1. Africa
c. 11th – 21st Centuries

2. ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Human life began in Africa.
Essential Knowledge - Rock art is the earliest art form found in Africa. It depicts animals and human activity. - The spreading Sahara caused migrations to southern Africa where the arts flourished.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING African art is active and interactive with other art forms.
Essential Knowledge - African art is truly interdisciplinary, encompassing a wide variety of media, materials, and performances. - African art addresses the spiritual world. It can be seen on everyday items, as well as on items associated with royalty. - Art can be commissioned by a shaman or a worshiper. It is often used as part of an elaborate and prescribed ritual.

3. ENDURING UNDERSTANDING African art is meant to be used, not just viewed.
Essential Knowledge - Art permeates all important aspects of society. Rituals initiate coming of age, leadership, or family communion, and often have elements of contact with ancestors. - Art objects are often manipulated and interpreted in rituals. Historic accomplishments are orally preserved by poets and historians who use objects to identify with their stories. - Large leadership centers, as in Zimbabwe, show that Africans sometimes used monumental structures to mark settlements and territory.

4. ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Formerly thought of as static and primitive, today African art is seen as interactive with many cultures and ever changing.
Essential Knowledge - African history has been preserved in an oral tradition. Outsiders have used a written record of historical events. - Collectors of Africa art have often ignored the usual data associated with art history; the names of artists and the dates of creation. - African art has had a global impact.

5. 175: Bundu Mask
Sande Society, Mende peoples (West African Forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia)
19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, cloth and fiber.

6. Sande, or Bundu, Society – fellowship of women who are responsible for preparing young Mende girls for adulthood.
For their roles as wives, mothers, and female community members.
Bundu mask, or sowo-wui, is worn by Mende women of Sierra Leone.
Sowo – water spirit of the Sande Society. A deity from the waters.
Female member appears as Sowo in full costume and walks with grace and elegance expected of Mende women.
Costume is a black gown of raffia fibers that conceals her body and the mask rests over her head on her shoulders.

7. Girls would be taken into the forest and taught the secret knowledge of women.
After completion of initiation, they were returned to the community and presented in a ritual masquerade as mature women ready for marriage.
Mask is unique because it is danced by a woman.
The mask and its wearer offered a model of ideal behavior for new members to emulate and a demonstration of female virtues and wisdom to the larger community.
During the dance, female ancestor spirits were channeled becoming an embodiment of mystical power. Dance can be calm and measured and frenetic and lively acrobatic.

8. Mask
Conical helmet that rest on top of raffia costume.
Rests on head; head not placed inside the mask.
Appearance exemplifies Mende women’s physical and moral beauty. Mende ideal.
Coated with palm oil gives black lustrous shine – the color of the spirit of the waters.
Sleek, luminous surface takes on a glow of inner light.
Clearly defined features and perfect symmetry.

9. Mask
Coiffure – largest and most elaborate part of the mask. Varied and ornately decorated that indicates elegance, wealth, and femininity. Adornments to the coiffures exhibit individuality.
Neck rings – exaggeration of actual neck creases. Sign of beauty because they suggest wealth, high status, and are sexually attractive. Neck rings represent the concentric waves which are formed on still water by Sowo’s head breaking through the surface. Necks of women is human in form but divine in nature.

10. Mask
Facial features – neck rings cradle a small face with features at the bottom half. Compact space dominated by the eyes.
Forehead – broad and signifies wisdom and success.Shines and never covered by hair.
Mouth – small pursed mouth indicates composure and forbids flirtation or smiling. Mouth is sealed so no female secrets are revealed. Mende society discourages spiteful talk which can cause suffering. Indication of composure and sound judgement. Perfect silence.

11. Mask
Nose – delicate and sharp and small like the mouth.
Eyes – supreme element of the body. Considered a human’s most beautiful physical trait. Mende believe that eyes are goodness and reveal genuine feelings. Heavily lidded, downcast, and barely open. Calmness and gentleness.
Scarification – small marks found beneath the eyes on a Sande mask may be identity marks formally used by Mende.

13. Chokwe peoples (Democratic Republic of Congo)
173: Female (Pwo) mask
Chokwe peoples (Democratic Republic of Congo)
19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, fiber, pigment and metal.

14. Democratic Republic of Congo
Female masks carved by men and danced by men.
Made to honor women; young, fertile and those who have given birth.
Chokwe is a matriarchal society.

15. Sense of calm in the face.
Made of wood.
Dark red.
White kaylan or powder around eyes. White connects to the spiritual realm.
Elaborate hairstyle.
Enlarged eyes, almost closed. Most important part of the face. Abstract, large. Pounded dots around eyes.
Eyes and mouth are closed to suggest turning inward.

16. Slender nose.
High forehead.
Narrow chin.
Symmetry.
Hairstyle – fashionable at the time. Women can see themselves in the mask.
Ideal woman and virtues.
Ideal of womanhood.
Brings fertility and prosperity to community.

17. Costume
Tight fitted body stocking.
Loin cloth covers groin area.
Dancer wears wooden breasts.

19. 178: Aka elephant mask Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region)
19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, woven raffia, cloth and beads.

20. Cameroon – country in Central Africa.
The Kuosi originally founded as a secret association of warriors devoted to protecting the fon, or king, has transformed into a society of wealthy, titled men who serve as the fon’s representatives.
The primary role of the Kuosi is to maintain the social order in Bamileke society.
Masquerade – mask and costume, performers, musicians, and attendants bring the mask to life.

21. Worn as part of a costume by masquerader representing and performing an elephant.
Recreates the strength and intelligence of the elephant – two qualities of great leadership.
Elephants are perceived as altar egos of the kings and associated with political power.
Shapes created by the beadwork on the animal’s body allude to leopard spots. Also has a long tail.
Rare leopard pelts are worn on their backs.
The leopard combined with elephant masks in the form of figures on the headdresses also alludes to royalty.

22. Only members of royal families, court officials, wealthy title holders, and important warriors are admitted to the Kuosi masking society that uses these masks.
The society assists the king, or fon, in his role as preserver and enforcer of a rigid sociopolitical hierarchy, secured arms during wartime, and collected taxes among villages.
Main purpose was to regulate, maintain, and affirm a class system in which wealth and titles determined one’s station in life.
These masks are worn at funerals, Kuosi celebrations, and other important events.

23. Materials express the king’s wealth.
Glass beads decorate the long cloth panels that make up the mask’s trunk.
Beads, imported, were used among the Bamileke people as currency.
Stiff circular ears wave back and forth during swift movements.
Human mouth and eyes are stitched onto mask.
Worn with a red feather headdress.
Intricate detail.
Stylized.

24. Hold horsetail whisks with beaded handles, heavy ivory bracelets, and anklets with rattles.
Connection between divine rule and essence of powerful animals.
Performance art.

26. Baule peoples (Cote d’Ivoire)
173: Portrait mask (Mblo)
Baule peoples (Cote d’Ivoire)
Early 20th century C.E. Wood and pigment.

27. 400,000 Baule live in central Cote d’Ivoire in west Africa.
This mask not intended to be hung on a wall.
West African sculpture has the power to make things happen.
Baule people see an object’s spiritual powers it evokes. A connoisseur sees the forms, colors, and textures.

28. This mask part of secular masquerade in the village of Kami.
Two types of entertainment masks – Goli and Mblo.
Mblo dances are referred to as Gbagba.
Gbagba allowed residents to socialize, mourn, celebrate, feast, and court.
Presented at Mblo performances where an individual is honored by having ritual dances performed in someone’s honor.
Dancer who wears the mask and clothes of the honored person is accompanied by the actual person during the performance.
Idealized representation of a real person. Not an exact portrait.

29. Meant to honor a respected member of Baule society.
Unique – the carver and sitter have been photographed.
Older woman – Moya Yanso.
Man holding mask is her stepson who danced this mask in a Gbagba performance.
Well known Baule artist, Owie Kimou carved her image.
Commissioned and originally worn by Kouame Ziarey, Moya’s Yanso’s husband.

30. Quiet peaceful faces.
Introspective meditative look.
Oval face, broad forehead.
Pronounced eye sockets arched eyebrows.
Elongated nose.
Small opened mouth.
Projecting pieces at crown are abstract.
Scarification patterns at temple.
High gloss patina.

31. Nasolabial fold and beard-like scallops suggest age.
Triangular brass additions suggest health.
These characteristics suggest what is means to be a good, honorable, respected, and beautiful person in Baule society.
Not a realistic portrait. Idealized inner beauty and morality associated with Moya Yanso.

33. 169: Wall plaque, from Oba’s Palace Edo peoples, Benin (Nigeria)
16th century C.E. Cast brass.

34. The Benin kingdom was established in the 13th century (now Nigeria).
The kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century.
Ended in 1897 when the British burned and sacked the Benin palace and city.

35. The Oba was the head of government, collected taxes, controlled trade, and was the owner of all land in the country.
The Oba’s palace complex is the administrative and religious heart of the Benin Kingdom.
From there the Oba oversees the kingdom’s affairs with the assistance of chiefs, religious specialists, court officials, and attendants.
Long square galleries.
Over 900 elaborate brass bas-relief plaques (16-18 in) mounted onto wooden pillars of the palace buildings.

36. Thought to have been made in matching pairs and attached to pillars in the Oba’s palace.
The plaques illustrated a variety of subjects including ceremonial scenes, the Oba, and court functions.
The plaques depict the Oba and various members of his court.
Role and status indicated by costume, ornament, and hairstyle.
Multiple figures. The scale of the figures denote their position within the Benin court hierarchy. Largest most important.

37. Regally dressed Oba is seated sidesaddle on a horse in the center
Regally dressed Oba is seated sidesaddle on a horse in the center. Wearing coral bead regalia, high collar of stacked necklaces, and crown of beads.
Surrounded by prominent officials and attendants.
Two smaller figures, administrative officials, hold up shields in a formal protective stance. Only the Oba was allowed to be shaded in this way.
Two sword bearers, of lesser rank, support the king’s outstretched arms.
Two miniature figures hover above the Oba and one supports his feet.

38. Lost wax process.
Meticulous detail.
Background is decorated with quatrefoil motifs that represent river leaves or considered rosette shapes possible from Christian crosses.

40. 171: Ndop (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul
Kuba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
C.E. Wood.

41. Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kuba refers to several ethnic groups that acknowledge the same leader - nyim.
Kuba King Mishe miShyaang maMbul was celebrated for his generosity and many loyal followers during first half of the 18th century.
Height of his reign, 1710, he commissioned an idealized portrait sculpture called an ndop (statue).
This recorded his reign and solidified his accomplishments.
Sub-Saharan Africa oral narratives were the primary method for personal histories. No written records.

42. The ndop served as important historical markers of time.
Ndop figures are commemorative portraits of Kuba rulers, presented in an ideal state.
Kuba kings were memorialized by these portrait sculptures.
While the king was alive, it was believed to house his double, a counterpart of his soul.
After death, the portrait was believed to embody his spirit, which was felt to have a power over the fertility of the land and of his people.

43. These portraits evoke ideas of composure, calmness, immobility, solidity, dignity, and detachment.
The king is shown as someone who through his office and spiritual power is separate from the rest.
Not an actual representation of a deceased king, but his spirit.
Each king is identified by an icon, called ibol.

44. Rounded contours.
Relative realism but not exact likeness.
Expression, posture, and regalia meant to represent the ideal king, not individual king.
Sculpting conventions – one to three proportions. Head 1/3 size of statue.
Head emphasized – considered to be the focus of intelligence, a valued ideal.
All ndop sculpture feature a geometric motif and emblem (ibol) chosen by the nyim.
The geometric motif and the ibol were the identifying symbols of a king’s reign.

45. Characteristics of ndop figures: - cross-legged - sits on a base - face seems uninvolved - peace knife in left hand.
Royal regalia: - bracelets - arm bands - belts - shoulder ornaments - headdress called a shody
These sculptures were commissioned by Kuba leaders or nyim to preserve their accomplishments.
Kuba Nyim (ruler) Kot a Mbweeky III in state dress with royal drum.

47. 180: Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife
Olowe of Ise (Yoruba peoples)
C.E. Wood and pigment.

48. This veranda post is one of four (three
This veranda post is one of four (three?) sculpted for the outer courtyard of the palace at Ikere.
King is the focal point. Sits of the throne calmly and with authority. King’s portrayal suggests a ruler’s dependence on others.
Female figure behind is his senior wife. Her large scale and pose with hands on the king’s throne, suggests the importance of women in Yoruba society.
She gazes at the king and her arms rest protectively on his throne.
Echoes the king’s coronation, she had the role of placing the crown on his head. Men can not rule without the support of women.

49. Echoes the king’s coronation, she had the role of placing the crown on his head. Men can not rule without the support of women.
The senior wife used her political skills and spiritual knowledge to protect the king’s interests during his reign.
Small figures at his feet are a junior wife and a fan bearer.
King wears a conical beaded crown topped with a bird.
Among Yoruba, , projections from the top of the head convey divine presence. It is also a vital link to past rulers.

50. Bird’s long beak points toward the king and symbolizes: - the supernatural watchfulness that allows the king to protect his people. - powerful older women, female ancestors, and female deities who support the king and known as “our mothers” to the Yoruba.
Long necks with enlarged heads were common among most Yoruba sculptors.
Commissioned by the king, the Arinjale.

51. Openness of the sculpture of the king and queen
Openness of the sculpture of the king and queen. Clear separation of the figures.
Pattern of the beads of the queen’s wrist is repeated in the beaded pattern on the crown.
Elongate figures that project beyond their cylindrical form as posts.
Most veranda posts were painted.
The style, iconography, and the way it was produced became the standard in Yoruba art for centuries.
Architectural support for the post, which appears to hold up the veranda roof. Figural posts like this do not bear weight!

52. Olowe of Ise – Artist
Renowned Yoruba artist. Great fame as a carver of architectural sculptures: doors and veranda posts.
Born in the Ekiti town of Efon-Alaiye, carving center at the turn of the century.
As a youth, moved to Ise.
Unique style: - interrelationship of figures - exaggerated proportions - open space between them

54. 170: Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool) Ashanti peoples (south central Ghana)
1700 C.E. Gold over wood and cast gold attachments.

55. 1700 - -Osei Tutu – frist king to unite the area – United Asante Confederacy.
The legend of the Golden Stool states that on a Friday in 1701, the Asante founder Osei Tutu was seated under a tree, when out of the thunder and lightning filled heavens, a golden stool floated down from the sky and rest on his lap. Miracle!
Interpreted by Osei Tutu’s priest, Okommfo Anokye, as representing the soul or spirit (sunsum) of the Asante nation, the stool became a symbol of the kingdom’s unity and vitality.
Sunsum(n?) – Asante concept – an energy or aura is created by the objects you use often. To keep your sunsum in tact, you tip your stool when you leave the room so no one sits on it.

56. The Golden Stool is kept on its side, often on top of another stool.
The objects we use over time become imbued with our energy.
The Golden Stool is the soul of the Asante nation.
The Stool is more important than any single king.
Taken out on special occasions.

57. Base of stool is disk-shaped.
Supported by three cylindrical columns and two diagonal arms.
Entire surface covered in gold.
The idea of “stool” is central to everyday people, not just kings.
Men and women were gifted stools by their parents when they come of age.

58. War of the Golden Stool: March- September 1900.
British named the area the Gold Coast because it was rich in gold.
British wanted the gold and the Golden Stool. One official wanted to sit on it.
The king was exiled and the Asante people were appalled that the someone wanted to sit on their sacred Stool.
British officials tried to remove the stool but the Asante people buried before it could be taken.
1920s – Allowed the king back and promised the Golden Stool would not be taken.

59. Unearthed in by construction workers in 1921, who desecrated it.
Surviving parts were part into a new golden stool.

61. 177: Lukasa (memory board) Mbudye Society, Luba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, beads and metal.

62. Luba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Powerful and influential presence in central Africa from 16th -20th century.
Wealth of natural resources including gold, ivory, and copper.
Produced and traded a variety of goods such as pottery and wooden sculpture.

63. Lukasa - memory board.
Used by experts to tell the history of Luba culture.
The retelling of stories were performance art that included dance and song.
The lukasa was a device where the beads, shells, and pegs were touched and felt to recall history and solve current problems.
Every lukasa is different. Complex cluster of beads of various sizes.
Held in the left hand. Board is narrower at the center to be held easily.
Read by touching the surface with the right forefinger.

64. Lukasa Memory Boards

65. History was performed, not read.
In Luba, history is a dynamic oral narrative that is not static and chronological.
Elite Mbudye Society: - members considered “men of memory” - extensive religious training - use the lukasa to retell history in spiritual rituals - interpret political and historical aspects of Luba society.
Diviners – power to predict the future also read the lukasa
Carved from wood. Adorned with shells, beads, or metal.

66. Helps user remember key elements in a story: - court ceremonies - migrations - heroes - kingship - genealogy - lists of kings

68. 172: Power figure (Nkisi n’kondi) Congo peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Late 19th century C.E. Wood and metal.

69. Power figure where a trained priest uses precise ritual formulas.
Figures are believed to heal and give life or sometimes inflict harm, disease, or death. Also, stimulating crop growth, punishing thieves, or weakening an enemy.
Each figure had a specific role and particular medicines were inserted into the body cavity.
Each figure was activated differently. Nails or blades were inserted to prod the spirit to do its work.
Large figures had special powers and aided entire communities. Can be 4 ft.

70. Power Figures

71. Spirits are embedded in the figures.
Spirits were also in families – ancestors and unborn children.
A nkisi n’knodo begins as a simple unadorned wooden figure that may be purchased.
To activate its powers, the client drives a nail or other pointed object to get the nkonde’s attention and prick it into action or removed from it.
Nganga – spiritual specialist who activates the figure through chants, prayers, and preparation of herbs, etc.
Bilongo – medicinal combinations stored in the head or belly covered by glass.

72. The Kongo figure is relatively naturalistic human figure with simplified facial features and a large head for emphasis.
Large standing statue of a man with nails, pins, and blades.
Body has tension.
Strict symmetry.
Frontal.
Wide eyes.
Open mouth.
Figures could be embellished with a cloth skirt or cloth and/or feathered headdress.

73. Stood at the boundary of life and death.
Europeans discovered these objects as early as the 15th century.
They termed them “fetish” objects.
Confiscated by missionaries as were destroyed as evidence of sorcery or heathenism.
Hollywood morphed these figures into superstitious objects such as voodoo dolls.

75. 179: Reliquary figure (byeri) Fang peoples (southern Cameroon)
20th century C.E. Wood.

76. Fang lived throughout Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and northern Gabon.
Fang reliquary guardian figures are among the ritual objects of bieri – an association devoted to the ritual honoring of ancestors in order to obtain their goodwill and ensure the continuity between the living and the dead.
Figures were sometimes removed from their boxes and used as puppets in ceremonies that dramatize the raising of the dead.
Kept in a dark corner of a man’s sleeping room, the reliquary protected the remains and embodied the deceased, keeping his or her force available to the living.

77. Fang peoples of Gabon believed that ancestral relics held great spiritual power.
For high status noble people who made significant contributions to society: - ancestors and founders - clan heads - leaders - special warriors - craftsmen - fertile women
Fang attach wooden figures and heads to bark boxes that contain skulls and bones of important ancestors.
Intended to protect the relic from harm.
Many forms and styles of bieri.

78. Stylized wooden figures protected Fang relic containers.
Figures served as a guardian figure for the Fang.
Preserved by the family.
Feet dangle over rim.
Lustrous black surface from palm oil.
Shows honor, respect, and patience, at the same time, suggests strength to ward off spirits that may want to disrupt the contents of the box.

79. Symmetrical and stylized.
Proportions resemble that of an infant.
Prominent forehead.
Eyes that look down. Half circular shapes.
Closed mouth.
Tubular limbs and body.
Arms clasped together.
Muscular.
Emphasis on bellybutton and genitals.
Hair – 3 crests with duck tail in back. Popular when object was made.

80. Fang culture strive to gain balance between the opposing forces of chaos and order.
Ability to hold opposites in balance is fundamental aspect of human existence - Birth and death. - Calm and powerful.
African art is intentionally not naturalistic. Purpose was to express spiritual ideas so abstraction and a reduction to geometric shapes was common.
A conceptual piece that shows the idea of a guardian figure rather than depicting an actual human.

82. 176: Ikenga (shrine figure) Igbo peoples (Nigeria)
19th to 20th century C.E. Wood.

83. Aggressiveness and high achievement are characteristic of the Igbo.
With spiritual and material worlds interacting and affecting one another, the Igbo relied on ikenga to mediate between the two realms.
Success and self-reliance of Igbo men is believed to lie in the strength of their right arms.
Most Igbo men have their own personal shrine called ikenga (place of strength).
Dedicated to their own personal ambition, ability, and strength.
Not a portrait.

84. Ikenga (shrine figure)

85. Owner regularly offered prayers and sacrifices (wine, food, blood, gin, egg, kola nut) to the spirit of the ikenga. They were placed or poured directly on the surface.
Wood carvings were vessels that held a combination of spiritual forces including those of the ancestors and one’s own personal spirit or chi.

86. At death ikenga would be destroyed or buried with the deceased.
All ikenga have carved ram’s horns which suggest the aggressive, assertive, and powerful nature of the male animal.
Igbo saying – ram fights with head first. Head is emphasized. Power, aggression, strength of the head is in the ram’s horns.
Human face with animal attributes.
Many depict a seated male holding a sword in his right hand.
Figures may be relatively naturalistic or highly abstract.

88. 167: Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe Southeastern Zimbabwe. Shona peoples.
c C.E. Coursed granite blocks.

89. The name, Zimbabwe, comes from the Bantu language of the Shona phrase for “judicial center” or ”ruler’s court or house”.
Located in a broad valley.
Prosperous trading center and royal complex.
Most agree the complex was a royal residence or palace complex with special areas for the king, his wives and nobles, including an open court for ceremonial gatherings.

90. At the peak of the empire’s power, as many as 18,000 people lived in the area surrounding the Great Zimbabwe. Most of the commoners living outside the enclosed structures reserved for royalty.
During its prime, , this site also functioned as an important cattle farm and trade center.
Largest stone complex in Africa built before modern era (aside from ancient Egypt).

91. Walls - symbolic for authority, built without mortar from slab-like pieces of local granite.
Masonry wall more that 800 ft long, up to 32 ft tall, and 17 ft thick at the base.
Made of granite blocks.
Walls slope inward toward the top.
Internal and external passageways are long, tight, and narrow forcing occupants to walk in a single file.
Likely no military function.
Built without mortar.
Symbolize the power and prestige of the rulers.

92. Conical tower
Modeled on traditional shapes of grain silos; control over food symbolized wealth, power, and royal gifts.
May have represented the good harvest and prosperity believed to result from allegiance to the ruler of Great Zimbabwe.