ARTH - Africa

Similarities between African Art (spiritual, art forms, rituals)

spiritual - belief in creator god, invisible world of ancestors, spirits, deities

Art forms - humans and animals

Rituals - costumes, masks, ritual dances, body decoration with scarring or paint

Nigerian art types

Porcupine quills, feathers, horns

Komo, kono

Nigerian organizations (mostly men) train to show skill (blacksmiths, farmers)

Masks and sculptures maintained by organization for understanding of plants

• Masks, sculptures, animal fragments

Power images - Nigeria

Full-body outfits from cotton+feathers, dance skills

Esie sculptures

Nigeria - soap stone carvings, can be animal or human

• Human sculptures were everyday activities

Ikom monoliths

(Nigeria) Produced by Ekoi - stone carving, geometric

Ekpo mask

(Nigeria) Wooden mask by Ekpo, political strength

“ancestor spirit”

Yoruba Doors and Veranda Posts

(Nigeria)

Royal authority, spiritual lineage

Nok art style/types

900 BCE-200 CE

Iron-working, sculpture, terracotta, stone and metal tools

Nok Heads

-Terracotta, originally full body statue

• Triangle eyes, pursed lips

Seated Dignitary

(Nok) Power, authority, possibly grave markers, charms (could be origin of Nok heads)

Additive vs Subtractive sculpture

Additive - add material on top and smooth it

Subtractive - take tool and sculpt into the mass itself (example: inside of Nok Heads)

Igbo art and politics

Loose kingdoms, farm yam, lost wax casting, clay, metal

Igbo Richard

• Elite burial

• Beads on the ruler buried there, human remains, bronze cooking vessels, leopard bronze head

• Thought to be Eze Nri - priest-ruler and remove spiritual pollution

Equestrian Fly-whisk handle

-Authority of riding on animal, feathers to shoo bugs, bronze statue found in Richard burial chamber (Igbo)

Ichi

Igbo - marks on face for authority

Igbo Isaiah shrine with goods

Bronze, lost wax casting goods

Roped Vessel

(Igbo) large amount of copies - made with metals, lost-wax casting

Skeuomorph (Igbo)

Object created in different material from original but made to resemble original

Igbo altar, creation story

Supreme leader Chineke/Chukwu and dieties like igwe sky and ala earth formed 8 humans using clay, chalk, sacred rituals to restore moral balance

Igwe (igbo)

sky

Ala (igbo)

Earth

Mbari

(Igbo) Creation of large open sided square shaped mud and thatch shelters filled with clay sculptures

Igbo Jonah

Refuse pit with goods

Ife/Yoruba spiritual/art types

Lineage to supreme god Oduduwa, pavement, wax casting, terracotta, kings, headdresses

Obalufon Mask

(Ife) Obalufon brought to Ife, represents ooni, brought metalwork

• Holes to place hair

Ooni/oba

King (Ife, Benin)

Ife

Round walled city with stone and moat

-origin of humankind

-Courtyard with mosaics and pottery

Potsherd Pavement

(Ife) Within shrine, patterned in shrine

Ife spirit heads

Used as a relief of an altar

Ori ode- outer head - visible

Ori inu - inner head, spiritual, invisible

18 Cache of buried metal heads

(Ife) Naturalism - crown means royal, holes for hair placement

Buried at foot of trees (shrines)

Scarification

(ife) marks on dace for political/religious importance

Ife King Sculpture

Beaded necklaces, zinc, disproportionate becasue head is a motif - spirt

Large belly = abundance of wealth and power

Odu (Ife)

full

Benin, connection to Ife

Didn’t want to be ruled by historic dynasty, asked Ife to rule

Copper, iron, ivory

Head center of character

Transformation of Benin art, HEADS

Beaded caps with copper heads

1500 - geometric, ife similarity

1700 - necklace increases, abstract

1800 - Late Period - brass, headress and decorative elements most geometric

When new king came to power, old king would make head, hole at top for ivory tusks

Ivory carvings

(Benin) Tusks carved with images of ruler’s life

Queen Mother head (Iyoba - queen mother)

(image late period)

(Benin) 4 lines above each eye for scarification, veritcal marks filled with medicine

Oba Esigie, Idia

1500- early period

Esigie - king, mother esigie advised military

Iyoba

(Benin) queen mother

Queen Mother Waist Pendant

(Benin) ~1500s, ivory and worn during ceremonies

mudfish - king’s duality of human and god

Mudfish

(Benin) Can live in and out of water - in and out of spirit world

Altar to the hand

(Benin) Woman figures - carrying offerings

Hierarchy scale - who’s the most important based on position and clothing

Ikegobo

(Benin) royal shrinee

Female figure (Benin)

Ivory figure -clothingless shows they were attendants

Benin and Portugese, French

Benin and portugese traded ivory, lost portugese as trading partners and British launched Benin expedition

Benin Plaques

Relief plaque - usually of obas which told story of royal lineage

Mudfish, river leaf (wealth)

Triadic symmetry

Triadic symmetry

(Benin) two of the same people on either side of political figure

Repatriation

Process of restoring art to original creators

Provenance

Record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity/quality

Fon/Dahomey

Militaristic kingdom - war with Yoruba neighbors, art to praise and reinforce royal authority

Dohomey

Kingdom with controlled entry (6) tree grove

1st Palace - King Agaja

12 palaces built by 12 kings, each place had relief sculptures

Amazon carrying Yoruba clay relief

Mino woman (often referred to as Amazon by colonialists), who is a warrior, carrying captured soldier

Mino/Agojie

(Dahomey) Our mothers - female war militia, muskets

Silver sieve

(Dahomey) Worn over nose in belief that the tribe came from queen who mated wiht leapord

Fa

(Dahomey) Name given to leader by spirits

Divination

to seek wisdom or knowledge from a supernatural source

Applique

(Dahomey) Designs made of small pieces of fabric sewn into base

Bocio

(Dahomey) Sculpted forms that were empowered

Used protective energy of gods to protect spaces - commoners had ugly ones, palace ones were sleeker

Used knotting, tying, locking spirit, pouring blood, human jaw, duck bills

Vodun

protective energy of gods

Bocio in honor of King Glele

(Dahomey) Boost strength by representing king as lion - lion was fa name

Gu

(Dahomey) iron and war diety

Asen to king Glele

Asens are memorial altars to look like iron staffs - specific sculpture on top

Ghana fantasy coffins

Represented something about deceased

Moai of Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Moai are carved stone figures meant to represent the island's ancestors and hold spiritual value that were carved out of a mother rock

Made of volcanic tuff and chiseling

Ahu moai

Ahu moai are the moai that are standing on secret ceremonial platforms (Ahu), commonly with headpieces

hey have a center of gravity that is back and up, carved eyes, and no angled base.

Moai statue represent what

ancestors associated with gods. They also represent competition between different clans on Rapa Nui, where the largest moai that were placed at ahus represented the strength of the clans