Africa
Art of African Kingdoms
Lesson one
Integrated with other art
forms: music, dance and drama
Plays an important part of daily life: from birth, into adulthood and to death
In death, the spirit joins the ancestral realm if the individual led an honorable, productive life
Emphasizes the important events of life and the forces in nature that influence the all life
Role of Art in African Cultures
Dominant themes:
Birth
Death
Roles of men, women and children
Sickness and healing
Importance of food and water
Human relationship with nature
Artwork often linked to celebrations and rituals-both sacred and secular
Themes in Art
Founded in early 13th century
near city of Jenne
Strong political power
Sculpture characteristics Jutting chins
Heads held high
Sturdy neck
Straight and tall body whether seated or standing
Emphasis on the vertical
Empire of Mali
Mali, Equestrian figure, 13th c.. ceramic
Architecture
Emphasis on the vertical
Made of adobe bricks
Great Friday Mosque
Amplifies tall and straight
Rows of tall, narrow columns
Refinished surface annually
Wooden beams project from sides as permanent supports
Great Friday Mosque
Great Friday Mosque
Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, 1907
Market Place
Situated in what is now
southern Nigeria
Excelled in sculptures of metal, especially bronze
Bronze was reserved for most important works
Sculpture High-relief sculptures
covered the walls and pillars of the royal palace
Kingdom of Benin
Characteristics
Often contained figure of oba, or king
Flanked by two chiefs bearing shields
Sword bearers and palace attendants
Hierarchal scale
Asante Kingdom
Akan people
Measure of wealth was gold
Examples of use:
Jewelry
Stool
Ornaments
Staffs
Swords
Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool), Asante people (Ghana), c. 1700
Golden Stool
Golden Stool in context
Asante King
controlled the use of special cloth
Kente cloth: brilliantly colored and patterned fabric
Became the royal cloth
Woven in narrow strips that are then stitched together in to complex patterns
Kente Cloth
African Sculpture
Lesson two
Much of African art is in the form of sculpture
Sculptures: Often made of wood
Stylized masks
Symbols o royalty
Powerfully expressive figures
Admired by artists outside Africa since 1905
Sculpture
Most wood sculptures
date from late 19th-early 20th century-period of European colonization of Africa
Because each is made of wood, they didn’t last
Each new generation attempted to improve upon earlier models-producing innovative designs
Used in religious rituals and ceremonies
African Wood Carvings
Varies from one ethnic group to another
Styles are influenced by cross-cultural contact and exchange
Variety of Artistic Styles
Many different forms but often based on
the human figure Carved with an adze: an ax-like tool with
an arched blade at right angles to the handle
Carved from a single section of wood Common characteristics: Proportions reflect cultural preferences
rather than natural proportions Frontal symmetrical pose Disproportionately large heads: Signifies
the head as the center of reason and wisdom
Little o no suggestion of movement
Carved Figures
Variety of functions
Promote the well-being of individuals, families, social groups
Reflect concerns of the living and of ancestors and spirits (including the unborn)
Function
Death is not considered the
end of life
Initiates spirit into world of ancestors and remains nearby to influence the living
Living talk to them linking living and dead
Ancestors and Cultural Figures
Kongo peoples (Democratic
Republic of the Congo)
Used in rituals to deal with social problems
Contain ancestral relics or medicines
Forces contained with are activated by a spiritualist
Once activated, the nkisi sculpture draws on these forces to aid those requiring assistance.
Nkisi Sculpture
Nkisi
spirit
the sacred medicine
Container of sacred substances
Nkondi: hunter
Considered the most powerful of all minkisi (plural for nkisi)
Nails and iron blades were inserted as part of a legal process
Draws on ancestral authority
Accumulation of metal blades
Used to solve verbal disputes or lawsuits
Nkisi Nkondi-Power Figure
Medicinal combinations
stored in the head and belly
Shielded by glass mirror
Glass represents “other world” inhabited by spirit of the dead who can peer through and see potential enemies
Sharp objects
Insertions
Insertions are driven in by the nganga (spiritual specialist)
Represents the mambu (lawsuit or dispute)
Object inserted depends on the seriousness of the offense
The deeper object is inserted, the more serious the offense
Insertion meaning
Prior to insertions,
opposing parties often lick the blades or nails
Actions seals the purpose of the nkisi through their saliva
If oath is broken or evil befalls one of them, nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection
Ritual and Belief
Gabon, Africa
Nomadic people
Sculptures guard ancestral relics
Placed on top of baskets or bundles containing relics of the dead
Guardian Figures
Elongated body
Large head
Protruding navel
Ward off anyone who might harm contents or warning not to touch or might be harmed by relics
Made for special and important people
Fang byeri figure
Placed on inner palace
courtyard porch Nigeria, Africa; Yoruba
people Hierarchal proportion King enthroned in front of
female figure (his senior wife)
Suggests importance of women in Yoruba society
Women support community
She gazes down, hands on throne, suggests men cannot rule without support of women
Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife
Artist: Olowe of Ise
King is important central position sits on throne Projection from top of head-divine
presence Large, beaded crown (link to past
rulers) who exercise power in spiritual realm
Bird Long beak points to king Symbolizes supernatural
watchfulness that enables him to protect his people
Represents powerful older women (ancestors and female deities) who support the king as “mothers”
Symbols
Variety of functions
Incudes a full costume
Usually worn by men
Have their own songs and dance steps
Masks
Female (Pwo ) mask Chokwe peoples (Democratic Republic of Congo Late 19th to early 20th. Wood, fiber, pigment and metal
Mende peoples of
Sierra Leone, Liberia
Bundu Mask from Sande Society
Function:
Worn at ceremonies at end of initiation process
Worn by women
Full costumes
Helmet Masks
Elephant Mask
Assert political power Elite Kuosi masking
society Honors king: worn by
title holders Combined with
costume, music, songs, food
Symbols: transforms human into elephant and leopard transforms into a human
Purpose