jean laude - the arts of black africa. 1973
DESCRIPTION
Jean Laude - The Arts of Black Africa. 1973TRANSCRIPT
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199- Tambourine player. Bronze plaque. Benin, Nigeria. British Museum,London. Photo by the museum.
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From Myth to History 237
200. Entrance to oba's
palace. Bronze plaque.
Benin, Nigeria. British
Museum, London. Photoby the museum.
In this type of work the height of the characters is determined
by symbolic proportions which may not be transgressed withoutthreatening the entire system of values and belief forming the
social order. Even when art veers toward this relative illusionism,there is no absolute visual priority. It is when the artist is nolonger constrained by social symbolism, when the elements ofthe work are not structured by a hierarchy, that the illusionistic
effects are most extreme. Decorative details may appear: anotherBritish Museum plaque shows the entrance to the oba's palaceflanked by shield bearers and a page with a round fan. The steps,
the pillars of the porch roof (covered with bronze plaques), and
the roof tiles with their supporting nails are depicted with pre-
cision. The palace itself is of course the repository of beliefs and
nonmaterial representations, whether mythical or religious. Pre-
sented in this minutely realistic fashion, however, it can also be
perceived as a representative element, not only as a symbolic
object.
Bini plaques cover the faces of the columns in the palace
courtyards. The order in which they are arranged is probably
highly significant. Since they are dedicated to recounting and
200
-
2oi. Portuguese soldier surrounded by manillas. Bronze plaque. Berlin, Ni-
geria. Museum fur Volkerkunde, Vienna. Photo by the museum.
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From Myth to History 239
praising the oba's feats, his everyday life, and happenings in his
court, they form a chronicle of ritual, protocol, and memorable
events. As permanent exhibits, they are additions to architecture;
their existence is visual. These characteristics could be the result
of the search for illusionistic effects. Here space is perceived as
the theater of a spectacle rather than as the shape of mythical
expression.
All the Bini plaques were cast in the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries. The Portuguese arrived in the capital of Benin
in 1472, and trade between Africa and Europe began in the early
part of the sixteenth century. Any influential contact betweenBini and Western art remains conjectural. Some writers claim
that the format and the composition of the plaques were sug-
gested to black artists by illustrated books introduced by mis-
sionaries or merchants, but such hypothetical statements are hard
to authenticate. Nevertheless, an indirect Western influence can-
not be ruled out entirely. Clearly, the population that manifested
the most sophisticated sense of space and time was the one that
enjoyed the most direct and most enduring contact with Europe.
The arrival of the Europeans truly marked the intervention
of history among populations that, like the Ife, were disposed to
accept it only insofar as they had already sensed individual au-
tonomy at the level of the royal person. The artist who portrayed
a Portuguese soldier surrounded by his manillas (copper bracelets 201
used as slave currency) had, at least provisionally, banished all
mythical thought. It was no longer a question of allegory, for that
was the moment when Africa entered history.
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8
Conclusion
The foregoing is merely a sketch of African art history. Black art,
vanishing into a past as distant as that of European art, has at
different moments offered clear signs of vitality and renewal. It
withered when colonization began; it died at the beginning ofthe twentieth century, but Africa herself remained. Sociologists
have attributed the disappearance of African art to its strict sub-
ordination to the social institutions it expressed. When traditionalAfrican societies began to disintegrate, owing to their colonial
status and to a prolonged contact with certain aspects of Western
civilization, the arts entered a period of irreversible decadence.
Georges Balandier and Jacques Maquet especially have used this
argument to show how artistic production was determined bysociety and traditional religions. If art disappears when societydissolves, society has entirely ruled creativity, and art is the re-
flection or the expression of society.
In this supposition there is an optical illusion, although the
rapport between art and society cannot be denied. It is not, how-
ever, a direct causal link. It is, to borrow a formula from Roger
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Conclusion 241
Bastide, a situational link. The dissolution of traditional society
and religion often seems to be merely external. The example of
the Congo shows that, in places where group structures were
preserved by the colonizers, art has nonetheless decayed. Present-
day statues of Bakuba kings retain no more than a vague and
distant relationship to those discovered by the Europeans in 1910.
As far as religion is concerned, the Dogon experience is just asconvincing. The celebration of seasonal cycles continues and
mythology is still vividly present. The masks produced, however,
appear to be makeshift copies, like the ones exhibited at the
Theatre des Nations in 1964. If, then, social and religious values
outlive artistic values, the causes of decadence must be sought
by direct reference to the sculptor and his working conditions.
After colonization the artisan, like all other members of the
community, found himself subject to duties from which he had
traditionally remained more or less exempt. The necessity of pay-
ing taxes in currency constrained him to work for the new settlers,
for he had to fulfill military and work obligations. It logically
followed that his professional activity suffered, while the quantity
of work orders increased. The period of apprenticeship grew
shorter and more difficult as traditional models disappeared,
owing to their destruction during the missionaries' autos-da-fe
and to the massive purchases made by the Europeans in the early
i9oo's. From then on, limited to a short apprenticeship and work-
ing time, no longer living with the venerable models that had
sustained his efforts and formed his taste, the artist fashioned
crude and hasty rough drafts. A totally different kind of demandhad arisen. The artisan now became a supply source for Westerntourists who, eager to own exotic souvenirs, commissioned ob-jects (ashtrays, elephants) suited to their taste. The artist filled
urban marketplaces and airport shops with such mementos.
Since social and religious needs cbntinued to be fulfilled, at
least in the more remote regions, it seems correct to say that pur-
pose and function basically determine neither the quality nor the
outward aspect of masks, statuettes, and routine objects, and that
the artist's values surpass the exterior determinants of society,
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242 Conclusion
myth, and cults. In the words of Marcel Mauss, these values are
not mere adjuncts. Even though the Dogon, the Bambara, and the
Senufo adhere to the same metaphysical concepts, their arts are
clearly differentiated. The artistic and stylistic traits of created
works must be considered in any analysis of the culture as a
whole.
It is not proper to describe African art as a monolithic whole
or to ascribe to it a single style, copied from one model and sub-
ject only to minor variations. Archaeological research has sup-
plied abundant proof of the diversity of black art. A double motif,or rather a double contemplative theme, pervades the African
continent. It is from two basic notions, person and vitalism, that
cultures seem to have developed and become diversified.
Emile Durkheim has shown that the consciousness of the
body is at the origin of the notion of person. African art is neither
fantastic nor imaginary. The human body sustains it; the prime
value attached to physical existence gives it solidity and internal
force. This art is the expression of a peasant culture, founded on
a settled existence and the seasonal cycles, as evidenced by the fact
that pastoral peoples and nomads are ignorant of sculpture. It is
interesting to contrast this farmers' art, whose plastic formalism
and material solidity fascinated the cubists, with Oceanic art, the
art of the great navigators, a fabulous creation that enchanted
the surrealist imagination. For Andre Breton, Oceanic art ex-
presses "the greatest effort of all time to expose the interpenetra-
tion of the physical and the mental, to triumph over the dualism
of perception and representation, to dig through the outer bark
to the sap," whereas in African art he finds only "sempiternal
variations of the external appearance of men and animals, . . .heavy material themes, the structure proper to the physical be-
ingface and bodyfecundity, domestic labor, horned beasts."We must pause here for a moment to offer our profound sympathyto Breton for the suffering that the thought of all these horned
beasts has caused him. But what can one expect? Racine's Pyrrhus
had not read the seventeenth-century salon novels, nor are the
Africans aware of Breton's Discours sur le Peu de Realite.
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Conclusion 243
The African does not place himself at the center of the cos-
mos, nor does he tend to mingle his characteristics with those of
other species in order to create composite images. The arts of
black Africa contain very few monsters. To create the diabolical
and demonic images that Theodore de Bry engraved at the direc-
tion of Duarte Lopez and Filippo Pigafetta would require the
fiery and religious imagination of a fifteenth- or sixteenth-century
believer. The African individual rarely conspires with the ob-
scure forces that shape the universe. Moreover, his conception of
self changes with time and place.
For the Dogon and the Bambara, man is "the seed of the uni-verse"; he is part of the network of relationships woven among
all beings by the Creator. His bonds with the organization of all
forms are not symbolically but actually present. For Ife and Bini
artists, man is represented by a king of divine essence, the haughtydignitary whose mouth seems to curve scornfully and skeptically.
This royal personage is so sure of his preeminence that he does
not ask to be represented through his own features. He is the godhe incarnates, the god who incarnates himself within a temporaryhuman shell whose personal appearance matters not at all. Earthly
possessions belong to him by right; through his ancestry he holds
the monopoly of blood, of barter, and of commercial trade. To ob-
tain from the Portuguese the bronze he requires to exalt his au-
thority, he can dispose of the life and liberty of his faithful sub-
jects. Through the benefits flowing from all these advantages his
vital energy is further increased.
Ife heads, and to a lesser extent Bini heads, truly seem to be
Apollonian, but they too share in the sombre, rhythmically ex-
pressed energy that all African art critics have considered fun-
damental. The black essayists Anta Diop and Leopold Senghor
have partly confirmed this intuitive conclusion, describing the
rhythm more subtly and perceiving it in terms of African reality.
Following Gobineau, Elie Faure has emphasized the cosmic
and biological aspects of African rhythm. In black sculpture, he
writes, "the rhythm alone constitutes the subject matter . . . and
reflects cosmic order without even discussing it." From Senghor's
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244 Conclusion
point of view rhythm for an African is "the architecture of being,
the internal dynamism that shapes him, the system of life waves,
waves he emits directly toward others, the expression of vital
force. . . . Rhythm illuminates the spirit to the extent that it
transforms itself into sensuality/' Dionysus is the hidden god of
Africa: the god who dances, who possesses and inspires the voiceand the poetic word, the god of intemperance who provisionallyannihilates individual will in order better to strengthen life. These
qualities appear over and over again in mythology and in cults.
African civilizations are civilizations of the dance and the word,
it being understood that vocal or instrumental music is always as-
sociated with recitatives and choreography. Nonsculptural forms
all express highly complex poetry and music. Herbert Pepper has
recorded five-part fugues from the Pygmies of the equatorial
forests, constructed according to a "tiled counterpoint/7
The essential features of African life and thought relate
very well to rhythm. Upon analysis, rhythmic aspects are re-
vealed as well in the scansion of poetry, the position of rhetorical
figures in a poem, choreographical and musical patterns, and
finally in the arrangement of sculptural volumes. Here it is neces-
sary to shade the purely biological interpretations of Gobineau
and Faure, who exaggerate the importance of instinct. WilliamFagg, after careful consideration of this problem, has cautiously
proposed an explanation for rhythm in the importance attached to
the germination and the growing of grain and to the vital force
of the person. It is not a question of denying the existence of an
African philosophy governed by dynamic vitalism, a fact con-
firmed by the acquisition of detailed knowledge about different
ethnic groups. African philosophy, however, must not be in-
terpreted in the light of modern Western metaphysical systems,
such as that of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In spite of their at-
tractiveness to modern African intellectuals, these systems do not
necessarily provide a sound basis for comparison.
The most striking feature of black African masks and statu-
ettes is their ambiguity. They all aim to trap nonmaterial forces,
but only in order to augment the group's reserves of life-force,
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Conclusion 245
whether the group is a family, a village, or the nation. Their sec-
ond mission is to control the force which, if allowed to wander
freely and indiscriminately, would pose a serious threat to the
collectivity. Masks and statuettes also shield man from genii andspirits and from the liberated and scattered energies in nature.
In other words, they are designed to take possession of nature
through cultivation. It is a simultaneous process of recapturing
the burning and dangerous blood that flows through nature and
of mastering, through agriculture, the spirited forces by trapping
and irrigating them. This theory runs counter to other theories
that evaluate, or simply express, a rhythmically transmitted and
instinctively perceived present. The traditional African would
never abandon himself to the dark forces that obsess the world or
let himself be carried away by the vital flux. African emotivity
is quicker and more sharply alerted than that of Western man,
but perhaps these qualities are simply a function of milieu. Ab-
stracted from the community where it developed, this emotivity
is deprived of its natural, tempering, and meaningful framework.
The traditional milieu is changing. Africa is becoming ur-
banized, and roads crisscross the continent. In the villages tran-
sistor radios open people's minds to the vastness of space and to
the rest of humanity, and thus to new problems. Large cities
absorb men who have stretched and broken the bond with theirpeasant ancestry. Although still at an embryonic stage, industrial
growth is beginning to provide a new black proletariat with adifferent kind of civilization. These are the visible changes; there
are other, deeper ones which are harder to assess. The training
of qualified technicians, the establishment of universities, the
education of younger generationsall these are altering modesof thought, breaking traditional ties, and creating new scientific
and rational relationships. Once in a while someone glances back
at the vanishing traditions and nostalgically describes the past as
a golden age. But the backward look is a sign that the break with
the past is indeed complete and that the present momentum willnot slow down. Africa is not so much surviving as inventing her-
self anew.
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246 Conclusion
So it is, too, with African art. The spiritual and intellectual
forces of an Africa that now belongs to history and looks towardthe future call for totally new forms. The artist must, however,
be warned of two dangers: first, a too violent rupture with tra-
ditional Africa through the adoption of purely Western modes,
and, second, a too tender and too insistent observance of a folk-
loric past. Either course of action would impoverish today's wide-
spread artistic energy. To pursue this question further would be
to indulge in futile prophecy and to ignore the brilliantly in-
ventive capacity that African art, through many centuries, hasnever ceased to display.
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Comparative Survey of
World History and Art
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248
Central and Eastern andDate Western Africa equatorial Africa southern Africa
5000- Blacks take possession of Africa, then probably inhabited by ancestors of4000 B.C. Pygmies.
4000-
3000 B.C.
3000-2000 B.C.
Ca. 2720-
2560 B.C.
Ca.
2400 B.C.
2000-
IOOO B.C.
18th cen-
tury B.C.
1558-I53O B.C.
1530-1520 B.C.
1504-
1483 B.C.
15th and14th
centu-
ries B.C.
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249
African arts Discovery of AfricaEgypt and
Mediterranean Basin
Sudan: Pottery with wavypatterns.
Nubia: Cut or hammeredrock reliefs with animaldesign.
Nubia: The triumph ofDjer (on rock).
Egyptian raids into Nubia.
Exploitation of Nubianmines. Exploitation of low-
er Nubia by rulers ofElephantine.
Pepi I has granite obelisks
cut in Nubia for Heliopo-lis.
Pacification of Nubia. Es-
tablishment of Kerma.Colonization of Nubia.
Beginning of EarlyMinoan.
Copper (from Asia) inLower Egypt. Perfectingof copper tools in allEgypt-
Animal sculpture in Up-per Egypt.
In Upper Egypt, firstgreat royal necropolises.
Stela of king-serpent.
Middle Minoan. Firstpalaces built.
Middle Minoan III. Thesnake-goddess. Cnossusfrescoes: Sudanese land-scape with blue monkey;white chief leading armyof blacks.
Egyptian expansion to-
ward Sudan.
Founding of province ofKouch. Voyage to countryof Punt.
Domination ofEgypt to 3d cataract. Re-sumption of Egyptian ex-pansion to 4th cataract.
Temples of Amada and ofSemneh.
Egypt: Amenophis I.
Introduction of horse
into Egypt by Hyksos.
Tuthmosis I.Queen Hatshepsut.Temple at Deir el-Bahri.
Mycenaean style. Cretandecadence.
-
250
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
13th cen-
tury B.C.
12th cen-
tury B.C.
10th cen-
tury B.C.
9th and8th cen-
turies
B.C.
Beginning of Kouchexpansion towardnorth. 1st dynasty of
Napata. Ca. 760: Na-pata necropolis. Tri-
umphal stela of Na-pata. Ca. 730:
Piankhy, king of Su-
dan and of Nubians,master of UpperEgypt-
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251
African arts Discovery of AfricaEgypt and
Mediterranean Basin
Foundation of Gem-Atonin Nubia. Temple of Amonat Soleb.
Amenophis II.
Engravings of chariots in
Sahara. Rock paintings(age unknown) in Tassiliand Ennedi.
Temples at Faras andKawa in Nubia.Temple at Abu Simbel.Battle of Kadesh (carveddecoration).
The four giants.Temple at Amara. Templeof Re at Dehr. Temple ofPtah at Gherf-Hussein.Temple at Wadi es-Sebou.Identical Pharaonic tem-ples in delta, in UpperEgypt, and in Nubia.
Introduction of horse intoLibya by People of theSea who cultivate the re-gion bounded by Fezzan,Maroc, and Niger Bend.
Amenophis IV (1372).Tutankhamen (1354-1346). Restoration ofcult of Amon. Ramses II(1301-1235).
Reestablishment of rela-tions with country ofKouch.
Extension of Pharaonicculture to 6th cataract.
Ca. 600: Periplus of Phoe-nicians by Necho.
Appearance in Egypt ofofficial metal statuary,
divine or royal. Renewalof stylization of bodies.
Height of bronze periodin Middle and UpperEgypt-
In 753, legendary foun-dation of Rome.609-595: Necho II phar-aoh of Egypt.
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252
Central and Eastern andDate Western Africa equatorial Africa southern Africa
7th cen-
tury B.C.
6th-4th Nok civilization1
cen- (northern Nigeria).
turies
B.C.
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253
African arts Discovery of AfricaEgypt and
Mediterranean Basin
Nok terra-cottas (up toist century a.d.).
Meroe as artistic center.Diffusion of Hellenistic
arts into Meroe.
Ca. 500: Periplus of Han-no, suffete of Carthage, as
far as Mount Cameroon(controversial).
Ca. 450: Travels of the
Nasamons across Sahara.
605 : Defeat of Necho IIby Nebuchadnezzar.Failure of Ethiopian at-
tempt against Egypt.Growing importance ofMeroe.
525: Conquest of Egyptby Persians.
332: Conquest of Egyptby Alexander.146: Destruction of Car-thage by Romans.
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254
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
ist millen-
niumA.D.
Introduction of agri-
culture and metal-lurgy, from Nubia tothe south.
A.D. 66
A.D. jo
A.D. 86
A.D. 106
Until 4th century,
height of kingdomof Axum.
2d century
A.D.
3d and 4thcentu-
ries A.D.
Ca. 350 Ghana:To 8th century, firstdynasty in Ghana(44 kings). People in-
habiting Hodh, Aou-kar, and Ouagadouare subdued byBerbers (?).
Kingdom of Axum.End of kingdom ofMeroe. Beginning ofpre-Monomotapaperiod.
3925th cen-
tury A.D.
Ca. 400
Ca. 429
6th cen-
tury
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255
African arts Discovery of Africa
Europeand Islam
Suetonius Paulinus goes
beyond Atlas Mountains.Palmyra under suzer-ainty of Rome. Strength-ening of Arab agree-ments with culturalcenters in ports and oncaravan routes.
Septimus Flaccus in Fez-zan.
Julius Maternus reachesAgisymba.
Ptolemy's
maps.
Trajan annexes Naba-tene. Province of Arabia.
State Christianity in
Rome. Christianityspreads into southern
Arabia.
Ca. 550: Legendary voy-age of Irish monk, St.Brendan, to Madeira andCanaries.
Establishment of Mecca,which becomes largecommercial city.Vandals in North Africa.Coptic Christianity in-troduced into Meroe.
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256
Central and Eastern andDate Western Africa equatorial Africa southern Africa
7th cen- First Songhai dynasty Massacre of group oftury in Sudan. Sao in oasis of Bilma
(ca. 310 miles fromLake Chad).
622
654
666
8th cen- Exploitation of gold End of kingdom of
tury mines of Bambuk Axum. Until 12th(Upper Senegal) be- century, trade be-
gins. First kingdom tween eastern Africa
of the Nupe. and India. Indianpearls on coast. Af-rica sells ivory andiron, demanded byIndia.
732
790 After assassination of
reigning prince,
Ghana passes underrule of Kaya Maghan,king of Ouagadouand chief of line ofSisse Tounkara.
-
2-57
African arts Discovery of AfricaEurope
and Islam
Until nth century, Arabconquests in Egypt.
Arabs collect booty andthen introduce into mon-ey market precious met-als accumulated inchurch treasuries, finallybringing to light buriedriches in Pharaonictombs. Nubian gold nolonger reaches Byzan-tium because nomads(Blemmyes) who roamthe desert bounded byNile, Red Sea, andEthiopian mountainshave cut the road.
Until nth century, Arabstravel road from Honain,near Tlemcen, throughTuat to Timbuktu.
Hegira
Arabs take possessionof Dongola, chief en-trepot of Nubian gold.Treaty with Nubians.Founding of Kairouan.In Europe, slaves tradedto Arabs for gold andivory of Zandj country.Enrichment of Verdunand Meuse Basin.
Charles Martel defeatsArabs at Poitiers.
-
258
Central and Eastern andDate Western Africa equatorial Africa southern Africa
9th cen-
tury
800
852-853
890 Djerma take Gao.
1
Arab geographerYakubi describes fe-
10th cert-
verish activity in
goldfields of upperNile. Islamization of
tury
Ca. 950
990
11th cen-
tury
Capture of Aouda-ghost (Tegdaoust?)
by reigning sovereignof Ghana.
Beginning of empire
of Sosso. Ruler of
Gambaga extends hisinfluence over right
bank of White Volta.
Migration of Bantufrom central to south-ern Africa begins.
Settlement of Sao inChari Delta.
eastern Africa. Arabs:
introduce cowries as;
money, which pre-vails in interior of Af-
rica. Muslim settle-ment in Mozambique.
1010
1050
1061-1075
Djerma move Songhaicapital to Gao. Sov-ereign converted to
Islam.
Chief of province of
Mande converted toIslam.
Almoravid chiefmounts war againstGhana, which fallsapart.
First mention, by al-Bekri, of empire ofKanem-Bornu.
-
259
African arts Discovery of Africa
Europeand Islam
Until 13th century, stone
towers and tombs in An-gola of same style as thosein Zimbabwe.
Charlemagne crowned.Shrine of St. Vaast, dec-
orated with Arabiangold.
Until 16th century, de-
velopment of Sao art, ce-ramic and bronze. Until16th century (?), develop-
ment of Ife art and civili-zation (ceramic, bronze,
quartz). Masudi writes Meadowsof Cold.
At beginning of 10thcentury Fatimites seize
Ifrikia, Djerid, and Trip-oli, destroy principality
of Tiaret, and occupySijilmassa, thus becom-ing masters of all goldroutes.
Spread of Almoravid con-quest along western goldroute, from Sudan toMaroc and then to Spain.
In his description of Af-rica (1068), Arab geog-rapher al-Bekri describescapital of Ghana.
Invasion of Ga'aliin
Arabs into Ifrikia(Tunisia) interrupts
route that, througheastern Sahara, Djerid,and Tripoli, suppliedFatimite domain withSudanese gold.
-
z6o
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1083
1086 Conversion of rulerof Kanem-Bornu toIslam.
Mission of blacksfrom Zand] countryto China, close to Em-peror Cheun-Tsoung
1095-1099
12th cen-
tury
13th cen-
tury
Ca. 1234
Preponderance ofDyaresso in Sahel.Formation of Mossikingdoms south ofNiger Bend.
Dogon settle at Ban-diagara cliff.
Emperor of Sosso hasprince of Mande andeleven of his sons as-
sassinated. Twelfthson, Soundiata, is
spared, reassembles
army, and reestab-lishes his authority.
Soundiata raids Tin-
kisso, attacks east-
ern Bambara, andpenetrates Dieriba,
the capital. He de-feats Sosso emperorin 1235. Economicdevelopment of Maliunder Soundiata.
Forming of Hausacities. Muslim dy-nasty at Kanem-Bornu.
Kingdom of the Con-go formed. Kings ofKanem-Bornu try toenlarge their realmat expense of Sao.Foundation of Wa-dai.
In eastern Africa, be-
ginning of migration
from north. Mono-motapa period,known as Chona I,ends ca. 1450.
1255 Death of Soundiata.
-
26l
African arts Discovery of AfricaEurope
and Islam
Ceramic figurines atDjenne and Mopti. Build-ing of Zimbabwe.
Gregory VII preparesFirst Crusade.
Arabs trade between eastcoast of Africa andChina. Chinese cur-rencies and porcelains oneast coast.
-
262
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1255-1270 Reign of Mansa Oulewho expands inher-itance from his fath-er, Soundiata.
1275 Ife being at its height,
Yoruba dominateNupe.
1285-1300 In Mali, after trou-
bled period, emanci-
pated slave takes
power and reestab-lishes order.
1291
14th cen-
tury
1300-1307
1307-1322
1324
1325
1332-1336
1333
Raoua, younger sonof Ouedrago (founderof Mossi empire),builds settlement of
Sangha and leavesthere one of his sonswhose descendantsmix with the Dogon.
In Mali, Keita regain
power.Rule of Kankan (orGongo) Moussa. Maliat its height. Goldmarket at Gao active.Fields of West Africafeed Berber andEgypt-
Kankan Moussa inCairo causes deval-
uation by expenditureof gold.
Mali dominates Son-ghai. Capture of Gao.Weakening of Mali.
Mossi of Yatenga lootTimbuktu.
Until 16th century,
Baluba kingdom.
Conversion of Hausaprinces to Islam.
Kitara states aroundlakes.
-
263
EuropeAfrican arts Discovery of Africa and Islam
Organization of Benin 1270: Death of St. Louisbronze workers by artist in Tunis,from Ife.
The Genoese Vivaldo onwest coast.
Beginning of sculptural
art in wood among Baluba.In West Africa, jewelry,ornaments, and masks ofgold.
Before 1312: Cherbourgsailors in Canaries.
1320: Map drawn accord-ing to indications of a
Genoese living in Sijilmas-sa in 1306 shows crossingfrom Tafilalet to Oualata.
1336: The Genoese Lan-zarote Malocello in Ca-naries.
-
264
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1336-1359 Recovery of Mali un-
der rule of Suleiman.
1359-1390 In Mali, fratricidalstruggles and trou-bles.
End of14th
century
Active trade in cop-
per from Maghreb.
15th cen-
tury
Mossi, Tuareg, andSonghai attack Mali.
Metal mines (copperand orichalc) in Kano
Hottentots in Zam-bezi. Empire of Bech-
or Takkedda occupied uana.by Arabs (?).
1450(7): In East Af-rica, Mambo periodcalled Chona II.
1402-1405
1405-1413
1415
1417
1434
1437
1439
1441
1442
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African arts Discovery of Africa
265
Europeand Islam
1346: Death of Andalusianarchitect Es-Saheli in Tim-buktu.
Zimbabwe: Stone cupswith carved edges; birds
with folded wings; stonefigurines. Benin: Lasting
until arrival of Portuguese,
first bronze period.
1346: Jacme Ferrer in Ca-naries.
1352: Ibn Batuta visits
Mali.
1364: Hypothetical voyageof Dieppe seamen toGuinea.
1375 : Abraham Cresques,Jew of Majorca, finishesCatalan Atlas which showsimage of Kankan Moussa,emperor of Mandingo(Mali).
Conquest of Canaries bythe Norman, Jean deBethencourt.
Sojourn of Anthelmed'Ysalguier, of merchantfamily from Toulouse, atGao, where he marriesSonghai princess.Conquest of Ceuta.Henry the Navigator atSagres.
Gilianes rounds Cape Bo-iador.
Under pressure fromBruges, half paymentsfor commercial trans-actions in devalued mon-ey.
Rediscovery of Azores.
Nuno Tristam at CapeBlanc.
Ecumenical council triesto merge Greek and Ro-man churches with thatof Prester John (?).In painting, first repre-
sentations of the WiseMan, Gaspar, with fea-tures of a black.
Pope gives Portuguesetrading privileges in Af-rica.
-
266
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
*443
1444
1445
1446
1447
Tuareg occupy Tim-buktu, Araouane, andOualata.
14531455-1456
1460
1465-1492
1468
1469
1470
1471-1475
Reign of Sunni Ali,Songhai emperor.Songhai conquer Ni-ger Valley.
Sunni Ali recapturesTimbuktu fromTuareg.
1472-1504
1473
1477
1479
Sunni Ali recapturesDjenne.
Mossi from Yatengainvade province ofBagana (vassal ofSonghai).
Ali, king of Bornu.
-
267
African arts Discovery of Africa
Europeand Islam
Nuno Tristam reachescountry of blacks.
Antonio Malfante sent byCenturione house to Tuatand Niger Basin.
Cada Mosto (Venetian)and Uso di Mare (Geno-ese) in Gambia.P. de Cintra in Sierra
Leone.
Council of experts planspayments, in thirds, ingold, silver, and deval-uated currency.
Return to gold standardunder pressure of Cen-turione house of Genoa.
Capture of Constanti-nople. End of HundredYears' War.
(April) Charles the Bold
orders Jehan d'Aulve-kerque paid for several Af-
rican objects.
Son of Andre Tiraqueau,patron of Rabelais, assem-
bles collection of exotic
objects at Bel-Esbat, near
Fontenay-le-Comte.
F. Gomes receives mo-nopoly of Guinea trade for
5 years.
Benedetto Dei, clerk of
Florentine house of Por-tinari, goes from Paris toTimbuktu. Joao de San-tarem and Pero de Escobarat mouth of Niger. Dis-covery of Sao Tome.Goncalvez at Cape Lopez(Gabon).
Trial of Jacques d'Ar-
magnac in Paris.
Treaty between theTurks and Venice. Fer-dinand of Aragon mar-ries Isabella of Castile.
-
268
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1480-1483
1482
1481-1485
1484
14871490
1491
1492
Mossi loot Oualatabut are defeated at
Gao by Sunni Ali.
John II of Portugal,believing Mali is stillpowerful, sends am-bassadors.
Mamadou Toure(1492-1529) over-
throws son of SunniAli and founds Askiadynasty.
Power of Loangoweakened.
King of the Congobaptized as Joao I.
1493
1495
1497-1499
16th cen-
tury
Chieftaincies of
Adansi, Dyenkera,and Akwamu de-velop in southern part
of present-day
Ghana.
In Benin, the obaEseguie institutes ti-
tle of queen mother.
Sao disappear fromchronicles.
In the Congo, reac-tion against Chris-
tianity, drowned inblood by son ofNzinga Nkuwu(1506-1541).
Companions of Vascoda Gama learn ofempire of Monomo-tapa.
1529-1549 Songhai emperor Ma-madou abdicates; en-suing troubled period
ends with accessionof Askia Daud (1549-1582).
-
African arts
269
Discovery of AfricaEurope
and Islam
Diogo Cao reaches An-gola.
G. Dantas travels upSenegal as far as Felu
falls.
Bartholomew Diaz roundsCape of Good Hope.
Portuguese penetrate toMbali, capital of the Con-go.
The Portuguese Pedro deCorvilhan in kingdom ofPrester John (Ethiopia).
Fall of Granada.Christopher Columbusdiscovers America.
Pope divides New Worldbetween Spain and Por-tugal. Beginning of traf-
fic in blacks.
Voyage of Vasco da Gama.
In Angola, until 17th cen-tury, Christian figurines
in wood, ivory, and cop-per.
In Benin, heads of queenmother. Work in ivory.
April 1520: A. Durernotes in journal his ad-
miration for exotic
works which probablycome from "treasure ofMontezuma." Leonardoda Vinci becomes in-terested in arts of East
Indies (in paintings in
caves of Ajanta). Francis
I visits "La Pensee," villaof Ango brothers, Diep-pe shipowners who col-lect objects from newlydiscovered lands.
At Dieppe, bas-relief inchurch of Saint-Jacquesshows three known con-tinents.
-
270
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1534
1548
1550
1570-1603
1580
Ca. 1590
1591
Emperor of Mali asksin vain for help of
Portuguese settlednear Gulf of Guinea.
Adansi dominateAkan group which in-cludes Agni andDyenkera. They aresubject in turn to
Dyenkera.
(12 March) Songhaiarmy defeated atTondibi by merce-naries of Moroccansultan, who occupySonghai country un-til 1780. Period of
anarchy.
John II of Portugalsends Jesuits to the
Congo.Mbali, capital of the
Congo, becomes SanSalvador. Portuguesebuildings.
Height of Kanem-Bornu in reign ofIdriss III.
Philip II of Portugal
sends Carmelites tothe Congo. Declineof kingdom of theCongo.
17th cen- Founding of Bambaratury kingdom of Kaarta.
1625-1650 Reign of Deko, firstking of Dahomey.
1650-1680 Ouegbadja, and thenAkaba, complete con-
1680-1708 quest of plateaus ofAbomey and subduecountries of the East.
1600-1620: Reign ofShamba Bolongongo,king of Bakuba.
Decline of Monomo-tapa.
Dutch in South Af-rica in 1651. Estab-
lishment of Cape-town.
-
271
African arts Discovery of AfricaEurope
and Islam
Papal bull of Paul III(Alessandro Farnese)
grants status of men tonatives of newly dis-covered countries.
Second period of Beninart. Plaques and bronzeson pillars of palace court-yards.
Creation of decorative art
among Bakuba. Gobletsshaped like drums. Mi-chael Praetorius, musicianand musicologist at courtof Brunswick, reproducesAfrican ivory horns inTheatrum Instrumentorum(1619).
Publication of Relatione
del reame di Congo, owingto collaboration of Duarte
Lopez, Portuguese agent,
and Italian humanist Filip-po Pigafetta. Illustratedwith engravings by deBry brothers. Translatedinto several languages.
During 17th century,French cartographers, nolonger understandingtracings of their predeces-
sors, obliterate interior of
Africa.
Vigorous impetus given
Flemish metallurgy
(braziery) by trade withWest Coast of Africa.Bronze is exchanged forslaves.
-
272
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1670
1680
18th and19th
centu-
ries
1727
1720 or
1730
1730
1730-1749
1738
1749-1753
Disappearance of em-pire of Mali. Forma-tion of Bambarakingdom of Segu un-der impetus of Fo-tigue, known as BitonKouloubali (1660-
1710).
Ashanti uprisingagainst Dyenkera.Foundation ofAshanti kingdom.
First half of 18th cen-
tury: Settlement of
Fangs in north-eastern Gabon.
Dahomey: Occupa-tion of kingdom ofAllada by Agadja,successor to andbrother of Akaba. By1729 Agadja con-trols coast cities.
Death of founder ofAshanti kingdom.Quarrels over suc-cession.
Migration of Ashantigroup led by Dakon'ssister Aura Pokouwho founds Baulekingdom in IvoryCoast.
Reign of ApokouOuare who developsAshanti kingdommilitarily and eco-nomically.
Yoruba seize Abomeyunder reign of Teg-bessou and exact an-nual tribute until
1850.
Michel Adanson inSenegal.
Sao Paulo de Loandacompetes with andruins San Salvador.
-
273
EuropeAfrican arts Discovery of Africa and Islam
Benin art begins to de- 17i 3 . Treaty of Utrechtcline. controls slave trade.
Golden mask of Ashantiking Koffe Kalkalli.
-
274
Central and Eastern andDate Western Africa equatorial Africa southern Africa
1775-1789 King Kpengla tries to 1779: Beginning ofbreak Yoruba yoke Kaffir wars betweenover Dahomey. Dutch and Bantu.
1789-1797 Weakening of royal End of Bantu migra-authority in Da- tion to South Africa.homey.
1800-1810 Reign of Kata-Mbula,109th king of Bakuba.
1804 Usman founds Mus-
1818-1858
lim empire in Nigeriafrom Hausa states,Nupe kingdom, andNorthern Cameroon;dies in 1810 or 1815.Period of anarchyuntil 1900.
Gezo reestablishesauthority over Da-homey, defeats Yor-uba, and stops payingthem tribute.
1849: French foundLibreville in Gabon.
1853: Empire ofKanem-Bornu dis-appears.
1814: England pur-chases Cape Colony.
1835: Boer exodus:the great trek.
1854-1864 Hajj Omar (1797-1864) preaches holy
war, defeats some ofBambara in 1854, andstrikes against Faid-
herbe. In 1861 he en-
ters Segu; in 1862 heseizes Massina. Dies
at Bandiagara in
1864.
1851 Gezo signs commer-cial treaty with
France.
1854 Death of Adama whohad founded Muslimempire in northernNigeria.
1858-1889 Reign of Glegle inDahomey.
1859-1862 Struggles of Bambarakingdom of Seguagainst Hajj Omar.
1874 English raid againstAshanti.
1867: Discovery of
diamonds in OrangeFree State.
-
2-75
African arts Discovery of AfricaEurope
and Islam
Engraved calabash im-portant, especially in Da-
homey.
Ca. 1850: Les AnnatesMaritimes takes note ofgoldsmith's craft in GrandBassam (Lt. Besson).
From 1840 on, rediscoveryof African interior. Scien-
tific missions (geographic
and ethnographic). LargeEuropean cities establishmuseums of ethnography.
Second half of 19th cen-tury: great Europeanpowers compete for mar-kets and banks and thento colonize Africa.
1848: Abolition of slav-
ery.
Ca. i860: Bas-reliefs in
palaces of Abomey.Since 1872: Destruction bymissionaries of ancient
works in northern Angola.Kyoka religious move-ment.
First missionaries andsettlers in Dahomey inGlegle's reign.
1867: Discovery of minesin Monomotapa.
-
276
Date Western AfricaCentral and
equatorial Africa
Eastern andsouthern Africa
1879-1894
1884
By his intransigence,Behanzin bringsabout annexation ofDahomey by Francein 1894.
Germans in Togo.
1881: Establishment
of Leopoldville.
1883: Germans inCameroon.
1885 : Independentstate of the Congo.
1877: England col-onizes Transvaal.
1884: Discovery ofgold in Transvaal.
1890
1897
1900
End of Bambarakingdom of Segu.Colonel Archinardenters Segu.
Punitive expedition of
English to Benin.
Annexation of coun-try. Bronzes dis-covered in a shed aredistributed to Euro-pean museums.
Last Ashanti up-rising.
End of 19th century:Fangs (or Pahouin)reach Gabon estuary.
1899-1902: Boer War.1910: Union of SouthAfrica formed. 1914:Boer uprising.
19441958
Conference of Brazzaville.Most of the former colonies achieve independence.
-
277
African arts Discovery of AfricaEurope
and Islam
1880: Use of sculpture for-bidden to Bena-Lulua andreplaced by hashish cults.Beginning in second half
of 19th century, massivedestruction of carved
works by European mis-sionaries and by adherentsof African syncretist
movements.
A sculptor, Herbert T.Ward, praises Congoleseart in book thatis not translated into
French until 1910.
1906-1907: Discovery of
black art by Matisse,Braque, and Picasso. 1915:Carl Einstein publishes
Negerplastik. 1917: Paul
Guillaume and GuillaumeApollinaire bring out first
French album devoted toAfrican sculpture.
1919: Blaise Cendrars,L'Anthologie negre.Ca. 1930: Yoruba sculp-tor Bamgboye. 1920-1935:Great exhibits of Negroand Oceanic art: Marseille(1923); Paris, Pavilion deMarsan (1925); GaleriePigalle (1931); colonial ex-
hibit in Vincennes (1931);New York, Museum ofModern Art (1935).Ca. 1934: Fangs no longerpractice sculpture.
1914-1918: African bat-talions recruited in Euro-
pean colonies fight inWorld War I. Allies di-vide up former Germancolonies.
1931: Dakar-Djibouti Mis-sion
1937: Former Museed'Ethnographie in Troca-dero becomes Musee de1'Homme.
-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL WORKS
L'Art Negre. Special issue of Presence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editionsdu Seuil, 1951.
Einstein, Carl. Negerplastik. Leipzig, 1915. Trans, into French by J. Matthey-Doret in Mediations (Paris), no. 3 (1961).
Fagg, William. La Sculpture africaine. Paris: Hazah, 1963.Gerbrands, Adrian A. Art as an Element of Culture, Especially in Negro-
Africa. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, XII.Leiden, 1957.
Griaule, Marcel. Arts de VAfrique Noire. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1947.Hardy, Georges. L'Art negre. Paris: H. Laurens, 1927.Kjersmeier, Carl. Centres de style de la sculpture negre africaine. Paris:
A. Morance, 1935-1938. 4 vols.Laude, Jean. Les Arts de VAfrique noire. Collection of 100 transparencies.
Paris: Ministere de la Cooperation, 1964.Lavachery, Henri. La Statuaire de VAfrique noire. Neuchatel: La Baconniere,
1954.Leiris, Michel. "Les Negres d'Afrique et les Arts sculpturaux." In Originalite
des cultures. Paris: Unesco, 1954.. "Reflexions sur la statuaire religieuse de l'Afrique noire." In Les
Religions traditionelles africaines. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1965.Lem, F. H. Sculptures soudanaises. Paris: Arts et Metiers graphiques, 1947.Level, Andre, and Henri Clouzot. Sculptures africaines et oceaniennes. Paris:
Librairie de Medicis, 1923.Paulme, Denise. Les Sculptures de l'Afrique noire. Paris: Presses Univer-
sitaires de France, 1956.Radin, Paul, ed. African- Folktales and Sculpture. Introduction by James J.Sweeney. New York: Pantheon Books, 1952.
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RELATIONS OF EUROPE AND AFRICA
Coquery, C. La Decouverte de I'Afrique. Paris: Julliard, 1965.Denuce, J. L'Afrique de XVle siecle et le Commerce anversois. Antwerp: De
Sikkel, 1937.
Labouret, H. "L'Echange et le Commerce dans les archipels du Pacifique eten Afrique equatoriale." In Histoire du Commerce. Vol. III. Paris: S.P.I.D.,1953.
Lombard, M. "L'or musulman de VIIe au XIe siecle/' Annales E. S. C, 2(April-June 1947).
. "La Route de la Meuse et les relations lointaines des pays mosansentre le VIII e et le XI e siecle." In L'Art mosan. Paris: A. Colin, 1953.
Ronciere, Ch. de la. La Decouverte de I'Afrique au Moyen Age. Cairo, 1929.3 vols.
WORKS OF AFRICAN ART IN EUROPEAN COLLECTIONS (15TH-I9TH CENTURY)
Besson, M. L'Influence coloniale sur le decor de la vie francaise. Paris:Agence economique des colonies, 1944.
Bonnaffe, E. Les Collectionneurs de VAncienne France. Paris: Aubry, 1873.Fagg, William. Afro-Portuguese Art. London, 1959.Hamy, E. T. Les Origines du Musee a"ethnographic Paris: Leroux, 1890.Olbrechts, F. M. Bidjdrage tot de Kennis van de Chronologie der afrikaanse
Plastiek. Memoire, Vol. X, fasc. 2. Brussels: Institut Royal Colonial Beige,
1941.
Van Gennep, A. Religions, Mceurs et Legendes. 5th ser. Paris: Mercure deFrance, 1914.
Von Schlosser, J. Die Kunst- und Wunderkammer der Spatrenaissance.Leipzig, 1908.
EVOLUTION OF EUROPEAN APPRECIATION OF BLACK ART
Goldwater, R. J. Primitivism in Modern Painting. New York and London,1938.
Hermann, F. "Die afrikanische Negerplastik als Forschungsgegenstand." InBeitrage zur afrikanischen Kunst. Berlin, 1958.
. Die Bildnerei der Naturvolker als Forschungsgegenstand, Studium
generale. Heidelberg, 1951.
HISTORY OF BLACK AFRICA
Labouret, H. Histoire des Noirs d'Afrique. Paris: Presses Universitaires de
France, 1946.Moniot, H. "Pour une histoire de I'Afrique noire," Annales E. S. C. (Jan-
Feb. 1962).
Murdock, G. P. Africa: Its Peoples and Their Culture History. New York,1959.
RELATIONS OF AFRICAN ART WITH MEDITERRANEAN CIVILIZATIONS
Laude, Jean. "En Afrique noire: art et histoire," Annales E. S. C, 4 (Oct-Dec. 1959).
Paulme, D. "Un probleme de l'histoire de l'art en Afrique noire: les bronzesdu Benin," C. R. Institut francais d'anthropologic (Paris), Fasc. II (Jan.1944-Dec. 1946).
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Schweger-Hefel, A. M. "Der afrikanische Gelbgusse und seine Beziehungenzu den Mittelmeerlandern," Wiener Beitrage zur Kulturgeschichte undLinguistik, 5th year (1943).
Segy, L. "The Symbolism of the Snake in Africa," Archiv fur Volkerkunde(Vienna), IX (1954).
ARCHAEOLOGY
Fagg, William. "L'Art nigerien avant Jesus-Christ." In L'Art Negre. Specialissue of Presence africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.
. Merveilles de VArt nigerien. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1963.Hamelin, P. "Les Bronzes du Tchad," Tribus (1952-53).Lebeuf, J. P. "L'Art ancien du Tchad," Cahiers d'art (1951).Lebeuf, J. P., and A. M. Masson-Detourbet. La Civilisation du Tchad. Paris:
Payot, 1950.Wieschhoff, H. A. The Zimbabwe-Monomotapa Culture in South-East Af-
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AFRICAN SCULPTURE
Fagg, William. "De 1'art des Yoruba." In L'Art Negre. Special issue ofPresence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.
Fagg, William, K. C. Murray, et al. The Artist in the Tribal Society. London:Kegan, 1959.
Fischer, E. "Kiinstler der Dan," Baessler-Archiv, n.s., X (1962).Himmelheber, H. Negerkiinstler. Stuttgart, 1935.
METALWORK
Clement, P. "Le Forgeron en Afrique noire," Revue de Ceographie Humaineet d'Ethnologie, 2 (April-June 1946).
Davidson, B. UAfrique noire avant les Blancs. Paris: Presses Universitairesde France, 1962.
Laclant, J. Le Per dans VEgypte ancienne, le Soudan et VAfrique. Actes ducolloque international: Le Per a travers les ages. In Annales de I'Est, Me-moir no. 16. Nancy, 1956.
Mauny, R. "Essai sur l'histoire des metaux en Afrique occidentale," Bulletinde I'lnstitut Prancais d'Afrique Noire, XIV (1952).
REGIONAL ART
DahomeyHerskovits, M. J. "The Art of Dahomey," American Magazine of Art (1934).Mercier, P. Les Ase du Musee d'Abomey. Dakar: Institut Francais d'Af-
rique Noire, 1952.. "Evolution de l'Art dahomeen." In L'Art Negre. Special issue of
Presence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.-. "Images de l'Art animalier au ''Dahomey," Etudes Dahomeenes
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Nigeria
Bradbury, M. R. The Benin Kingdom and the Edo-speaking Peoples of South-western Nigeria. London: International African Institute, 1957.
Egharevba, J. U. A Short History of Benin. 2d ed. Lagos, 1953.Fagg, William. "The Antiquities of Ife," Magazine of Art, XLIII (1950).
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Merveilles de VArt nigerien. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1963.Pitt Rivers Museum. Antique Works of Art from Benin. London, 1900.Read, C. H., and O. M. Dalton. Antiquities from the City of Benin. London,
1899.
Schweger-Hefel, A. M. Afrikanische Bronzen. Vienna, 1948.Underwood, L. Bronzes of West Africa. London: Tiranti, 1949.Von Luschan, F. Die Altertiimer von Benin. Berlin, 1919.
CameroonFrobenius, L. Der Kameruner Schiffschnabel und seine Motive. Halle, 1897.Germann, P. Das plastichefigurliche Kunstgewerbe im Grasland von Kam-
erun. Leipzig, 1910.
Jauze, J. B. "L'Art inconnu d'une culture primitive africaine dans la region
de Yaounde," Bulletin de la Societe d'Etudes Camerounaises (1948).. "Contribution a l'etude de 1'archeologie du Cameroun," Bulletin
de la Societe d'Etudes Camerounaises (1944).Lebeuf, J.-P. L'Habitation des Pali du Nord Cameroun. Paris: Hachette, 1961.Lecoq, R. Les Bamileke: une civilisation africaine. Paris: Presence Africaine,
1953.Truitard, S., and E. Buisson. Arts du Cameroun a I'Exposition coloniale de
Naples. Naples, 1934.
Congo /Brazzaville and Congo/KinshasaBittremieux, L. Symbolisme in de Negerkunst. Brussels, 1937.Les Arts au Congo beige et au Ruanda-Urundi. Brussels, 1950.Himmelheber, I. H. Art et Artistes Bakuba. Broussa, 1940.
. Art et Artistes Batshiok. Broussa, 1939.
. Les Masques bayaka et leurs Sculpteurs. Broussa, 1939.Hottot, R. "Teke Fetishes," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute,LXXXVI (1956).
Maes, J. Aniota Kifwebe. Antwerp: De Sikkel, 1924.Olbrechts, F. M. Plastiek van Kongo. Antwerp, 1946.Torday, I. E., and T. A. Joyce. Les Bushongo. Brussels, 1911.Van Wing, J. Etudes Bakongo. Vol. II: Religion et Magie. Brussels, 1938.Verly, R. "Les Mintadi," Zaire (1955).
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GabonAndersson, E. Contribution a l'etude des Kuta. Vol. I. Uppsala, 1953.Chauvet, S. "L'Art funeraire au Gabon," Bulletin des Sceurs Bleues (1933).Grebert, F. "Arts en voie de disparition au Gabon," Africa (1934).Peissi, P. "Les Masques blancs des Tribus de l'Ogooue." In L'Art Negre.
Special issue of Presence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil,1951.
Segy, L. "Figures funeraires ba-kota." Zaire (1952).Tessmann, G. Die Pangioe. Berlin, 1913.
GuineaAppia, B. "Masques de Guinee francaise et de Casamance," Journal de la
Societe des Africanistes (1943).Fagg, William. "Two Wood-Carvings from the Baga of French Guinea,"Man (1947).
Neel, H. "Statuettes en pierre et en argile de l'Afrique occidentale," RevueEthnologique et Sociologique (1914).
Paulme, D. "Deux statuettes en pierre de Guinee francaise," Bulletin de laSociete francaise d'Anthropologic (1943).
Riitimeyer, L. "Ober westafrikanische Steinidole," Globus (1901).
Ivory CoastBardon, P. Catalogue des masques d'or baoule de VI.F.A.N. Dakar: Institut
Francais d'Afrique Noire, 1954.Goldwater, R. J. Senufo Sculpture from West Africa. New York: Museum of
Primitive Art, 1964.
Holas, B. Cultures materielles de la Cbte-d'Ivoire. Paris: Presses Univer-
sitaires de France, i960.. Portes sculptees du musee d'Abidjan. Dakar: Institut Francais
d'Afrique Noire, 1952.Olbrechts, F. M. Maskers en Dansers in de Ivoorkurst. Louvain, 1938.Salverte-Marmier, M. de. Work on Baule art in preparation.Vandenhoute, P. J. Classification stylistique du Masque Dan et Guere de laCote d'lvoire Occidentale. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voorVolkenkunde, IV. Leiden, 1948.
MaliGoldwater, R. J. Bambara Sculpture from the Western Sudan. New York:Museum of Primitive Art, i960.
Griaule, Marcel. Masques dogon. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938.Kjersmeier, Carl. Bambara Kunst. Copenhagen: Ymer, 1927.Langlois, P. Art soudanais: tribus dogon. Lille: M. Evrard, 1954.
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Laude, Jean. Irons of the Dogon. New York: H. Kamer, 1964.Leiris, Michel, and J. Damase. The Sculpture of the Tellem and the Dogon.London: Hanover Gallery, 1959.
STUDIES OF GENERAL INTEREST
Brosses, Charles de. Du culte des Dieux fetiches. Paris, 1760.
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Francastel, P. Peinture et Societe. Lyon: M. Audin, 1950.Focillon, H. La Vie des Formes. 2d ed. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France,
1948.
Jahn, J. Muntu. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1961.Levi-Strauss, Claude. La Pensee sauvage. Paris: Plon, 1963.Moret, A. Le Nil et la Civilisation egyptienne. Paris: Renaissance du Livre,
1926.
Panofsky, E. Die Perspective als symbolische Form. 1927.Les Religions traditionnelles africaines. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1965.Senghor, L. S. "L'esprit de civilisation ou les Lois de le culture negro-
africaine," Presence Africaine (1956).Tradition et Modernisme en Afrique noire. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1965.
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INDEX
Abeokuta, 69, 222, 224Abiri, 123Abomey, 67, 69, 222, 223Accra, 9Adamawa, 55Adansi, 64Adanzan, 222, 224Adja, 67Adrar, 50Agadja, 69Agni, 6, 9, 13, 64, 65, 78, 157, 182
Agonglo, 69Ajiguna, 174Akaba, 69Akan, 64akuaba, 32, 64Allada, 67, 69Ammon Tifou, 6Andoumboulou, 185Andree, Richard, 15
Angola, 44, 71, 145, 150, 182Aniota (leopard men), 142, 197Ansegue, 99Aouanrhet, 26Aoudaghost, 52Aoukar, 50Apokou Ouare, 64Archinard, Colonel Louis, 53Arou, 130-132, 136, 208, 210Arsouane, 53Ashanti, 9, 13, 30, 32, 64, 67, 157, 158Askia, 54Athieme, 67Atlas, 26
Aura Pokou, 64, 65, 67, 221
Bafur, 50Baga, 165Bagana, 64Baguirmi, 55
-
286 Index
Bailloud Gerard, 28, 139Bakaya, 151Bakongo, 6, 13, 106-107, 108, 109,in, 117, 199
Bakota, 96Bakuba, 71, 77, 79, 90, 91, 102, 103,
105, 106, 107, 108, 109, in, 116,117, 135, 206, 208, 209, 210, 224,
241Bakwele, 152, 154Balbara, 52Baluba, 92, 98, 106, 109, m, 163, 197Balumbo, 97, 154Bambaga, 62Bambara, 24, 53-55, 58, 79, 85-86,
124, 132, 136, 141, 152, 169, 187,
189, 196, 209, 242, 243Bambuk, 52Bamgboye, 100, 174Bamileke, 161
Bamoum, 92, 152, 161, 162Bandiagara, 58, 63Bantu, 44-45Barbosa, Duarte, 44Bardon, Pierre, 157Barros, Joao de, 44, 46Barth, Heinrich, 89Bastian, Adolf, 16
Bateke, 152Baule, 9, 32, 64, 65, 67, 92, 93, 99, 100,
145, 154, 157, 158, 168, 173, 193,
215, 218, 221, 225, 233Baumann, Hermann, 28, 76, 145Bavili, 70Bayaka, 151Behanzin, 69, 222Bekri, al-, 50, 55Bel-Esbat, 3Bena-Lulua, 62, 106, 107, 108-109,
111
Benametapa 44Benin, 3, 4, 6, 19, 23, 40-41, 42, 78,
90, ioi, 116-120, 122-123, 12 4/135, 158, 206, 208, 209, 215, 225,
226, 239Bigo, 49Bilma, 35Bini, 41-42, 78, 206, 210, 213, 222,
225, 233, 237, 239, 243Biton Kouloubali, 53Blaeu map, 13
Bope Kena, 105Bororo, 139Bosman, William, 9, 13Boulle, Marcelin, 26
Bovide, 139Bry, Theodore de, 11, 193, 195, 243Buli, Master of, 109, 111Bumba, 102Bundu, 144
Cameroon, 23, 49, 55, 56, ^7, 92, 93,148, 163, 165, 203, 206
Cao, Diogo, 70Casamance, 151Catalan Atlas, 8, 53Cendrars, Blaise, 18
Chad, io, 23, 25, 34, 37, 49, 120,
*37/ 139Chamba, 168Chari River, 34, 35Chembe, 102, 113Chona, 46Cnossus, 29-30Congo, 4, 11, 12, 16, 25, 44, 49, 62,
70-71, 73, 74, 78, 79, 86, 90, 92,ioi, 102, 106, 111, 117, 120, 122,
124, 141, 142, 145, 150, 151, 175,182, 193, 197, 206, 241
Coniagui dancers, 151Coptic art, 33
Dahomey, 54, 67, 79, 91, 93, 100,135, 143, 165, 206, 215, 222, 224,
225
Dakon, 64Dan, 91, 92, 99, 100, 142-143, 155,
160Dapper, Olfert, 120Darfur, ^Dei, Benedetto, 9Deko, 69Delange, Jacqueline, 137Detourbet, A. Masson, 34Dhlo-Dhlo, 42Dialloube, 55Dieriba, 52Diop, Anta, 243Djenne, 49, 52, 54, 182Djerma, 54Djimon, 161Djouder, 54
-
Index 287
Dogon, 24, 30-31, 33, 49, 57, 58, 62,63, 64, 78, 79, 85, 96, 97, 98, 99,
102, 124-125, 130-132, 135-136,
137, 141, 143-145, 152, 169, 173,182, 185, 187, 189, 195-196, 202,
203-204, 206, 209, 210, 215, 217,
225, 233, 241, 242, 243Dyenkera, 64Dyon, 130-131Dyougou Serou, 208, 217
Eguae, 119Egypt, 8, 14, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33,
52, 53, 201
Einstein, Carl, 175, 202-203
Ekoi, 163Elikeo, 28
Ennedi, 26, 28, 137, 139Eseguie, 41Esie, 42, 78, 123Es-Saheli, 53Ethiopia, 2, 30, 46Etruscan, 32Europe, 1-3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 41, 49, 53, 67,
75, 77, 90/ 99/ i4, "7/ 122 / 123/124, 134, 141, 178, 196, 209, 210,
226, 239, 241Evans, Arthur, 29-30Eweka I, 117
Fagg, Bernard, 39Fagg, William, 39, 40, 77, 100, 158,
163, 177, 230, 244Fali, 57Fang, 59, 154, 177Faure, Elie, 18, 243, 244Fetishes, 9, 71, 193, 196, 197, 198-
199, 201, 210
Fiot, 70Fischer, Eberhard, 100Focillon, Henri, 187Fors, 69Fotigue, 53Fouta Djalon, 55Frobenius, Leo, 16, 18, 145
Gabon, 59, 96, 153, 154, 163, 177Galam, 52Gana, 50, 52Gangara, 50.. 52
Gao, 8, 9, 54, 64Gardner, G. A., 44Gaspar, 11Gerewol, 139Gezo, 69, 222Ghana. See Gold CoastGlegle, 69, 222
Gobineau, Count Joseph de, 17, 243,244
Goes, Damiao de, 46Gold Coast (Ghana), 9, 50, 62, 64,
78, 168
Gongo Moussa, 8, 53Grand Lahou, 9Griaule, Marcel, 33, 128, 133, 144,
173, 180, 203Gris, Juan, 180Grunshi, 168Guere-Wobe, 155Guillaume, Paul, 153Guinea, 4, 9, 13, 32, 49, ^, 6z, 73,
74, 78, 148, 151, 162, 165, 182
Hajj Omar, 54, ^Hamelin, P., 37Hampateba, Amadou, 195Hausa, 52, ^Herskovits, Melville, 91Hodh, 50Hofra-en-Nahas, 120Hoggar, 8, 26hogon, 102, 124, 131, 132, 145, 208,
210, 217Holli, 165honhom, 158
Ibibio, 28, 30, 152Ibn Batuta, 53Ibo, 152Idriss III, ^Ife, 32, 39, 40, 41, 42, 78, 101, 117-
119, 123, 124, 158, 206, 209, 210,
213, 215, 239, 243Iguegha, 119Iguneromwo, 90, 119Inyanga, 42Islam, 49, 52, 54, 55, 57/ 58, 73Ivory Coast, 38, 64, 79, 91, 92, 155,
168Ivory leopards, 123iyase, 118
-
288 Index
Jaman, 168
Kaarta, 53-54Kakongo, 70Kanem-Bornu, 35, ^Kankan Moussa. See Gongo MoussaKano, 34, 120Kante, 52Kasai, 4, 71, 93, 108
Kata-Mbula, 103, 104, 113Kaya Maghan, 52Keaka, 163, 165Keita, 8, 52, 53Khami, 42Kircher, Father Athanasius, 6
Kissi, 78, 182Koffe Kalkalli, 30, 158Kolomo, 102Kono, 86Kotoko, 23, 34Kouakou Anougbele, 221Kouch, 89Koukya, 54Koulou Tyeleo, 218Kpengla, 69Kurumba, 62, 63, 141, 169Kwanza, 70
Labouret, Henri, 25, 52Lajuvva, 119Lange, Julius, 15, 16
Lantier, Raymond, 37Lavachery, Henri, 198Lebeuf, Jean Paul, 34, 37Leiris, Michel, 91, 97, 99, 201, 203lela, 104Libya, 89, 90Limpopo, 42Loango, 70Lopez, Duarte, 193, 243Loyer, Father Godefroy, 9Luba, 44, 71Lunda, 44, 71Lunda-Luwale, 150
Maesen, Albert, 197, 199Maghreb, 52, 53, 54Mahaya, 37Maindo rites, 148Makari, 37Makishi, 151Malfante, Antonio, 8-9
Mali, 24, 52-53/ 54/ 64, 79Malraux, Andre, 179Mamadou Toure, 54Mambo, 46Mandara, 56Mande, 52, 124, 132, 136, 185Mandingo, 8, 52, 53Mangbetu, 4, 77, 78, 96, 182Mani-Kongo, 11, 89Mansa Oule, 52Mapoungouboue, 42, 44Marc, Lucien, 63Marees, Pieter van, 9Mariette, Auguste, 30Masks, 17, 19, 20, 21, 28, 99-100,
102, 132, 137, 139, 141-144, 145,148, 150, 151-152, 174-175, 177,178-179, 180, 181, 244-245; ante-
lope, 169, 179; Ashani, 158; Ba-
ga, 165, 169; Bakwele, 152-153,
154; Baluba, 163; Balumbo, 154;Bambara, 152, 169; Bamileke, 161;Bamoum, 161, 162; Bateke, 152;Baule, 154, 158, 168, 173, 193;Bayaka, 174-175; Benin, 158;blade-shaped, 63, 169, 173; Bobo-Oule, 169; Cameroon, 165, 168;commemorative, 157-158, 160,181; crowned by sculptures, 173,175; Dan, 160; Dea, 155, 160;Dogon, 63, 141, 143, 152, 154, 155,169, 173, 175, 204, 241; Ekoi, 163,
165; facial, 152-154, 161, 163, 181;funeral, 9; Guere-Wobe, 155; hel-met, 162-163, 168, 169, 173, 181;Holli, 165; Ibibio, 152; Ibo, 152;Ife, 158; Jagunjagun, 174; kanaga,
141, 173; Keaka, 163, 165; kpe-lyegue, 218; Kurumba, 169; leafand woven, 148, 150-151; Mende,163; Mossi, 169, 173, 175; nimba,
165; Pangwe, 153-154, 163; Sen-ufo, 152, 168, 217; sirige, 143;wango, 63, 173; wooden, 150, 181;yasagine, 175; Yoruba, 173-174,t-75
Massina, ^Masudi, al-, 45Mauny, Raymond, 28, 49, 89Mauritania, 50Mayombe, 70, 197, 198Mbali, 70
-
Index 289
Mende, 78, 139, 144, 163, 206Meroe, 40, 89Meyerowitz, Eva, 158mfumu, 107Midigue, 37Miele, 71Mikope Mbula, 104, 105, 208Minoans, 30mintadi, 106-107, 108, 109Monomotapa, 42, 44, 46, 71Mopti, 49, 182
Moret, Alexandre, 32, 201
Morocco, 8, 53, 54-55, 64Mosan, 3Mossi, 53, 54, 58, 62-64, 169, 173,
175Mpongwe, 142-143Mycenaeans, 30
Nago, 222, 224nganga, 197, 198Ngere, 91Ngonyo, 70Nigeria, 4, 23, 39, 40, 49, 33, 78, 92,
101, 143, 145, 163, 168, 222
Njoya, 23nkisi, 196-197Nok, 34, 39-40, 42, 123, 182Nommo, 31-32, 96, 125, 202, 208,
217Nubia, 30, 40, 44, 89-90, 120Nupe, 33Nyendael, David, 120Nyimi, 102, 105, 106Nzinga Nkuwu, 13, 70
Obalufon II, 119, 158Ogooue, 154Oguola, 119okra, 157okrafo, 158Olbrechts, Frans M., 109Olorun, 118oni, 118, 119, 123, 158Ono, 130-131Ophir, 44Orosongo, 128Ouagadougou, 50-52, 62Oualata, 8, 53, 64Ouare, Apokou, 64Ouedrago, 62, 63
Ouegbadja, 69Ovimbundu, 145
Pangwe, 153, 163Paulme, Denise, 30, 32, 86, 196-197Penhalonga, 42Peuls, 55, 38, 137, 139, 141Pigafetta, Filippo, 11, 193, 243Porto-Novo, 67Portugal, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 42, 44,
46, 5 2 / 53/ 70, 71 / 78, 89, 120, 196,
208, 239, 243Prester John, 2, 10
Pygmies, 26, 204, 244
Raoua, 63Read, Herbert, 177Rhodesia, 25, 34, 46, 49, 71Riegl, Alois, 15-16
Sahara, 8, 9, 26, 28, 49, 120, 139Sahel, 50, 52Salverte-Marnier, 145Samory Toure, 55Sangha, 63, 78, 99San Salvador, 4, 70, 71Sao, 34-35, 37, 157, 182, 185Schuhl, Pierre M., 33Schweinfurth, Georg, 77Sefar, 28
Segu, 53-54/ 55Segy, Ladislas, 30Senegal, 49, 52, 55Senghor, Leopold, 243-244Senufo, 38, 63, 79, 83, 99, 124, 136,
152, 168, 187, 193, 209, 215, 217-218, 225, 233, 242
Serer, 30Shamba Bolongongo, 71, 103, 104Sierra Leone. 78, 139, 144, 163Sijilmassa, 8
Sisse Tounkara, 52sogoni-kun, 169Songhai, 9, 50, 52, 53, 54, 64, 145Sosso, 52Soundiata, 52Sudan, 2, 3, 6, 8, 25, 30, 33, 34, 49,
50-52, 53, 55, 36-37, 58, 62, 86,
89, 90, 101, 102, 124, 161, 180Suleiman, 53Sunni Ali, 54, 64Sydow, Erich von, 76
-
290 Index
Tado, 67Tafilalet, 8
Takkedda, 120Tamstit, 8
Tarikh-es-Fettach, 54Tarikh-es-Sudan, 54Tassili, 26, 137, 204
Tauxier, Louis, 63Tegbessou, 69Tegdaoust, 52Tekrun, 52Tellem, 58, 63, 124-125, 173, 195-
196Tenkodogo, 62Tibesti, 26
Timbuktu, 8, 9, 25, 52, 53, 54, 64Tinkisso, 52Tiywana, 169Toma, 148Tuareg, 53, 54, 89Tuat, 8, 9Tunis, 8
Uganda, 49Usman, 55-56
Vallois, Henri-Victor, 26
Van Niekerk, 42Varagnac, Andre, 208
Wadai, 55, 120wango, 63, 173Warega, 78, 160Woulki, 37
Yangere, 96Yatenga, 53~54/ 58 / 62 / 63/ 64Yirigue, 141Yoruba, 40, 69, 100, 118, 158, 173,
187, 201, 202
Zaire, 70Zambezi, 41Zambia, 150Zandj, 3, 45, 46Zimbabwe, 42, 45, 46, 78, 203
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