AFRICA

CONTENT AREA 6 – 1100 – 1980 C.E.

a Greek proverb: ex Africa semper aliquid novi

STYLE OF AFRICAN ART• Art was part of all important aspects of society

Coming of age, leadership, family communion

• Art was meant to be a spiritual encounter Often used in rituals and worship

• Small and portable figures and pieces are common• Often made of wood and accessorized with feathers,

fabric, and beads• Bodies are unrealistic

Fingers are rarely used

• Important sculpture is made for a definite purpose, not for decoration Masks represent a particular spirit, that only comes alive during

ceremonies

TheArt – Conical tower and circular wall

-Granite-Modeled on traditional shapes of grain silos-control over food stores is a powerful thing- likely a royal residence-walls slope inward toward the top-internal and external passageways

TheArt - Great Mosque of Djenné

-central tower is a mihrab-adobe-type building, quite large an impressive for its constructive style-UNESCO World Heritage Site-rebuilt multiple times over the centuries

mih·rab (mîr əb)′ n. A niche in the wall of a mosque or a room in the mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca

TheArt - Wall plaque from Oba’s palace

-high relief, brass-used to decorate the walls of the royal palace-displayed aspects of court life-largest, central figure is the most important

TheArt – Sika Dwa Kofi – Golden Stool-wooden substructure, golden

coating and details-contains the “soul of the nation”-can be touched by the King alone

TheArt – Ndop – Portrait Figure-wooden

-commemorative portrait of the Kuba ruler at the time

TheArt – Nkisi n’kondi – Power Figure

-wood and metal-sacred and divine spiritual protection for the people-a container of sacred substances

TheArt – Female (Pwo) Mask-The Democratic Republic of the

Congo-worn by men but intended to honor child-bearing, courageous, women-worn with slow, graceful, fluid movements-she deserves respect

TheArt – Portrait Mask - Mblo-made on Cote d’Ivoire

-”nuanced individuality, highly refined details, and powerful presence”-serenity

TheArt – Bundu Mask

-worn by women during cultural ceremonies-Sierra Leone, Liberia-made to help young girls become women and housewives – an initiation-black, shiny surface is ideal-elaborate hairstyle

TheArt – Ikenga shrine figure

-stood for the power of the right hand-personal objects that related to the achievements of its commissioner-the right hand (often)holds the sword, the power to push through life and break barriers

”A RAM FIGHTS WITH HIS HEAD FIRST”

TheArt – Lukasa – Memory Board -portable wooden object

-”concept map” of society’s political structure and inner workings (Luba society)-incised designs, images carved in relief-human faces (depicitions of important members of society) are evident

TheArt – Aka

Elephant Mask -use in performance and celebrations to honor the ruler-worn with full costume-highly stylized-worn in Cameroon, used to suggest the power of the king

TheArt – Reliquary Guardian Figure-wooden-guarded a container for relics and mementoes that had great weight for their owners-balance between calm, reserved appearance and obvious physical power represented in the sculpture-not “natural” – an abstraction

-housed in Conques, France-Sainte Foy was a Roman martyred during 303 C.E.’s Diocletian persecutions-figure of a masculine woman-still contains relics-last remaining example of its type-head is distinctly late Roman-possibly death mask of Charlemagne

RELIQUARY OF SAINTE-FOY

“MORE VALUABLE THAN

PRECIOUS STONES AND MORE TO BE ESTEEMED

THAN GOLD.”

In Christianity, reliquaries are a means for protecting and displaying relics, items often associated with saints or other figures or great relevance. Relics are…

rel•i•quar•y/ˈreləˌkwerē/noun

A container for holy relics, a container or shrine in which sacred relics are kept.

-counter to Western traditions of naturalism and realism (accurate portrayal of the human form)

-reduced to a series of basic shapes-grasped hands indicate sense of tense anxiety

-positioned atop wooden boxes and cylinders containing relics

-meant to guard the sacred objects from danger and intrusion

BYERI RELIQUARY FIGURE IN

CAMEROON

The Artist - Olowe of Ise-Born – 1875, Died – 1938

-important artist of Yoruba people-carved wood for rulers of a Nigerian kingdom

TheArt – Veranda post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife

-intended to be a structural support in a palace-designed by the aforementioned artist in SW Nigeria-king is center focus, but others offer support-scale of the wife implies importance

THEME: FamilyVeranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior

Wife, Sarcophagus of the Spouses

• Both represented common ritual

among cultures– Veranda Post: coronation– Sarcophagus of the Spouses: banquet

• Portrays relationship between

husband and wife– Veranda Post: wife crowned king,

position and size signify importance– Sarcophagus of the Spouses:

supportive

Etruscan

“IN AFRICAN ART, IT’S OFTEN NOT SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT THE

FIGURE LOOKS LIKE BUT RATHER THE CONCEPT IT’S

TRYING TO CONVEY.”

RESOURCES EMPLOYED

→Barron’s AP Art History, 3rd Edition→The AP Art History Curriculum Framework – Content Area 6 – Africa→https://www.khanacademy.org/