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Modern Africa

Ancestor Reliquaries

• In some areas, ancestor veneration takes material from as collections of cranial and other bones gathered in special containers. Among both the Fang of Cameroon and several other peoples (often referred to as "Kota") in neighboring areas, these relic containers were protected by stylized human figures. The so-called "Kota" reliquary guardian figures (called mbulu ngulu) from Gabon, have a severely stylized body in the form of an open lozenge below a wooden head covered with strips and sheets of polished copper and brass to repel evil.

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Reliquary guardian figure (mbulu-ngulu), “Kota,” Gabon, 19th or early 20th century. Wood, copper, iron, and brass, 1’ 9 1/16” high. Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva.

Kongo Power Images

• Ancestral and power images of the Kongo peoples of the lower reaches of the Congo River show varieties of conventionalized naturalism. They served several purposed - commemoration, healing ,divination, and social regulation.

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Female figure with child, Kongo peoples, Mayombe region, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mid 19th-early 20th century, Wood (Nauclea latifolia), glass, glass beads, brass tacks, pigment, H x W x D: 25.7 x 10.5 x 10.2 cm (10 1/8 x 4 1/8 x 4 in.), Purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, 83-3-6

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Figure 32-5 Nail figure (nkisi n’kondi), Kongo, from Shiloango River area, Democratic Republic of Congo, ca. 1875–1900. Wood, nails, blades, medicinal materials, and cowrie shell, 3’ 10 3/4” high. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit.

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In contrast to the organic, relatively realistic treatment of the human body in Kongo art is a strongly stylized Dogon carving of a male and female couple.

Seated couple, Dogon, Mali, ca. 1800–1850. Wood, 2’ 4” high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of Lester Wunderman.

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Male and female figures, probably bush spirits (asye usu), Baule, Côte d’Ivoire, late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, beads, and kaolin, male 1’ 9 3/4” high, female 1’ 8 5/8” high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller).

• Female figure Baule peoples, Cote d'Ivoire Wood, glass beads, gold beads, fiber, white pigment.

Benin Art (Nigeria)• A royal ancestor shrine:

A Benin shrine features cast-copper-alloy heads of divine royal ancestors, which represent the enduring qualities of kingship. The central sculpture depicts a sacred king and his entourage. Elephant tusk reliefs commemorate the kingdom's history. The varied objects and materials contribute to the imaging, renewal, and perpetuation of royal power.

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Altar dedicated to Oba Ovonramwen, Ca. 1914, Benin peoples, Benin City, Nigeria,

Woman sculptor finishing an ancestral portrait, 1965, Akan, Ghana. Terracotta.

Costumes and Masquerades

• African art is nearly always an active agent in the lives of the continent's peoples. This also encompasses clothing and masks made of perishable materials. Throughout history, African costumes have been laden with meaning and have projected messages that all members of the society could read.

• Complex images of leaders project political and spiritual powers. These messages often derive from "aesthetic overload," epitomized by the complex, lavish assemblage of King Kot a-Mbweeky III.

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Kuba Nyim (king) Kot a Mbwecky III in state dress with royal drum. Mushenge, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). Photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 1971.Image no. EEPA 2139. Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives. National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

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“Beautiful Lady” dance mask, Senufo, Côte d’Ivoire, late 20th century. Wood, ca. 1’ 1/2” high. Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneva.

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Female mask, Mende, Sierra Leone, 20th century. Wood and pigment, 1’ 2 1/2” high. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles (gift of the Wellcome Trust).

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Ngady Amwaash mask, Kuba, Democratic

Republic of Congo, late 19th or early

20th century. Peabody Museum, Harvard University,

Cambridge.

18WILLIE BESTER, Homage to Steve Biko, South Africa, 1992. Oil,

enamel, and mixed media, 4’ 1 5/6” X e’ 1 5/6”.