African Art

Mblo portrait mask

Date: 19th-20th century

Material: Wood and pigment

Location: Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

Content: commissioned to honor a specific person / honoree gets the keep the mask after the ceremony / idealized features on the mask

Female Mask

Date: 19th-20th century

Material: wood, fiber, pigment

Location: Chokwe tribe (DRC)

Content: Worn by men to honor women / idealized beauty and calm expression/ whitened eyes symbolize ability of second sight

Bundu Mask

Date: 19th-20th century

Material: wood, cloth, fiber

Location: Sierra Leone (sande society)

Content: Worn by young girls in a coming of age ritual/ Chrysalis shape symbolizes change, tight lips symbolize no gossiping

Ikenga

Date:19th-20th century

Material: wood

Location: Nigeria (Igbo tribe)

Content: Used as a personal object to honor achievement/ human face with animal attributes / symbolizes masculinity and strength

Veranda Post

Date:1910

Material: wood and pigment

Location: Nigeria

Artist: Olowe of Ise

Content: wooden post meant for support / seated king with wife standing behind him, represents wife’s importance / Trickster god Esu at the feet of the king, symbolizing his divinity

Reliquary Figure

Date: 19th-20th century

Material: wood

Location: Camaroon (Fang people)

Content: Funerary, placed on containers of possessions and bones of dead ones / polished often to repel insects / defined muscle structure and calm praying pose

Aka Elephant Mask

Date: 19th-20th century

Material: wood, raffia, beads, cloth

Location: Camaroon (Bamileke kingdom)

Content: Elephant was a symbol of power and the god Fon / worn during a ritual only preformed by Elephant society, meant to honor the king and bring peace

Lukasa

Date: 19th-20th century

Material: wood, beads, metal

Location:Democratic republic of Congo

Content: Used to help readers memorize key events from a story/ patterns on beads represent people or events

Golden Stool

Date: 19th-20th century

Location: Ghana (Ashanti people)

Material: gold and wood

Content: sacred golden stool that represents the greatness of Ghana nation

Wall plaque

Date:19th-20th century

Location: Nigeria

Material: Brass

Content: Relief plaque with hire by of scale, represents the king asserting dominance

Great Zimbabwe

Date: 19th-20th century

Location: Zimbabwe

Material: brick and granite

Content: Functioned as a trade center and royal complex/ shows wealth and architectural greatness of the empire

Mosque of Djenne

Date:19th-20th

Location: Mali

Material: clay and straw

Content: Demonstrates Muslim heritage in Africa / Annual replastering festival (Crepissage) / Minarets with ostrich egg representing fertility

Power Figure

Date:19th-20th

Location: Congo

Material: wood and metal nails

Content: Law keeping figure meant to judge honesty and morality