Ancient Africa Art History Survey

Ancient AfricaArt History Survey IT, R, 12 -1:20PMProfessor Paige Prater

Africa Trade with Egypt through the Hellenistic period Greeks traded with northern coast Romans continued trans-Saharan trade Islam: 7-8th century CE –

West African gold Chronicled Ghana, Mali, Songhay, etc.

East Africa: Swahili and trade ports of Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Kilwa

15th century: Portugal establishes trade with Benin 20th century: African art widely collected but

misunderstood

Challenges to studying African Art

Wood Myth of “Primitive” art Contemporary traditions Oral histories Still discovering…

Ocher pigment + perforated shells; 70,000 years ago!

Orientalism = applicable to Africa? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw

Sahara Rock Art – 8000-500BCE

Cattle Being Tended, section of rock-wall painting, Tassili-n-Ajjer, Algeria, c. 5000-2000 BCE

Nok – 500 BCE-200CE Earliest evidence of iron

technology (western Sudan, present-day Nigeria)

Terracotta Head, Nok, 500BCE-200CE, 36cm, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria

Igbo-Ukwu Eastern Nigeria Earliest known

evidence for copper alloy and bronze casting

Roped Pot on a Stand, Igbo-Ukwu, 9th-10th century, 32.3cm (approx. 12”)

Ife – 800 CE-Present “navel of the world” Circular plan metropolis by 11th century;

palace at center Stone walls + moats Radial roads

1000-1400CE – Pavement Period “oni” = first ruler

Ife (Yoruba peoples) 800CE Naturalistic sculpture

– 1050CE Continuous dynasty Crowned Head of a

King, Ife, Yoruba, c. 12th- 15th century CE, Zinc brass, lost-wax method

Ife Head Said to

Represent the Usurper Lajuwa, Ife, Yoruba, c. 1200-1300CE

Preserved in the oni’s palace

Benin City, 150 miles southeast of Ife Oral histories: 1170 CE, Prince Oranimiyan

sent to rule Benin (by oni of Ife). 1485 – Portugal begins trading with Benin

Ivory, forest products…slaves 1897 – British sacked/burned royal palace

after massacre of trade negotiators Early Period: 1400-1550 (influenced by Ife) Middle Period: 1550-1700CE (increasingly

stylized Late Period: 1700-1897CE (large/heavy)

Benin Head= symbolic

center of: Wisdom Intelligence Spiritual

communication King-like “Great

Head” Memorial Head

of an Oba, Benin, 16th century, brass, 9”

Altar, Edo Culture, Nigeria, 1959. Photo by Eliot Elisofon.

Plaque: Warrior Chief Flanked by Warriors and Attendants, Benin, Nigeria, 1550-1650CE, Brass

One of approximately 900 examples!

1897 Punitive Expedition (British found in storehouse)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrdunRXfbw

Benin Ivory• Hip Mask• Iyoba (queen mother)• Iron, Ivory, and copper 9

3/8”• Middle Period, c. 1550CE

Jenné (in Mali) – 200 CE - Present

Great Friday Mosque, 13th century (rebuilt 1907)

Great Zimbabwe Conical Tower

in Imba Huru or “Great Enclosure” 18’ diameter

on tower 30’ high 800 ft long

masonry wall 17’ feet thick

base 1200-1400CE

Great Zimbabwe Bird Monolith (top part) 1200-1400CE, soapstone Over 5’ tall

Kongo Kingdom 1482 – Portuguese

encounter Early 17th century 9 ½” x 28 ¼”, raffia