05.04 Africa

Flashcards about Ancient African Art & Culture

Apollo 11 Stones

Prehistoric evidence of artistic expression and environmental change in Africa.

Old Man’s Cloth

Artwork by El Anatsui using liquor bottle caps to comment on slave trade and international exchange.

Ancestor Veneration

A shared belief across many African cultures involving the honoring of deceased relatives.

Nok Terracotta Figures

Earliest known terracotta figures from Nigeria, depicting deities, ancestors, or fertility spirits.

Igbo-Ukwu Bronze Casting

Skilled use of the lost-wax method in bronze casting, suggesting social complexity and wealth.

Ife Naturalistic Heads

Terracotta and bronze heads focused on the head as the seat of wisdom and sacred power, embodying realism and idealism.

Benin Brass Works

Art exclusive to royalty, commissioned by kings, often featuring coral beads to symbolize power, wealth, and divinity.

Great Zimbabwe

Royal enclosure with impressive dry stone walls, including the Conical Tower that may represent a granary or deities.

Great Mosque of Djenné

Adobe (mudbrick) mosque in Mali, combining Islamic layout with local materials and aesthetic, featuring torons for scaffolding.

Hierarchical Scale

Artistic technique used to represent power, where more important figures are depicted as larger (e.g., Wall Plaque, Veranda Post, Ndop).

Divine Kingship

Pan-African theme where kings are seen as sacred figures.

Veranda Post

Artwork by Olowe of Ise showing a king with his senior wife towering behind him, symbolizing power through community support.

Ndop

Portrait figure representing an idealized Kuba king, believed to hold part of the king’s soul and used in rituals.