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Period: Jan 1, 1000 to
Traditional African Art before 1980 - Sources
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History. 15th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2016. 2017. Web.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/africa-ap/a/nkisi-nkondi
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/102611
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa-oceania-americas/africa-art/kuba/a/ndop-portrait-of-king-mishe-mishyaang-mambul -
Jan 1, 1200
Great Mosque of Djenné. Mali. Founded c. 1200 C.E.
The G.M.D. is arguably the most ambitious work of adobe architecture still standing (despite a religiously-charged razing in 1830), and is perhaps the greatest architectural work in historical Africa. With the large courtyard plan that prefaces the prayer hall, the work emulates the plan of many of the world's oldest mosques. Numerous rows of wooden beams decorate the walls, serving both a rhythmic and utilitarian purpose.
https://thisisafrica.me/lifestyle/the-great-mosque-of-djenne-in-mali/ -
Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool). Ashanti peoples (south central Ghana). c. 1700 C.E. Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments
The Golden Stool, as the title suggests, is a beautiful gold-covered stool with extreme importance to the Ashanti people. The Stool not only determines the divine right of rulers, but also symbolizes the "living soul of the nation," every person living, dead, and yet to be born. The Stool is so sacred that the stool can neither touch the ground nor be used as a stool, even by the incumbent ruler himself.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/africa-ap/v/sika-dwa-kofi-golden-stool -
Power figure (Nkisi n'kondi). Kongo peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo). c. late 19th century C.E. Wood and metal.
The Nkisi n'kondi is one of many nkisi used by the Kongo peoples in communications with the spirits of ancestors. Nails and pegs driven into the figure determine agreements or legal matters that are to be enforced by the potential interference of ancestral spirits. Using a combination of medicine and various other insertions in the other-worldy glass stomach, people can ask spirits to aid in a variety of cirumstances.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/africa-ap/a/nkisi-nkondi -
Bundu mask. Sande Society, Mende peoples (West African forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia). 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, cloth, and fiber.
This mask is one of many used by the all-women Sande Society of the Mende peoples. This society aids young women in their development into well-educated and marriageable adults. The mask is used in conjunction with an all-concealing black raffia costume as part of a personification of mythological spirits during the festive occasions of masquerades. S:Sean Pathasema/Birmingham Museum of Art [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons (differs from image set) -
Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga). Olowe of Ise (Yoruba peoples). c. 1910-1914 C.E. Wood and pigment.
Olowe's work, depicting the relationship between the King of Ise and his wives, closely approaches the symbolism movement of contemporary Europe and the Americas. As in symbolism, the work forgoes realistic depiction in favor of expressing the connections between the figures depicted. The king's senior wife, standing behind him, is shown to have a crucial role with her relative size to the king, as she serves to protect the king's interests.
S: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/102611
