America.[50]
One of the principal obstacles to understanding the art of Burkina Faso, including that of the Bwa, has been a confusion between the styles of the Bwa, "gurunsi", and Mossi, and a confusion of the Bwa people with their neighbors to the west the Bobo people. This confusion was the result of the use by French colonial officers of Jula interpreters at the turn of the century. these interpreters considered the two peoples to be the same and so referred to the Bobo as "Bobo-Fing" and to the Bwa as "Bobo-Oule." In fact these two peoples are not related at all. Their languages are quite different, their social systems are quite different, and certainly their art is quite different. In terms of artistic styles the confusion stems from the fact that the Bwa, "gurunsi'" and Mossi make masks that are covered with red white and black geometric graphic patterns. This is simply the style of the Voltaic or Gur peoples, and also includes the Dogon and other peoples who speak Voltaic languages.[51]
Ivory Coast(Côte d'Ivoire)
The
As the masks are held to be of great spiritual power, it is considered a taboo for anyone other than specially trained persons or chosen ones to wear or possess certain masks. These ceremonial masks are each thought to have a soul, or life force, and wearing these masks is thought to transform the wearer into the entity the mask represents.
Ivory Coast(Côte d'Ivoire) also has modern painters and illustrators. Gilbert G. Groud[52] criticizes the ancient beliefs in black magic, as held with the spiritual masks mentioned above, in his illustrated book Magie Noire.
East Africa
Kenya
Around
The
Ethiopia
Ethiopian art from the 4th century until the 20th can be divided into two broad groupings. First comes a distinctive tradition of Christian art, mostly for churches, in forms including
Prehistoric
The powerful Kingdom of Aksum emerged in the 1st century BCE and dominated Ethiopia until the 10th century, having become very largely Christian from the 4th century.[58] Although some buildings and large, pre-Christian stelae exist, there appears to be no surviving Ethiopian Christian art from the Axumite period. However, the earliest works remaining show a clear continuity with Coptic art of earlier periods. There was considerable destruction of churches and their contents in the 16th century when the country was invaded by Muslim neighbours. The revival of art after this was influenced by Catholic European art in both iconography and elements of style, but retained its Ethiopian character. In the 20th century, Western artists and architects began to be commissioned by the government, and to train local students, and more fully Westernized art was produced alongside continuations of traditional church art.[58]
Church paintings in Ethiopia were likely produced as far back as the introduction of Christianity in the 4th century AD,[59] although the earliest surviving examples come from the church of Debre Selam Mikael in the Tigray Region, dated to the 11th century AD.[60] However, the 7th-century AD followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who fled to Axum in temporary exile mentioned that the original Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion was decorated with paintings.[60] Other early paintings include those from the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, dated to the 12th century AD, and in nearby Geneta Maryam, dated to the 13th century AD.[60] However, paintings in illuminated manuscripts predate the earliest surviving church paintings; for instance, the Ethiopian Garima Gospels of the 4th–6th centuries AD contain illuminated scenes imitating the contemporary Byzantine style.[61]
Ethiopian painting, on walls, in books, and in
Another important form of Ethiopian art, also related to Coptic styles, are crosses made from wood and metal.
Ethiopia has great ethnic and linguistic diversity, and styles in secular traditional crafts vary greatly in different parts of the country. There are a range of traditions in textiles, many with woven geometric decoration, although many types are also usually plain. Ethiopian church practices make a great deal of use of colourful textiles, and the more elaborate types are widely used as church vestments and as hangings, curtains and wrappings in churches, although they have now largely been supplanted by Western fabrics. Examples of both types can be seen in the picture at the top of the article. Icons may normally be veiled with a semi-transparent or opaque cloth; very thin chiffon-type cotton cloth is a speciality of Ethiopia, though usually with no pattern.
Colourful basketry with a coiled construction is common in rural Ethiopia. The products have many uses, such as storing grains, seeds and food and being used as tables and bowls. The Muslim city of Harar is well known for its high-quality basketry,[66] and many craft products of the Muslim minority relate to wider Islamic decorative traditions.
Tanzania
Art from Tanzania is known for paintings by modern artists like Tinga Tinga or George Lilanga, and for traditional as well as modern Makonde sculptures. Like in other regions, there is also a diversified tradition of producing textile art.[9]
Tinga Tinga art has roots in decorating hut walls in central and south Tanzania. It was first in 1968 when Edward Said Tingatinga started to paint on wooden sheets with enamel colours when Tinga Tinga art became known. The art of the Makonde must be subdivided into different areas. The Makonde are known as master carvers throughout East Africa, and their statuary that can be found being sold in tourist markets and in museums alike. They traditionally carve household objects, figures and masks. Since the 1950s the so-called Modern Makonde Art has been developed. An essential step was the turning to abstract figures, mostly spirits (Shetani) that play a special role. Makonde are also part of the important contemporary artists of Africa today. An outstanding position is taken by George Lilanga.
Central Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo
Kuba Kingdom
The
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Ngady-Mwash mask; 19th century;cowrie shells. Like many Kuba types of masks, ngady-mwash mask is extensively polychromed, or multicolored
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Mulwalwa mask; 19th or early 20th century; painted wood and raffia; Ethnological Museum of Berlin. This mask embodies a powerful nature spirit. As there are no holes through which a performer could see, it was probably mounted on a wall at an initiation camp, signaling that the initiation was almost complete
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Pwoom Itok mask; late 19th century; 39.1 x 28.6 x 29.8 cm (153⁄8 x 111⁄4 x 113⁄4 in.); Brooklyn Museum (USA). This mask may have represented a wise older man at boys' initiations. One of the principal Kuba dance masks is called pwoom itok. The chief identifying characteristic is the shape of the eyes, whose centers are cones surrounded by holes through which the wearer sees
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Belt (Yet); possibly early 1900s; cord, leather, glass beads, shells; Cleveland Museum of Art (USA). Like some of the masks, this belt is decorated with colorful beads
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Ndop of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul; 1760–1780; wood; 49.5 x 19.4 x 21.9 cm (191⁄2 x 75⁄8 x 85⁄8 in.); Brooklyn Museum (New York City). Ndops are royal memorial portraits carved by the Kuba people of Central Africa. They are not naturalistic portrayals but are intended as representations of the king's spirit and as an encapsulation of the principle of kingship
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Head goblet (Mbwoongntey); 19th century; wood; Brooklyn Museum. It has one-inch cylindrical lip with linear decoration. The hair is made up of crosshatched lines with a raised diamond-shaped segment on the back of the head. Its cheeks have curved multilinear scarification
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Itoon (diviner's instrument, in form of a hippopotamus); 19th century; wood; 7.5 × 26.6 × 6.4 cm (215⁄16 × 101⁄2 × 21⁄2 in.); Brooklyn Museum
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Cloth;cloth.[67]Several types of raffia cloth are produced for different purposes, the most common form of which is a plain woven cloth that is used as the foundation for decorated textile production
Luba Kingdom
The
As in the Kuba Kingdom, the Luba Kingdom held the arts in high esteem. A carver held relatively high status, which was displayed by an adze (axe) that he carried over his shoulder. Luba art was not very uniform because of the vast territory which the kingdom controlled. However, some characteristics are common. The important role of woman in the creation myths and political society resulted in many objects of prestige being decorated with female figures.
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Headrest; 19th century; wood; height: 18.5 cm (7.2 in), width: 19 cm (7.4 in), thickness: 8 cm (3.1 in);Musée du quai Branly(Paris). This headrest presents 19th century Luba hairstyles, as well as the long limbs, bent-back legs, cylindrical torso and dynamic pose typical of the artist who made it
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Figurine of a standing woman; late 19th or early 20th century; wood; 27.9 × 8.3 × 10.2 cm (11 × 31⁄4 × 4 in.); Brooklyn Museum (New York City)
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Heddle pulley with female head; late 19th or early 20th century; wood; 20.6 × 5.4 × 4.8 cm (81⁄8 × 21⁄8 × 17⁄8 in); Brooklyn Museum
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Kifwebe mask; wood; Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium)
Other ethnic groups of Democratic Republic of Congo
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Anthropomorphic pot; early 20th century; pottery; 40.0 × 24.0 cm (153⁄4 × 91⁄2 in.); by Mangbetu people; Brooklyn Museum (New York City)
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Plank mask (emangungu); possibly early 1900s; wood; by Bembe people; Cleveland Museum of Art (USA)
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Head of a scepter; 19th century; by Yombe people
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Female figure; 20th century; wood; by Lumbo people; Indianapolis Museum of Art (USA)
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Mask; early 20th century; wood, raffia & color pigments; by Yaka people; Rietberg Museum (Zürich, Switzerland)
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Chair (throne) of a chief; 19th or early 20th century; wood; by Hemba people; Rietberg Museum
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Funerary figure (tumba); 19th century; wood; by Sundi people; Rietberg Museum
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Mbangu mask; wood, pigment & fibres; height: 27 cm; by Pende people; Royal Museum for Central Africa. Representing a disturbed man, the hooded V-looking eyes and the mask's artistic elements – face surfaces, distored features, and divided colour – evoke the experience of personal inner conflict
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Tomb figure; soapstone; by Boma people; Royal Museum for Central Africa. Stone sculptures are extremely rare in African art
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Warrior ancestor figure; 19th century; wood; 84.1 × 26 × 23.2 cm (33.1 × 10.2 × 9.1 in.); byFort Worth, Texas, USA)
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Statuette of a woman; 19th century or early 20th century; by Holoholo people; Ethnological Museum of Berlin (Germany)
Chad
Sao
The Sao civilisation in
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Anthropomorphic figurine;Musée du quai Branly(Paris)
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Anthropomorphic figurine; 9th-16th century; terracotta; Musée du quai Branly
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Anthropomorphic figurine; 9th-16th century; terracotta; Musée du quai Branly
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Anthropomorphic figurine; 9th-16th century; terracotta; Musée du quai Branly
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Head; terracotta; Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de La Rochelle (La Rochelle, France)
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Zoomorphic figure; 9th-16th century; terracotta; Musée du quai Branly
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Fragment of a pectoral; 9th-16th century; cuprous alloy; Musée du quai Branly
Gabon
The Fang people make masks and basketry, carvings, and sculptures. Fang art is characterized by organized clarity and distinct lines and shapes. Bieri, boxes to hold the remains of ancestors, are carved with protective figures. Masks are worn in ceremonies and for hunting. The faces are painted white with black features. Myene art centers around Myene rituals for death. Female ancestors are represented by white painted masks worn by male relatives. The Bekota use brass and copper to cover their carvings. They use baskets to hold ancestral remains. Tourism is rare in Gabon, and unlike in other African countries, art is not spurred on by commerce.
Southern Africa
Botswana
In the northern part of Botswana, women in the villages of Etsha and Gumare[70] are noted for their skill at crafting baskets from Mokola Palm and local dyes. The baskets are generally woven into three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage large, open baskets for carrying objects on the head or for winnowing threshed grain, and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. The artistry of these baskets is being steadily enhanced through color use and improved designs as they are increasingly produced for commercial use.
The oldest evidence ancient paintings from both Botswana and
Zimbabwe
The culture from Great Zimbabwe left more impressive buildings than sculpture,[opinion] but the eight soapstone Zimbabwe Birds appear to have had a special significance and were presumably mounted on monoliths. Modern Zimbabwean sculptors in soapstone have achieved considerable international success. Southern Africa's oldest known clay figures date from 400 to 600 AD and have cylindrical heads with a mixture of human and animal features.
South Africa
Mapungubwe
Kingdom of Mapungubwe (1075–1220) was a pre-colonial state in Southern Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe. The most famous Mapungubwe artwork is a tiny golden rhino, known as the golden rhinoceros of Mapungubwe. In other graves from Mapengubwe were found objects made of iron, gold, copper, ceramic and glass beads.
Southern Ndebele
The Southern Ndebele people are famous for the way they paint their houses. Distinct geometric forms against stark, contrasting colours form the basis of the Ndebele style, which encompassed everything from the architecture, clothing and tools of the people. While color has almost always had a role in drawing emotions in art, the Ndebele were one of the first Southern African tribes to utilise a wide array of colours to convey specific meaning as part of their very lives.
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Murals in the Ndebele from the Maastricht University (the Netherlands)
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Murals in the Ndebele from the Maastricht University
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A beaded apron or meputo; late 19th-early 20th century; hide, glass beads, metal beads, straw; 46.9 × 50.8 cm (18.5 × 20 in.); Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama, USA)
North Africa
Egypt
Persisting for 3,000 years and thirty dynasties, the "official"
A lot of the art possesses a certain stiffness, with figures poised upright and rigid in a regal fashion. Bodily proportions also appear to be mathematically derived, giving rise to a sense of fantastic perfection in the figures depicted. This most likely was used to reinforce the godliness of the ruling caste.
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Both sides of theHierakonpolis (Egypt); Egyptian Museum (Cairo). The Narmer palette is the quintessential statement of the Egyptians' mythology of kingship. A clear manifesto of royal power, it is also one with multiple layers of symbolism
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Stele of Princess Nefertiabet eating; 2589-2566 BC; limestone & paint; height: 37.7 cm (147⁄8 in.), length: 52.5 cm (205⁄8 in.), depth: 8.3 cm (31⁄4 in.); from Giza; Louvre (Paris). This finely executed relief represents the most succinct assurance of perpetual offering for the deceased
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The Bust of Nefertiti; 1352-1336 BC; limestone, plaster & paint; height: 48 cm (197⁄8 in.); from Amarna (Egypt); Egyptian Museum of Berlin (Germany). Perhaps the most iconic image of a woman from the ancient world, the bust of Nefertiti is difficult to contextualize because it seems so exceptional
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The Mask of Tutankhamun; circa 1327 BC; gold, glass and semi-precious stones; height: 54 cm (211⁄4 in.), width: 39.3 cm (151⁄2 in.), depth: 49 cm (191⁄4 in.); from the Valley of the Kings (Thebes, Egypt); Egyptian Museum. The mummy mask of Tutankhamun is perhaps the most iconic object to survive from ancient Egypt
Nubia and Sudan
The people of Nubia, living in southern Egypt and the northern region of
After these historical periods, the inhabitants of Sudan created artworks in different styles, both in indigenous African ways or influenced by Byzantine Christian, Islamic and modern art traditions.[74]
African Diaspora
Museums
Many art and ethnographic museums have a section dedicated to the art from Sub-Saharan Africa, for example the British Museum, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Not many western museums are dedicated only to African art, like the Africa Museum in Brussels, National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., and African Art Museum of Maryland in Columbia, Maryland.[75] Some colleges and universities hold collections of African art, for example Howard University in Washington, DC and Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Nearly all countries in Africa have at least a national museum housing African art, often very largely from that country, for example the Sierra Leone National Museum and Nigerian National Museum in Lagos. There are also many smaller museums in the provinces.
The display of African art and artifacts in European museums has long been controversial in various ways, and the French-commissioned "Report on the restitution of African cultural heritage" (2018) has marked a key moment, leading to an increase in the return of artefacts. However, there are other examples, such as the Museum of African Art in Belgrade which was opened in 1977 because of Yugoslavia's relations with many African countries thanks to the Non-Aligned Movement. The museum was opened out of the desire to acquaint the people of Yugoslavia with the art and culture of Africa since there was a deeply rooted notion about Yugoslavia sharing a friendship with African countries thanks to their similar struggles; all of the original items in the museums were legally bought by the Yugoslav ambassador and journalist Zdravko Pečar and his wife Veda Zagorac, while more recent acquisition were either bought by the museum, received as gifts from Yugoslavs who lived in Africa or were diplomatic gifts to the museum by the ambassadors of African countries.[76]
The Congolese activist Mwazulu Diyabanza has taken direct action against European museums to take back items he says belong to Africa.[77][78]
See also
- Culture of Africa
- Contemporary African art
- African art in Western collections
- African folk art
- African traditional masks
- Tribal art
- The Africa Center
- Category:African artists
Notes
References
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- ^ Suzanne Blier: "Africa, Art, and History: An Introduction", A History of Art in Africa, pp. 15–19
- ^ Ross, Emma George (October 2002). "African Christianity in Ethiopia". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- ^ Kino, Carol (2012-10-26). "When Artifact 'Became' Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
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McBrearty, Sally; Brooks, Allison (2000). "The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior". Journal of Human Evolution. 39 (5): 453–563. PMID 11102266.
- ^ a b Honour & Fleming, 557
- ^ The Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2008. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
- JSTOR 3774788.
- ^ Honour & Fleming, 556–561
- ISBN 9789038202860. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ Suzanne Blier, "Africa, Art, and History: An Introduction", A History of Art in Africa, p. 16
- ^ Art of central africa Retrieved 28 April 2022
- ^ "The Use of Haematite, Tiger's Eye Stone and Ebony Wood for African Jewelry". Squinti African Art. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "What is African Art". Squinti African Art. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "African Art and Architecture". Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2023 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ "Purpose and Meaning of ART". The Sunday News. 29 September 2019.
- ISSN 0047-2867– via EBSCOhost (indexed in Atla Religion Database).
- ^ Yong, Ed (15 March 2018). "A Cultural Leap at the Dawn of Humanity - New finds from Kenya suggest that humans used long-distance trade networks, sophisticated tools, and symbolic pigments right from the dawn of our species". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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- ^ Mashabane, Phill (2018). "Africanism in art and architecture: The keynote address delivered at the twelfth annual conference of the South African Journal of Art History". South African Journal of Art History. 33 (3): iv-vii.
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- ^ "Joseph Bertiers, Kenya". AFRICANAH.ORG. 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
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- ^ Brown, Ryan Lenora (2016-02-04). "How Ghana's Gory, Gaudy Movie Posters Became High Art". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
- ^ "people - Sharjah Art Foundation". sharjahart.org. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
- ^ "Transatlantic Dialogue". africa.si.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
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- ^ Fagg, Bernard. 1969. Recent work in west Africa: New light on the Nok culture. World Archaeology 1(1): 41–50.
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- ^ Geology Dictionary – Alluvial, Aquiclude, Arkose. Geology.Com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ Breunig (2014). Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context, p. 22.
- ^ Dohlvik, Charlotta (May 2006). Museums and Their Voices: A Contemporary Study of the Benin Bronzes (PDF). International Museum Studies. p. 7.
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- ^ Benin Diplomatic Handbook, p. 23.
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- ^ Roy, Christopher D. "The Art of Burkina Faso", Art & Life in Africa, University of Iowa.
- ^ Roy, Christopher D. Art of the Upper Volta Rivers, 1987, Paris: Chaffin.
- ^ "Art & Life in Africa – The University of Iowa Museum of Art". uiowa.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ Gilbert G. Groud Short Biography of Gilbert G. Groud. Retrieved 29 April 2022
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- ^ AmazwiSite. "Bulinya Martins". Amazwi Contemporary Art. Archived from the original on 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ^ "Sarah Shiundu | Inside African Art". 22 June 2015. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ^ "Indiana University Art Museum Arts of Kenya Online Collection".
- ^ a b Biasio
- ^ "Christian Ethiopian art". Smarthistory. 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84162-922-3.
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- ^ Maria Evangelatou. 2017. A Contextual Reading of Ethiopian Crosses Through Form and Ritual Kaleidoscopes of Meaning. (Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies.) St. Gorgias Press.
- ^ "Ethiopian Handicraft". Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
- ^ Binkley, David A; Patricia Darish (2009). Kuba. Milan: 5 Continents Edition.
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- ^ "Was the great Pharaoh Ramesses II a true redhead?". The University of Manchester. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
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- ^ "Sudan, Egypt and Nubia". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
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- ^ "The African Art Museum of Maryland". africanartmuseum.org. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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- ^ Feiger, Leah (22 September 2020). "Colonizers Stole Africa's Art; This Man Is Taking It Back". Vice. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Haynes, Suyin (14 October 2020). "A French Court Fined Activists for Attempted Theft of a Museum Artifact. They Say It Belongs to Africans". Time. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
General sources
- Biasio, Elisabeth, "Ethiopia and Eritrea" (subscription required). Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. 4 Feb. 2013.
- ISBN 0333371852.
- Blackmun Visonà, Monica et al. A History of Art in Africa (2001) Prentice Hall, New York ISBN 0-13-442187-6.
- Ross, Emma George. "African Christianity in Ethiopia". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2002)
- Roy, Christopher D., "The Art of Burkina Faso", Art & Life in Africa, University of Iowa.
- Yamokoski, Gathinja, True African Art .com A collection of hundreds of original African painting images from living artists inside Africa. Representing 15 African countries and over 100 African Artists. Contains rich biographical information on many of its artists.
Further reading
- Beidelman, T. O., "Promoting African Art. The Catalogue to the Exhibit of African Art at the Royal Academy of Arts, London", Anthropos, Vol. 92, H. 1./3. (1997), pp. 3–20, Anthropos Institute, JSTOR 40465352.
- Breunig, Peter (2014). Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context. Frankfurt: Africa Magna Verlag. ISBN 978-3-937248-46-2
- Ezra, K. (1988). Art of the Dogon: selections from the Lester Wunderman collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0870995073.
- Ezra, K. (1992). Royal art of Benin: the Perls collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870996320.
- LaGamma, A. (2000). Art and oracle: African art and rituals of divination. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870999338.
- LaGamma, Alisa (2003). Genesis: ideas of origin in African sculpture. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0300096879.
- Rachewiltz, Boris de (1966). Introduction to African Art. Translated by Peter Whigham. New York: New American Library.