African Art 6.1

AFRICAN ART

1100–1980 CE

6.1 Cultural Contexts of African Art 

Art in Africa is a combination of objects, acts, and events, created in a wide variety of media, including vocal, aural, and visual. Materials include wood, ivory, metals, ceramic, fiber, and elements of nature. These are carved, cast, forged, modeled, woven, and combined by recognized specialists, often for knowledgeable patrons.

In the Beginning

Human life, which is understood to have begun in Africa, developed over millions of years, and radiated beyond the continent of Africa. The earliest African art dates to 77,000 years ago.

Early artistic expression on the African continent is found in the rock art of the Sahara and in southern Africa. Those works depict animals that lived in each region, as well as human pursuits such as herding, combat, dance, and contact among different groups of people. It also illustrates the use of technologies of the time such as horses and chariots.

The now-deserts of the Sahara were once grasslands and an original source of agriculture and animal husbandry. As the desert grew, it stretched toward the still well-watered valley of the Nile and the culture of pharaonic Egypt.

Art and Belief Systems

Art reveals belief systems. It presents a world that is known but not necessarily seen, predictable, or even available to everyone. These arts are expressive rather than representational and often require specialized or supernaturally ordained capabilities for their creation, use, and interpretation.

African art is concentrated on ideas regarding beliefs and relationships that exist in the social and intellectual world. It is not concerned with objects of the natural or physical world.

As in all arts, aspects of human experience such as origins, destinies, beliefs, physicality, power, and gender are expressed through objects and performances.

An Expression of Social Life

Artistic expression in Africa is an integral part of social life. It connects daily practices to beliefs, systems of power and authority, and social networks that link people to their families, communities, and shared ancestors. African arts mark status, identity, and cycles of human experience like maturational, seasonal, astronomical, and liturgical.

Urbanization and its monumental trappings, both bureaucratic and architectural are often associated with “civilization”. This takes many forms in Africa. Administrative and liturgical centers exist apart from settlement that is often determined by the spaces required for agriculture or herding. Seasonal climatic shifts and demands of political relations affect the scale and distribution of built environments and arts that mark them. The sites of Meroë, Timbuktu, Zimbabwe, Igbo Ukwu, and Kilwa Kisiwani demonstrate that range of monumentalities.

Migration

Human migrations carried populations southward into central Africa and eventually across the Congo River Basin. The arts, major world religions, and international trade routes followed those paths and flourished in patterns of distribution seen in Africa today.

Outsiders have often characterized, collected, and exhibited African arts as primitive, ethnographic, anonymous, and static. In reality Africa’s interaction with the rest of the world led to dynamic intellectual and artistic traditions that sustain hundreds of cultures and almost as many languages. This has contributed dramatically to the corpus of human expression. African life and arts have been deeply affected by ongoing, cosmopolitan patterns of interaction with populations around the world and through time.

Creative Contribution

Creative contributions of African life and arts are found in populations around the world. Artistic practices were conveyed by and continue to be serviced by African people and beliefs, from Macao to Manaus to Mauritania. These creative contributions are reflected in diverse art forms, from the practices of Santeria to Japanese screens and the paintings of Renaissance Venice. The literatures of Negritude and the Harlem.

Renaissance expanded the notions of place and race to new levels that are again changing in the contemporary diaspora. Although traditional African art forms are usually described and exhibited, contemporary African arts have increased awareness and understanding of the arts of the continent across the globe.

(6) 168. Great Mosque of Djenné.

Malian. 1200 CE; rebuilt 1906-1907. African/Islamic.

Learning Objective: African mosque

Themes:

Religion
Architecture
Place of worship
Community
Cross-cultural
Propaganda

Great Mosque of Djenné located in Djenné, Mali, is one of the largest mud-brick mosques in the world. The African influenced structure uses local material such as mud/ straw bricks (adobe) which is common in West Africa, as well as palm wood. The walls cool down at night and slowly warm up during the day. They help to retain some of the coolness from the evenings

Torons or timber beams throughout the exterior are both decorative and structural and act as permanent scaffolding for the building.

An Islamic Influenced Floor Plan

There are huge exterior walls that are between 18 and  24 inches thick. An earthen roof covers the building and is supported with pillars. The roof has several holes covered by terracotta lids  that provide the interior with fresh air.

The vertical buttresses on the exterior helps to funnel rain run-off.

The Hypostyle hall plan has a courtyard with hypostyle hall interior.

There are three large towers in the qibla wall (minarets). Remember qibla wall overlooks the city marketplace.

A Maintenance Festival

This is the site of an annual festival called the Plastering of the Great Mosque (maintenance). The adobe and mud buildings require periodic (and really, annual) re-plastering. If re-plastering does not occur, the structure will slowly melt in the rainy seasons. During the annual festival, the whole town contributes by re-plastering the mosque with a mud plaster made from melted butter and fine clay.

Function

This is a place of Muslim worship, prayer, contemplation, and community gatherings. It is the center of Islamic leaning and pilgrimage in West Africa. It was constructed by Mansa Musa, the king of the Mali empire who converted to Islam. His point was to show that African Muslims are just as devout as Arab Muslims.

Content

The mosque overlooks the city marketplace which is held on Mondays. This shows us the intersection of commerce and religion. At the top of the three minarets are conical extensions with ostrich eggs placed at the top. This is a symbol of fertility and purity in Mali.

The Building of the Mosques

Djenné l was founded between 800 – 1250 CE. It flourished as a great center of commerce, learning, and Islam.

In 1200 CE the original mosque was constructed by Mansa Musa. He is evidence of the royal cult of the phenomenon of ruling classes in Africa converting to Islam to gain political benefits.

Later the rulers added surrounding towers and a wall around the complex.

In the early 19^th century, the original building fell into disrepair.

Between 1834 – 1836 a second mosque was constructed. The original was demolished because it was in disrepair, but it was also deemed too lavish in its original design.

In 1907 after the second mosque fell into disrepair again, a third version was made. During the period of French colonialism in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the mosque became a political symbol for residents.

(6) 169. Wall plaque from Oba’s Palace.

Edo peoples from Benin (Nigeria). 16^th century. African.

Learning Objective: African brass sculpture

Themes:

Rulers
Politics
Power
Cross-cultural
Ideal man
Commemoration
Stylized bodies
Propaganda

Wall plaque from Oba’s Palace is made from cast brass and measures 20 by 16 inches. The work crafted in high relief was one of 900 brass panels in total, which were nailed to wooden pillars.

The heraldic composition has a central figure and is flanked evenly on both sides. The hierarchical scale uses the size of figures to delineates importance.

In this work communicating the of power of the king is more important than achieving an exact likeness. Therefore, it is not a portrait.  The idea of a large, stylized head  comes from a common African cultural belief stating that the head is the seat of intelligence.

The European influence is evident with the lost-wax casting technique used to produce this. It is likely a result of trade between the Portuguese and Benin.

How it was Made

The first step was to make a malleable version in wax and then cover it in clay. Then, it was fired to harden. As the heat intensified the wax melted out of the clay. Then, hot molten liquid brass was poured into the clay mold.

It is not sculpture- in- the round, so there is no need for a clay interior to hold its shape.

Why it was Created

• Created to adorn the exterior of the royal palace in Benin City
• Ennoble/honor the ruler
• Political propaganda to display the power, royalty, and prestige of the ruler

The Story in the Art

This is a generic image of the oba. The king (oba) has mounted a horse and is flanked by attendants. He is a warrior chief depicted with distinctive coral-beaded regalia which rulers still wear today. And rulers still use the shield the attendants are holding to protect the ruler’s head from both danger and sun. Only the oba gets this privilege and they always travel with a large cohort of attendants.

Rosette shapes that adorn the background of the plaque were possibly derived from Christian crosses brought by European traders.

Context

Obas were spiritual leaders in addition to being kings/rulers.

The Benin Empire was known for its brass works. Trade was high between the Benin and Portuguese from the 16^th-17^th centuries. This led to cultural diffusion through the lost-wax technique and Christianity.

(6) 170. Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool)

Ashanti peoples from south central Ghana. 1700 CE. African.

Learning Objective: African relic

Themes:

Politics
Power
Status
Interpretation of history
Rulers
Relic
Utilitarian
Propaganda
Materials with significance

(Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool) is an artwork with gold over wood (gilded) along with cast-gold attachments.

Function

This is an Incredibly important relic. It is believed to be the soul of the Ashanti people and stands for the entire community. The stool sits next to the king. He does not sit on it but has his own separate stool.

Content

This is a gold covered stool with gold attachments. The gold symbolizes royalty and prestige  

The Story of the Golden Stool

In the early 1700s, this area in Ghana was politically divided and involved in many wars.

An important king named Osei Tutu received the Golden Stool from the gods. It fell from the sky and landed in his lap! This was considered a miracle and interpreted as the gods choosing Osei Tutu to unite all the other kings in the area. He not only replaced all existing chieftains but also eliminated all other objects related to political authority. This stool was the only one.

This created the Ashanti nation.

The Land of Gold

The Ashanti kingdom in Ghana is an area rich in gold. The textile color gold and gold itself is reserved for royal use. This kingdom headed up the gold trade with Europeans in North Africa.

The British Invasion

In 1874, the British destroyed the Ashanti capital in an attempt to colonize the Gold Coast. The British  also wanted possession of the Golden Stool. This war was aptly named the War of the Golden Stool (1900).

The King was exiled. The king’s mother (Queen Mother) encouraged people to fight against the British. Of course, the stool was hidden, and the British were unable to find it.

Ultimately, it was a British victory. Ashanti became a colony but was allowed to retain a ceremonial king and the stool came out of hiding.

Stools are iconic now in the Ashanti kingdom and even appear on their flag.

(6) 171. Ndop. (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul.

Kuba peoples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 1760-1780 CE. African.

Learning Objective: African royal portrait

Themes:

Rulers
Commemoration
Ideal man
Portrait
Stylized bodies
Ancestors
Power

Museum: Brooklyn Museum

Ndop. (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul is made of wood and stands 19 inches tall.

What is a Ndop?

Ndops are stylized and idealized portrait sculptures but not a portrait that captures an exact likeness.  These figures are stylized in the same way. They are made of rounded contours to create a plump body.

The head makes up 1/3 of the body or a proportion of 1:3. They represent the generic body of an ideal ruler. All have the same basic components, but each have an individual motif/emblem. Ndops are individualized by the object in that appears in front of the seated king, as a symbol. They are all rubbed with oil to polish them and darken the wood color.

Function

Ndop. (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul represents and honors the spirit of a now-deceased ruler. It recorded the kings’ reign for posterity and serves as a totem or contact point with his spirit.

Content                                             

The word Ndop means “statue”; these are idealized and stylized wooden images of individual Kuba rulers. The ruler sits cross-legged on a raised platform. His face is calm with eyes closed. He is above mortal affairs.

The short sword in his left hand has the handle out. This illustrates nonaggression, but he is still strong.

He is dressed in ornamental regalia with long plank of a stylized crown. Remember the head is the seat of intelligence.

King Mishe’s object is a drum with a severed hand. He expanded his empire during his reign through conquest.

The King and the People

Kuba King Mishe miShyaang maMbul was celebrated for his generosity and his popularity. At the height of his reign in 1710, he commissioned a Ndop statue to be used after he died. This is now the oldest surviving ndop.

Contextual photograph: Ndop
Kuba Nyim (ruler) Kot a Mbweeky III in state dress with royal drum in
Mushenge, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photograph by Eliot
Elisofon,1971. EEPA EECL 2139/Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives/
National Museum of African Art/Smithsonian InstitutioKuba are renowned for a dynamic wooden artistic legacy. Ndops are the most revered of all Kuba art forms. One can still see many of the same elements today (regalia, raised platform, crown).

(6) 172. Power figure (Nkisi n’kondi).

Kongo peoples from Democratic Republic of the Congo. Late 19^th century CE.

Learning Objective: African ritual object

Themes:

Contracts
Oaths
Offering
Stylized bodies
Utilitarian
Religion
Power
Community
Ancestors
Ceremony
Ritual
Materials with significance

Museum: Detroit Museum of Art

Power figure (Nkisi n’kondi) is an art object made of wood and metal that measures 14 inches tall. Sculpted from wood, treated with red clay or plant extract, and dressed in knotted fibers and beads, the work is embellished with a variety of materials, the most important of which is metal protrusions.

The artist was not important. This was viewed more as a practical object when it was created rather than a work of art.

Function

Totem is a spiritual object that creates a point of contact. It is a container of power. A specialist, who was one chosen member of the community would use this work. The specialist was also the artist (ngonga, pronounced ung-gan-ga)

The specialist used the power figure to help mediate in a social dispute, or aide those concerned with their health.

• Figure was punctured with metal pieces
• One could also place materials in its stomach.
• Before use, people would lick the blades or bleed onto it.
• To ensure the power figure understood its task, materials related could be tied to the nails that were driven into the figure.
• Spiritual forces were summoned to work on behalf of the person who supplied the nails.
• The more deeply inserted, the more serious the offense or problem.
• This served as a visual reminder of pacts and appeals as the figure’s history is literally on the figure.
• The more a power figure was used, the more powerful it became.
• The density of nails validated its potency.

Examples of functions

• Parties in a dispute could each drive a nail into the work, sealing their agreement
  • If you broke your oath, bad luck would befall you
• The power figure could get rid of witches or bad spirits
• It could heal the sick
• It could increase fertility

The Story

Typically, the power figure was a man, although it could also be a woman or animal. The figure’s belly was filled with bilongo (medicinal materials), such as herbs, plant matter, bits of animal bone, egg, fur, and seeds.

The figure’s posture is leaning-forward and aggressive, with a partially opened mouth. It has a readiness to act or speak on behalf of individuals who call on his assistance. Hands on the hips show a sense of immediacy and physical power. The figure’s feet are on blocks as an intermediary between heaven and earth.

The Offerings

Items were always connected to the desired outcome. Often substances were related to the dead like dirt from the cemetery for example. This would serve to bring powers of the dead under the control of the specialist.

A person who might wish to be faster would take mouse fur, revered for speed, and put it inside. Seeds were inserted for a good harvest.

Claws could incite spirits to grasp something. Stones could activate spirits to attack. Stones from an ancestor’s grave could help the relative to take on attributes of that ancestor.

A cowrie shell would seal the hole and make sure the substances stayed inside.

The Context

The Kongo culture believed the mooya, or belly was the focal point to the soul. Thus, the belly button is the access point to the soul and to other worlds/realms. This is after all where we are connected to our mothers.

Community believed spirits could collectively help them and had special abilities to see potential enemies or wrongdoers.

Nkisi comes from the verb “konda” (to hunt). Hunters were the most powerful. Their job was to hunt down wrongdoers. Hunters administer justice appropriate to the transgression. The power figure was an active enforcer just like hunters.

Europeans probably first encountered these during expeditions to the Congo as early as the 16^th century. Several were confiscated in the 19^th century by missionaries. Many were destroyed as examples of sorcery. Some were confiscated as objects of fascination and as evidence of the Kongo culture.

Many of the Kongo traditions migrated to the Americas and Caribbean, as the Kongo were one of the groups who most often traded in the African slave trade. This largely led to the development of voodoo practices.

(6) (173) Female (Pwo) mask. 

Chokwe peoples from Democratic Republic of the Cong. Late 19^th to early 20^th century CE.  African.

Learning Objective: African mother mask

Themes:

Mask Ideal woman
Commemoration
Ceremony
Status
Stylized bodies
Fertility
Male/female relationships

Museum: Smithsonian Museum of African Art

Female (Pwo) mask is constructed from wood, fiber, pigment, and metal. This artwork measures  15 inches tall. The carver of the mask was a man

The mask face is symmetrical with a wide forehead. Made from wood, fiber is used for the hair. Pigment is used for coloration and metal for earrings. The reddish-brown skin is mix of red clay and oil, while white clay was used for eyes.

Function

This work honors mothers. More broadly, it honors female ancestors and any living women who are young, fertile, or have given birth. The strength women exhibited in childbirth was particularly worthy of honor.

These masks were used in dances. Interestingly, they mark initiations for men into adulthood as a process of maturation. The male dancers wore tight-fitted costume and wooden breasts, not to be transgressive or cross-dressing, but to honor the mother.

The outcome of the performance was to bring to fertility to a community to honors mothers.

The messages were:

1. Men could not be here without mothers.
2. This marks the dissolution of the bonds of intimacy between mothers and sons.

When the dancer to whom the mask belonged died, the mask was buried with the male dancer. These masks were not gifts to the women! It stayed with the man to honor the mothers in his life.

Content

Pwo meant a woman who had given birth or a mother. It was the image of an ideal beautiful mother and NOT a portrait.

The pounded dots around the eyes suggests a typical scarification or tattooing pattern.  Sadness over growing children is represented often by a single teardrop on the cheek. Her hair is a thick, long braid. This is a sign of fertility.

The eyes are closed. She doesn’t need to talk or impress us. She deserves our respect.

The white clay around her eyes connects her to the spiritual realm. A mother’s sixth sense is received  through giving birth.

Context

• Represents a classic Chokwe mask genre
• Culture was matrilineal (means lineage/status traces to mother)

 

(6) 176. Ikenga (shrine figure). 

Igbo peoples from Nigeria. 19^th to 20^th century. African.

Learning Objective: African shrine

Themes:

Commemoration
Status
Power
Ideal man
Ancestors
Hybrid
Offering

Ikenga (shrine figure) is made of wood. Shrine figures can be as high as 6 feet or as small as 3 inches. These works are carved from hard wood as this is seen as a masculine material. They are stylized, hybrid figures.

Function

This is a personal shrine to honor a man’s right hand. More broadly, it is about honoring a man’s power skill.  The right hand grows food, protects/defends, make sacrifices, builds homes and more.

Every Igbo male has a personal shrine, and the size depends on the man’s status.

It is a totem as it holds a combination of spiritual forces, including one’s ancestors. The shrine figure requires blessings before use.

Content

• Ikenga means “strong right arm”
• Personal shrine figure depicted on a stool, as symbol of prestige
• Basic form of an Ikenga is a human figure with horns symbolizing power
• Scarification markings on the face can indicate status, clan, or position

Context

• Patriarchal culture
• As a man achieves more success, he might commission another statue that is larger to show his success and honor his ancestors
• At death, an ikenga is destroyed and sometimes buried with the deceased
  • Its purpose becomes defunct as it is no longer needed to act as a medium between world.

(6) 178. Aka elephant mask.

Bamileke peoples from Cameroon (western grassfields region). 19^th-20^th. African.

Learning Objective: African royal mask

Themes:

Animals
Politics
Power
Status
Mask
Cross-cultural
Ceremony
Propaganda
Rulers

Museum: Brooklyn Museum

Aka elephant mask is constructed from wood, woven raffia, cloth, and beads and measures 4 feet 9 inches long.  The highly stylized mask has zig-zag pattern that repeats. The base colour of the cloth is navy blue with colored beads sewn on in pale blue, white and yellow, as well as cowrie shells.

The mask forms a hood that sits over the head with eye slits to look out. It has a wooden frame to help hold the ears out,  with an inside lining of woven raffia. The long trunk hangs over the front and back of body.

Function

Aka elephant mask was used for a masquerade dedicated to the Bamileke king. This was to show of support and confirmation of his political authority. Kuosi society would have performed  in this mask. They were people such as nobility and court officials.

The animal mask also showed that the king was in harmony with nature.

Content

The body of an elephant is an expression of calm strength and wisdom. It is associate this with the king.

The pattern of a leopard symbolizes the belief that leopards could transform into humans. This was a symbol of divine rule,  like kings who can change form and move through worlds

Color symbolism:

• Black beads: relationship between living and dead
• White beads: ancestors and medicine
• Red beads: life and royalty

Context

The Kuosi society wore these with a larger red feather headdress and leopard skin pelts that formed a full body costume.

The glass beads and cowrie shells used to create the designs were acquired through trade and contact with Europeans, generally in exchange for slaves.

Similar to the Bandolier Bag, Europeans believed they were trading cheap glass for slaves and presumed to have the better end of the deal.

The beads were made from Venetian glass.

(6) 180. Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga).

Olowe of Ise. Yoruba peoples from Nigeria. 1910-1914. African.

Learning Objective: African royal sculpture

Themes:

Male-female relationships
Politics
Power
Propaganda
Rulers
Utilitarian

Museum: Art Institute of Chicago

Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga) is an object made of wood and pigment standing 5 feet tall.

The work was made by a renowned sculpture from Olowe of Ise.

Veranda post is vertical sculpture that acts as a column in a palace courtyard or porch.

Caryatid is a column that is carved in the shape of a female figure.

Pride of place refers to the most significant placement of a figure. In this work it is difficult to determine. Is it the Queen? She is the largest, most prominent, and blue. Or is it the King because he is the furthest forward and central and seated?

The figures are highly stylized, and this is not a portrait of specific rulers

Function

This is one of four sculpted veranda posts for the palace at Ikere. It was made for structural support as well as a display of power and prestige of the king and his wife.

This is a comment on the strength of the couple’s relationship. The difficulty in determining pride of place is intentional. They are both important and each one needs the other figure to secure that importance. The queen literally holds up the roof and stands behind her husband, supporting the throne

 Content

In the word Opo Ogoga ogoga means king.

The Images of generic rulers and are not portraits. The Queen’s scale, color and pose underscore her importance as she stands behind his throne. The King is enthroned, wearing a crown with a bird on it, symbolizeing female ancestors. The small figures at king’s feet represent a junior wife, a flute-playing trickster-god Esu, and a fan bearer.

Context

• Yoruba queens had the critical role of placing the crown on the king’s head during coronation
• Senior wives were allowed to use their political acumen and spiritual knowledge to assist the king in making decisions regarding the state (remember Yaxchilan and Menkaure)

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AFRICAN ART

1100–1980 CE

TOPIC 6.2 Purpose and Audience in African Art