You are on page 1of 276

African Art

*
*

Thames & Hudson

arid of art

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY


Copley Square
Boston, MA 021 16

frank willett was educated


University College, Oxford.
of

Bolton, Lancashire,

in

From 1950

Ethnology and General Archaeology

until
in

and

at

1958 he was Keeper

the Manchester University

Museum, from which he conducted archaeological expeditions to


Old Oyo and Ife. In 1958 he became Archaeologist to the Federal
Government of Nigeria and Curator of the Ife Museum. He continued
to conduct excavations in Ife and elsewhere until 1963. In 1964
he returned

1964

to Ife

as Leverhulme Research Fellow, and from

1966 he was Research Fellow at Nuffield College,


From 1966 until 1976 he was Professor of African Art

until

Oxford.

and Archaeology
and from 1976

Northwestern University, Evanston,

at

to

1990 was

Art Gallery of the University of Glasgow,

Senior Research Fellow.

He

is

Illinois,

Museum and
now Honorary

Director of the Hunterian

where he

the author of

Ife in

is

the History of West

African Sculpture and joint author of Treasures of Ancient Nigeria.

Thames & Hudson world of art


This famous series provides the widest available

range of illustrated books on art

If

you would

like to

in all its

receive a complete

of titles in print please write to:

THAMES & HUDSON


181AHighHolborn
London

In

WC1V7QX

the United States please write

THAMES & HUDSON


500

New

Fifth

INC

Avenue

York,

New

York

Printed in Singapore

10110

to:

aspects.

list

Frank Willett

African Art
New
288

edition

illustrations,

78

in

color

'^^ Thames & Hudson world of art

Mask

Frontispiece:
April

1973

in

called ngulu (pig), collected by Michael Strotz in

the village of Mutuangulu, to the west of the

Kwango

Angola, very close to villages of the BaYaka. The village chief,

river, in

also called Mutuangulu, reported that

it

was used

in

dances

for

Maximum length 80 cm (31 V2 in.); maximum width


head 52 cm (20'/2 in.); height as photographed 65 cm

entertainment.
at top of

(25

In

/? in.). In

a private collection.

memory of my

very good

friend William Fagg

taught

me

of African

who

first

my enjoyment
art by increasing my
to

deepen

understanding of

it

1971, 1993 and 2002 Frank

All

Rights Reserved.

may be reproduced

No

Willett

part of this publication

or transmitted in

any form or

by any means, electronic or mechanical, including


photocopy, recording or any other information
storage and retrieval system, without prior

permission

First

in

writing from the publisher.

published

in

paperback

Thames & Hudson

Inc.,

500

in

the United States of America

Fifth

Avenue,

New

York,

New

thamesandhudsonusa.com
Third edition

2003

Library of Congress Catalog Card

Number 2002 102602

ISBN 0-500-20364-4

and bound

in

Singapore by C.S. Graphics

in

1985 by
10110

York

Contents

Preface to the

Chapter
8

New

Edition

Introducing Africa

Chapter 2

26

The Development

42

Towards a History

of the

Study

of African Art

Chapter 3
of African Art

Chapter 4

no

African Architecture

Chapter 5
130

Looking at African Sculpture

Chapter 6
150

Understanding African Sculpture

Chapter 7

220

Contemporary African Art

246

Recent Research: An

256

Notes

262

Bibliography

268

Acknowledgments

269

Index

Illustrated

Guide

New

Preface to the

Edition

This book grew from the author's dissatisfaction with the books

when he

available
Its

approach

first

began to teach about African art

seems to

still

continue to be widely used

Kerchache

et

fill

in

its

continuing relevance by

addressing several of the same topics though


philosophical way.

of African

it

teaching but the major book by

1988, confirms

al.,

in 1966.

a need, for not only does

in

more

primarily about principles in the study

It is

based on case studies which have become the

art,

foundation stones of the subject over the last thirty years and so

when they were

are as relevant today as

pioneering studies
underlie

may

first

published.

well be old, but they are

more recent work. The

still

These

valid

and

text has therefore been revised

without attempting to touch on

all

have taken place during a time

which research has grown

The

exponentially
further

is

reader

who

in

wishes to pursue the subject

Monica Visona

referred to

the developments that

et

al.,

2000, and to the very

valuable articles by Paula Ben-Amos, 1989, and

Monni Adams,

1989, which survey the available literature at that time and

provide more comprehensive bibliographies than


to

do

in this

it is

possible

book.

NOTE
Bantu names are used

capital

in

English both with and without their

book they are usually quoted with the

prefix. In this

letter

However

in

common

use

is

few

used
cases

to

indicate

the

root,

this form, e.g.

AmaZulu. The bibliography however quotes

and

BaKwele.

which the root form only

have employed

the indi\ idual author.

e.g.

prefix,

is

in

Zulu rather than


the form given by

Chapter

Introducing Africa

There already

exists a considerable literature on African art,

much

of

most

significant studies are generally those of limited scope,

it

more valuable

for its illustrations than its text.

The

dealing with the art of a single society or area. Books and articles

of this kind do not usually have wide distribution, and the general reader sees only

books

(like this one!)

which deal with the art

of the whole continent. Most of these share the major characterA Peoples

referred to in the text.

Fulan

Kilometres

istic

of making general statements about Africa as

if

this vast

and

IB Peoples and places


near Nigeria.

in

and

varied continent were a


tistical

homogeneous

terms they have the

effect of

unit.

Translated into sta-

such assertions as that the

average African family consists of one husband, one and a half

wives and four and three-quarter children.


izations that have been
societies

so

it is

'

Many of the general-

made about African

art,

do not have comparable danger-signals

advisable to view

all

Its

them,

such declarations with scepticism.

The mere size of the African continent indicates


of generalization.

artists or

built into

the dangers

area of almost twelve million square miles

(nearly thirty million square kilometres)

is

more than three

times that of the United States, including Alaska.

The 48

con-

tiguous United States could be superimposed on the Sahara


desert and not touch the coast of Africa at any point. Its population

is

about 760 millions, living mostly

twenty-five to the square mile;

it is

areas are so thinly populated that

only
it

Its

mast al

narrow so that although the great rivers

immense distances

in

the-

densities below

at

part because such vast

has more distinct peoples

and cultures than any other continent.


tively

in

interior, they often

plateaux with cataracts and rapids

(the-

plains are rela-

arc-

na\ igable for

plunge off the

Victoria Falls on the

Zambesi are 104 metres (343

twice as high as Niagara,

feet) high,

and the flow of water over the Stanley Falls on the Congo, now
Zaire,

twice that of Niagara) and they end up in great deltas.

is

Only the West Mediterranean

rather than in navigable estuaries.

coast affords good harbours. In consequence, direct external


influences, apart

from the Cretan ones

in

the late second millen-

nium BC and those resulting from the Assyrian invasion of Egypt


666 BC (the

in

tural effect in

latter of

which seems to have had very

any case) were for a long time limited

though trade goods found

way

their

inland. Penetration of

came only

foreigners into the interior

after the

and markets for the finished goods. Today, with


munication

Industrial

when Europe was seeking sources of raw

Revolution,

in operation,

cul-

little

to the coasts,

all

materials

kinds of com-

no part of Africa is entirely out of touch

with the rest of the world, and the materialistic values of

Western

society,

which are

its

everywhere replacing the older

easiest to export, are almost


spiritual ones. African societies

are changing as they always have and so are their arts, which are

though often unconsciously, the

reflecting increasingly, even

new values.

Some

of the most persistent stereotyped misconceptions

about Africa concern the physical environment.


tinent

which
there

commonly

is
is

is

never used

gradation from one to the other. Desert

point),

and

in the

Horn

is

tered scrub vegetation.

found, of

(the eastern-

The

them are covered with

tropical rain forest

scat-

(known

jungle' in southern Asia and 'selvas' in South America)


It is

fact,

Kalahari to the south. Yet these are not

areas of bare sand; nine-tenths of

limited in extent.

word

an African context) or with desert. In

in

course, in the Sahara, in the margin of the

most

The entire con-

visualized as covered with jungle (a

is

as

quite

found along the West African or Guinea

Coast (with an important gap between Nigeria and Ghana),

Cameroun, Gabon, Congo and the northern part of Zaire. There


is

a separate patch of forest

on the east coast of Madagascar.

the east and south of the rain forest, which as


in the area

year),

we

through

name

implies

of heaviest rainfall (more than 152 cm, sixty inches,

find the
a

its

On

dry

forest.

is

The forest edges everywhere grade

forest/savanna mosaic produced by cultivation, into a

succession of savanna woodlands, which become savanna grasslands (known as the Sahel from Lake
desert areas are approached.

The

Chad westwards)

as the

vast area of these grasslands

supports fabulously rich resources of game

in

southern and east-

ern Africa, and encourages pastoralism there and in the Sudan

10

Forest

""

Forest

>888

Savanna Woodlands

/Savanna Mosaic

<o^ Savanna Grasslands


Desert and Semi-desert

H Montane
Mediterranean

''.'/.'

2.

The Vegetation Zones

of Africa.

belt.

At the extreme north and south where there are zones of

Mediterranean climate, we find temperate woodlands, while the


high mountain areas of both East and West Africa have their

own montane vegetation.


This vegetation pattern, however, has not always prevailed.
Overcultivation leading to erosion has changed grasslands into
deserts, while slash

of savanna

in

and burn agriculture

is

establishing pockets

the forest fringes (the forest/savanna mosaic). In

addition, there have been long-term changes in the climate.


In the Tenere, in eastern Niger,

now

an extremely dry desert,

remains of hippopotamus bone and shells of lacustrine bivalves


have been radiocarbon dated to 1400 bc '200 (Gif-76) and
1

230

bc 200 (Gif-284) respectively, indicating either the persistence


of large lakes from earlier times or their re-formation during
recession

in

the desiccation of the southern Sahara. At the time of

moister conditions before the beginning of the second millennium

BC the Sahara was open grassland, supporting as the rock art shows.
large herds ofcattle. At

human movement

all

than

times the Sahara was less ofan obstacle to


it

has been thought to be; the trans-

Saharan trade has been important [oral

Least the last

two millennia

//

Before desiccation produced the desert


forests

were more extensive than they

arc-

it

The

ing beyond the areas of forest/savanna mosaic.

history of the vegetation of Africa

we

an early stage thai

maps of the continent

arc a long

is

unfortunately

way from being

show the vegetation

to

the past. The identification of pollen grains


layers of
is

soil

exposed

likely that the

is

now, probably spread-

at

study of the
still at

such

able to draw

different times in

left in

the successive

archaeological and other excavations

of crucial importance for our understanding of the history of

man

in

their

environment

Africa. Plants are not nearly SO adaptable to

primary source of evidence about changes


plants die out and others replace
rainfall

changes.

changes

as animals are, so that pollen analysis

Human

them

is

in climate, for

in

our

some

as the temperature or

history until the latest phases

is

very

largely the story of man's interaction with his environment. In

many

cases his art

is

used

in

environment, for example,

ceremonies intended to control the

in the

Bambara dance head-dresses

which represent the spirit chiwara who in the form of an antelope


introduced the knowledge of agriculture; the dances, performed
pairs by

in

young men

germination and

Modern

at the

Africa

is

populated by a great variety of peoples

whose ultimate origins are


niques. Perhaps the people

Bushmen

time of planting, are to ensure

good harvest.

still

being sought by various tech-

who have been

there longest are the

(or Khoisan) of the Kalahari desert,

whose hunting

culture appears to be very similar to that which characterized


the I'pper

Old Stone Age. Indeed, vhe study of modern Bushmen

has provided valuable ethnographic data for the interpretation

of materials found by archaeologists/ Yet


they

still live

their ancient

it

seems unlikely that

way of life unchanged. For

centuries

they have been pushed by neighbouring peoples into inhospitable areas, so that their present
reflects

some readjustment

mode

the life of the Old Stone Age preserved intact.


ever, are unlikely to

work

to

iron

and have remained dependent on wood, bone and

The Pygmies

too,

w hich they gain

who occupy

existence,

many groups have developed

exchanging the

produce as well

;t

results of their

'

hunting

iron for their spear- and

with neighbouring Bantu farmers.

their livelihood.

parts of the equatorial forest.

to be survivors of a Stone Age population. They too

the forests, though

tural

The changes, how-

have been fundamental. They never learned

leather for the tools with

seem

of living probably

to a hostile environment, rather than

hunt

in

symbiotic

for agricul-

arrowheads

3.

Dance headdress,

in

the

form of an antelope with young,


representing the

who
the

spirit

chi wara

introduced agriculture to

Bambara

Bamana. These

or

headdresses, attached to a

wickerwork cap, are worn


pairs by

two young men

in

of the

flankuru or co-operating group


of farmers

who

at the

planting and harvest

time of

dance

in

imitation of a leaping antelope.


British

Museum, London.

Ht79cm(3iy4

in.)

Both the Bushmen and the Pygmies are forced to migrate


extensively

in their

pursuit of game. Their

the simplest of shelters

Pygmies
gi\cs
for

in their

little

homes

are. therefore.

a feu branches or saplings, which the

moistei environment thatch with leaves. This

scope for the development of architecture, or even

decoration

of their

homes

(in

contrast

to

the Native

Americans of the American plains who were also migratory

6.

Mask

hunters but whose

representing either

hawk used by a
organization called Do

a butterfly or a
religious
in

ceremonies asking

for fertility of

and

for rain

the fields at planting

time and after the harvest.


Butterflies

appear

in

great

immediately after the


at the

first

swarms
rains,

beginning of the planting

Similarly the

is

when

burned ready

vegetation

for planting.

though these
shells used

way of

by the Bushmen as water-containers. Because of their


the plastic arts are not practised by these peoples,

life

mean

that their

dancing are highly developed

The

Museum of Art, New


Width 130 cm (51 'A in.)

of buffalo skins, was carried round

Bushmen and Pygmies have very few material


movement from place to place,
may well be decorated, as in the case of ostrich egg

yet this does not

motif. Similarly, birds of prey

made

possessions to hamper their

season, so they are an appropriate

are attracted

tipi,

with them and became a support for drawings and paintings).

The Bushmen, however

life is

both

in

devoid of art. Music and

societies."

York.

hunting peoples

the

(like

Metropolitan

Australia), have practised glyptic art

of

on natural features -

engravings and paintings on natural outcrops of rock or on cave


walls.

The

places

where these

arts

were practised seem to have

been the centres to which these hunters returned time after time,

assembling

in large

of the young

groups

for

ceremonies such as the initiation

men and marriages between

bands. This regular

return to a centre for the performance of ceremonies on behalf of


the

community may well be the basic need which eventually led,

when

a regular

supply of food could be assured by agriculture, to

permanent settlement and ultimately to the growth of towns.

While the ephemeral

arts,

music, dance, poetry and narration

can be practised anywhere no matter

how

small the group, the

enduring arts of painting and sculpture depend largely on


having permanent settlements,

i.e.

on an agriculturally based

society, or at least on the possession of a ritual focal point to

which the migratory groups can return from time to time.


IS

Decorated ostrich egg shell

7.

drinking vessel used by


at Luderitz Bay,

Nabib

Bushmen

desert,

Namibia. The engraved lines are


filled

with red and black pigment.

Ethnological Collection of the


University of Zurich. Ht
7

(5 /8

cm

in.)

Many of the peoples of Africa lead a pastoral existence, herdThey

ing cattle or sheep and goats.


life,

too lead a largely migratory

seeking fresh pastures or water for themselves and their

herds. In general their opportunity for expression in the endur-

ing arts

is

limited but they do frequently decorate their bodies

and their milking


basketvvork to

vessels.

high

Some have developed

Level, since

the art of

baskets are easily transported

weight and not easily broken. Nevertheless

being both light

in

pastoralists too

when

the opportunity presents

itself"

express

themselves through painting. The Masai of Kenya and northern

Tanzania not only paint their shields with decorations which


indicate their

group or

section, but they occasionally paint these

and other motifs on immobile surfaces such


even concrete cisterns."
art,

One

as rock shelters

and

of the richest treasures of African

theSaharan rock paintings, was bequeathed tons by pastoral

peoples,

who evidently returned

time and time again to the same-

locations which provided temporary foci for their society probably

when

their

youths were

initiated, for

it

is

this regularly

recurring ceremony which serves to give cohesion not only to

16

migrant

groups of agriculturists living

societies, but also to

scattered settlements without


ical institutions.

Among

in

towns or strong centralized polit-

these latter groups initiation

often

is

the main institution which expresses their unity and which also

demands

masks and head-

the supply of art objects such as

dresses for use in the ceremonies.


In the main, however,

it

is

the settled agriculturalists

who

have produced most of the well-known sculpture of Africa, espeof the rain forest

cially those-

some of

crops, and

who grow predominantly

lands which fringe the forests. Outside this area,

mixed tanners and herdsmen


sculpture

is

usually small

who occupy

people

the-

The

the-

all

so-called 'true-forest

Negro', but also palaeonigritic peoples (of small


in

the

core area of African sculpture are not

group - not only are there

of one-

among

and southern Africa,

of 'eastern

scale and not highly developed.

in

root

wood-

the cereal cultivators of the savanna

stature-, living

refuge areas where they seem to have he-en driven by Later

immigrants and Bantu-speaking peoples. The predominance of


this area
tat

is

probably due to

One

tors

is

the-

coincidence of two important

community, which

the agricultural basis of the

permitted permanent settlements where major works of sculpture could be safely preserved and architecture developed which
in

turn called for sculptors to produce doors, shutters and house-

posts, the other factor

purposes

suit all

is the-

a\ a liability

heavy durable woods

w) for houseposts. lighter ones

and dance masks

of timber

Where

like

Lands of eastern and southern Africa,

its

'ordia

or beadworfc constructions arc-often used.

wooden

figures in Holy. 1967,

shows

MiUtnii for drums

wood-

the lighter

in

scale

varieties to

iroko (Chlorophora

like-

sculpture occurs

is

reduced and (lay

An examination of the
tomb

that only the- four

from Ethiopia, which range from L20 to 133 centimetres,

pillars

exceed

height of ninety-five centimetres, the median height for

the w hole

group being

fifty-three centimetres*, while the

range from eight to seventy-five centimetres with

masks

median of

twenty-six centimetres. In contrast, the series taken from 122


different traditions across the

1965,

show

metres (with

range

a single

in size

whole continent

in

William Fagg,

of figures from 17.5 to 120 centi-

example 75 centimetres
1

size of sixty-one centimetres, while the

twenty-two to 105 centimetres (with

tall)

and

median

masks range from

a single outlier 172 cen-

timetres long) and a median size of forty centimetres.

It

appears

then, and this hardly needs to be demonstrated, that the lack of

generously sized timber had an inhibiting effect on large-scale

17

wood

carvings, but the effect

is

greater than that.

The

avail-

of materials, often coupled with elaborate political

ability

institutions,

seems to have encouraged

artistic

quantity, and in Africa, as elsewhere, quality

dependent on

this. It is

production

seems

in

to be in part

the most productive traditions which

have given us some of the finest African sculpture for high productivity indicates sufficient commissions not only to keep the
gifted carver in practice but to enable

be sure
too.

it

also

means

Father Carroll's remarks on

has had

what

is

many

him to develop his

that there will be

work

style.

To

for less able carvers

this are highly pertinent, for

he

years of close contact with carvers working

in

probably the richest tradition, that of the Yoruba:

'Constant suitable work


of a carver's

abilities. It

is

necessary for the

full

was the group of carvers

development
in a district

repeating the same themes and only gradually introducing new

18

ones - which built up

the less gifted carvers.

cumulative genius capable

of"

supporting

was... this evolution as a group, rather

It

than the religious intensity or emotion of the carvers, which

gave much of

its artistic

carvers could

he-

modern
rise

power

similarly

to the old carving. If sufficient

employed - and

employed -

fully

conditions, the artistic level of the whole

in

group would

and individual geniuses would emer

There seems

to be a general coincidence of the distribution

of wood sculpture in Africa with the distribution of the forests and

woodlands.

It

seems

likely that the area

where the earliest

settled

agricultural communities had generous supplies ofwood available


to

them was on the edges

when and where

is still

of the forest

obscure but

so far from south of the Sahara


terracotta sculptures of the

from

at least the-

second

the-

West

comes from

Nok

Africa. Precisely

oldest sculpture we know


this

erv area - the

culture of Nigeria which date

half Of the first

millennium BC and have

indications of a woocl-carv ing tradition preceding them, for

of the sculptures are


carving,
the-

in

in

ma

subt

rac tiv e

style characteristic of wood

which pieces arc removed from the mass

sculpture,

w hereas plasm media

some

to

like terracotta are

produce

normally

an additive style, being built up by applying more material.

8,9. The production of figure


sculpture does not, of course,

preclude an interest
arts.

in

The BaKuba excel

fields.

decorative
in

These are examples

their raffia pile cloth.

University,

Hampton,

both
of

Hampton
Virginia.

19

Many

0.

African peoples

who do

not produce figure sculpture carve

and decorate

everyday

their

objects most beautifully. This

wooden

stool, inlaid

and brass

is

with copper

wire, used by elders

among the AKamba. The AKamba


are now known for their sculpture
of small figures

which often form

the handles of salad servers. They

began

to

make such

tourists in the

pieces for

second quarter

of

the twentieth century. Manchester

Museum. Diameter 23 cm

11. Similarly, the


best

known

(9

MaShona

for their

in.)

are

decorative

headrests, used like a pillow to


protect their elaborate hair-styles.

This one

was

collected at Umtali,

Zimbabwe. Manchester Museum.

Htllcm(4 3/8

12.

Plastic art

(formerly better

BaRotse)
in

is

museum

basketwork

in.)

among the Lozi


known as the

best represented
collections by
in their

gBSSl

characteristic

technique. They do, however,

wooden bowls with animals


lids. British Museum,
London. L. 62 cm (24'/2 in.)

carve

on the

20

fflftT'

jffST

yfcffH.''

'XL**.

13.

(left)

Figure sculptures

outside the main area of


distribution

seem

to

have been

produced by peoples

who have

migrated from the forests and

woodlands. This piece


to

thought

is

be a Zulu work, but nothing

known

of

its

use.

been intended
British

cm

It

is

may have

for trade,

not use.

Museum, London. Ht 63

(24 3/4

in.)

MaKonde, who
mask for use by

14. (above) The

produced
their

this

men's

who have

society, are a

group

migrated from the

southern Congo Basin towards


the east coast of the continent.
Artistically

they are to be related

BaLuba style complex


225-29). British Museum,

to the

Wis.

London. Ht 25.5

cm (10

in.)

21

These few remarks about the

\ironment

influence

and the way of life upon the potential capa


produce sculpture or painting are about as much
said

people to

v be

by way of generalization. However, the art of the forest and

the art of the savanna are often contrasted, and the

related to the characteristics of the societies in these varj

environments-

It

has been claimed, for example, that the rx

of the forest do not form large social groups; that the\

live

lated communities, in fear of the forest and of each other; that the

continuous fight to keep their clearings from being encroached

upon by the forest absorbs


-_

all

their

energy and depresses

their

15,16. Bowl

in

the form of a

woman, carved in llesha,


where was captured by Ibadan
soldiers during the 1880s after
which time was kept in the
Compound of the Olubadan,
kneeling
it

it

until

he sold

Coll. R.

P.

it

in

1953. Formerly

Armstrong. Ht

29 cm

(ll'Ain.)

spirits. In contrast,

the peoples of the savanna built up empires

(ancient Ghana, Songhay, the Northern Nigerian Emirates)

with

a state organization, a large

and specialized administrative

machinery, a governing class to patronize the


feasts

and ceremonies to

a theoretical picture

utilize his products.

expressing

how

artist,

This

is

and public
very

much

European might expect

an African to react to his environment, rather than one based on

observed

facts.

(It

reflects too the

admiration

felt

by some

administrators of the former Colonial powers for the peoples

and cultures of Muslim Africa,


lized,

who were felt

to be already civi-

and the relative contempt for those who retained their own

23

rc#
'f'-'lS

17.

Demba mask of the Baga


woman who has

representing a

born children. These magnificent


sculptures of imposing size are

worn over the head and


on the shoulders

who

of the

resting

dancer

usually sees out through

a slot between the breasts of the


figure. British

Museum, London.

Ht (without the

122 cm (48

fibre

costume)

in.)

religious beliefs and


if

way of life, who were regarded as barbarians

not as savages.) Anthropologists and other social scientists

who have approached African


have shown how mistaken this

peoples with
logical

has most eloquently described the


Forest

showing

in Zaire,

life

who

among

Drum from

the Baga,

in

///.

in

1 7.

the

demba mask,

This type of

ceremonies but
be

its

this

is

only use. British

London. Ht 112

in

cm

funeral

in

unlikely to

Museum,

(44

most happily

some of

the

most

powerful states of Africa arose in the forests: Benin, Ijebu and

any case the Sudanese states were not

for example. In

drum has

been said to be used

the

style rather different from that

seen

Colin Turnbull

look upon the forest as a

friendly provider of their food." Moreover,


18.

more open minds


is.

of the Pygmies of the Ituri

that they are

disposed people in the world,

model

ized as

Ife

as central-

European scholars have imagined. There was no

fixed

example, and administration operated through

capital city for

family and village heads

whose authority came from

their role

in.)

in

the ancestor cult and from their connection with the land.

Many
least,

of these empires were based on Islam, which,

officially at

discouraged rather than encouraged representational

though

this did in fact

tors rather than

On

continue as

art,

means of serving the ances-

thecourt

the other hand Griaule points out that the Bambara, the

Kurumba and

the Baga*

all

savanna peoples - tiave certainly

3-5
17, 18

not founded states. But they have created certain institutions,


like that

of initiation which can develop.. .an accumulation of

material; in the

life

of art they play the role of a state by establish-

ing rules which extend beyond narrowing horizons and remain


applicable with
is

tin-

much more

some

variations, to the larger districts.'

This

valuable idea and one thinks immediately of

11
Poro society, well documented from Liberia but influential

also in Sierra

Leone (from where- indeed the name Poro comes),

Guinea and the Ivory Coast. Masks used

in its rites

abound

in isi,i82

museum collections.

25

Chapter 2

The Development of the Study of African Art

The

made

greatest contribution Africa has

heritage of mankind

is its

was scarcely known outside

ture

so far to the cultural

richly varied sculpture. African sculpits

own

continent until late

in

the nineteenth century, but during the twentieth century


liberating

and refreshing

its

on Western art has been

effect

immeasurable. African sculpture

is

highly developed and

extremely sophisticated art form with thousands of years of history behind

tion.

yet

it,

of primitive

art',

There was

it is still

a concept

sometimes discussed

as a subdivision

which derives from Darwinian evolu-

a theory, derived

from Leonardo da Vinci, that

painting was the highest form of art and the latest to evolve

It

followed that societies which possessed only sculpture were

backward. The discovery of Old Stone Age cave paintings


late

the

in

nineteenth century destroyed this as a theory, but the idea of

backward, unevolved, 'primitive' art continued.

The word
basic sense

is

'primitive' of course

is

Protean

in its

meanings.

Its

'primary in time', and by extension undeveloped,

simple, crude, unsophisticated. But so-called 'primitive' art

none of these
primitive in

things,

strictest time sense

its

of Europe and South Africa sophisticated; if it

is

and indeed the oldest art we know, the most

is

the Old Stone Age rock

art

highly sophisticated. All art

were not sophisticated

it

would not be

art.

is

but

merely a felicitous accident.

An
tify

attempt

is

sometimes made among

the use of the term 'primitive

art'

art historians to jus-

on the grounds that 'we

know what we mean by it' and that the various traditions share in
common a disrespect for naturalism in the proportions of the
human body. Art historians may think that they know what they
mean by the term, though they have failed to produce a working
definition; if we accept the disrespect for naturalistic proportions
19. Three figures, called bateba,

symptomatic, then

from the Lobi. They serve as a

as

means

art should be

of

communication with the

spirits (thila) to

obtain protection

from witches and other harm.

Such

figures are

more commonly

made from mud.

British

London. Hts44.5

72 cm (28
3

(14 /4

in.)

/? in.)

cm

Museum,

(17'/2

and 37.5

rest of the art of the

lumped together as

'primitive

'the art of social realism'.

rians also speak of the 'Italian primitives'

sense 'primary
painters

26

in time',

when they

art',

while the

Western world could with equal justice he

in.),

cm

great deal of twentieth-century Western

embraced under the term

Moreover,art histo-

who

are in a certain

and of the primitivism of certain modern

refer to the naivety of their vision.

Even

as

27

used by art historians the term has several distinct meanings.


unfortunate, too, that the Lou\

re, in Paris,

It is

after finally recogniz-

ing African, Oceanic and Native American art at the turn of the

millennium, should refer to them as arfr^fWBJ*r$(firstarts).

The term

'primitive art'

of the nineteenth century

apex of social evolution. As


a positive

concept it

side the Westei n

legacy from the anthropologists

is

who

saw the Hurope of their day as the


currently used

it is

it is

a negative, not

has to be defined as the art of the areas out-

and Oriental traditions.

ritten sources about

hiental art,

ered 'primitive'.) Surely this

it

(If

there had not been

too might have been consid-

an ethnocentric definition.

is

only sensible way to approach foreign art traditions

own

terms, and so as not to prejudge

art.

We

must say

them we should speak of

'traditional' for in all these areas

the world the old art forms are

the artists are being


art, as

drawn

into the cosmopolitan world of

we shall see in the concluding chapter.

African art

is

we know from

of

changing or have changed and

,+

usually considered to consist exclusively of

sculpture and to have no recoverable history. In


art

The

on their

their regions of origin as traditional African, Oceanic or

them by

American

modern

is

Africa

the earliest

fact,

- paintings and

glyptic, not plastic

is

engravings on surfaces of smooth stone - and although by the


beginning of the twentieth century painting seems to have become

much

less

ments

in

important than sculpture, the most exciting develop-

contemporary African

art are in painting

and graphics

rather than sculpture. Moreover, archaeological investigations


are being conducted

in

many

part

>

of Africa, and

more and more about the history of African


chiefly in

been

of

West

Africa. Discoveries in other areas have usually

single sites.

It is still

tory of African art, but


will

we are learning

sculpture, so far

too soon to write a conventional his-

we shall

look at

contribute to such a history

some of the sources which

when eventually

it

comes

to

be written.
In

order to understand how ideas on the subject of African art

have changed with tune and with increased knowledge, we must


refer to a

number of

studies which did not draw exclusively on

African material, and even to

some w

hich did not discuss

it

at all.

Serious study of African, American, and Oceanic art began

in

the second half of the nineteenth century, a period w hen the idea
of

evolution was permeating

quence, the study of the arts


direi ted

all

scientific thought.

<)\

these little-known areas

tow ards seeking out the ultimate origin of

In conse-

art.

was

through

studies of decoration of surfaces rather than through sculpture.

Many

of those involved

rather than as art histori


reflection of progress in

whole.

The

first

discover^

Europe was made at Altam


decade of the twentieth cer
ally accepted.

Before these

origins and evolution of ar

deduction from modern exr


Gottfried Semper,

whose

Arts, or practical Aesthetics

an architect, was primarily

argument

tural forms. His

protection for himself and

out the wind and rain. Th(


tern which led to thedevel

deliberate seeking after

pottery began, basketwoi


difference of materia]

This

line of

lea<

argument wa

ministic, materialistic

Western

art

forms.

Semper had no

syi

The

facts to su

StTUCted by extrapolation

stimulated other workers

W. H. Holmes wrote a nun


contributing to the theor
Indian Studies in Central Bj

developed from plaiting

tec

ration but he clearly select*

than constructing the hyp<

example, such motifs as

s\

geometric are

tc

difficult

Moreover, as Adrian Gerbi


fact that the Australian abc

ear designs but not baske

designs are supposed to be

Realism

in art

was exp

by the assumption that


a natural object,

a gt

which led

realism of the representat

strongly evolutionary in ch
of thought which was no

the merit of beginning with the data

round them. The hypothesis

sis

theory',

>n

for

its

is

and building

known

as the

proponents demonstrated that

ring of a naturalistic representation without undered

iddon"
.

studies

the

A.

later the curator of the

all

museum which

over the world, and intended to demonstrate

classes of

all

house the Pitt-Rivers Collection of

diversity built to

rom

principal

came from Hjalmar Stolpe

Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers" and Henry

II.

was

the last

The

forms.

geometric-

purely

to

to

is

udied was

all

man-made

The

objects, not just in art.

contemporary, an objection which the

school was quick to recognize so the 'older' types

>n

'survivals'.
still

On

the whole their

work was

makes interesting reading, but

quite self-

their data

had to

from whatever sources were available, and were often

/alue.

The whole argument rested on

made

inferences

The

rn objects about man's earliest artistic efforts.

veness of this methodology


the revelation of Old Stone

nen were
id its

is

evident to us today, and

Age art, at about

same

the

writing, provided direct evidence of prehis-

development, and superseded

this hypothetical

early studies had been exclusively concerned with

and sought

its

origin only in the crafts. One, a

cal-theoretical study by

Wilhelm Worringer written

ejected this technological basis for the origin of art.

as basically the expression of volition,


lodified

He

ions.

He

this

by purpose, raw material and other technical


affords valuable insights: 'what appears

oint the greatest distortion


or,

though

must have been

from

at the time,

the highest beauty and the fulfilment of his artistic

Indeed, his insights into the nature of abstraction in


s

study one of the most durable influences

nce of modern art in Europe, as


still

reflected

grad-

by the

fact

considered worth translating into English as late

Yet

is

in the

Worringer was

thoroughgoing evolutionist,

cd the earliest forms of art to have been geometric


is

which

led logically

and inevitably

to naturalism so

cctcd the representational cave paintings of southern


not being art at

all,

because his theory could not

hem. Similarly he repudiated 'the

Afncan

natives'

and of

"artistic achieve-

'the majority of primitive

peoples' 2 ", excepting only those

purely ornamental

gifts in a

who have exercised their artistic

field.

The study of ornament went in a new direction under the lead


of Franz Boas,

who was

to

become one of the most

teachers in America in the field of anthropology. His

work was
North

a study of

it

major

Decorative Art of the Indians of the

Coast of America', published

Pacific

and reprinted
print;

The

influential
first

in his Primitive

in

1897' 7 and revised

Art (1927), which

is still

has had a remarkably long life for a single paper.

kept in

The rest

of this later book draws on work carried out under his direction

by

Dixon, Kroeber, Lowie and Wissler in surveying the


meaning of ornamental designs among North American Indians.
his pupils

In this book,

since the

Boas demolished the degeneration theory though,

American Indian

art dealt with

largely ornamental, his ideas refer

more

by the survey was

to

ornament than

to

sculpture. Boas considered that art could not exist until the artist

had developed sufficient

skill to

dominate his material;

enough but does not have much


pointed out that although form,

have an aesthetic effect

in

this is true

He

practical application.

also

symmetry and rhythm together

themselves, form can also convey

meaning, which adds an emotional value to the form, increasing

Boas divides art into two categories representative

its effect.

(nowadays more commonly known as 'representational')

symbolism (which had previously been known


In

was collected by
Northcote Thomas at Sabongida,

21. This figure

forty-five miles north-east of


in

Afenmai Division, Nigeria.

Benin
Its

cubistic qualities reflect the artistic


tradition of the

important, but in symbolic art the content


tant than the form.

went on
as if

it

Having made

to concentrate

on symbolic

were the whole of

art.

is

art

and

peoples of the Benin Empire

same form can convey different meanings in

known art of the Benin court.


86-90, 99, i 76-78, 262.)

Cambridge University
of

Museum

Archaeology and Ethnology.

Ht62cm(24 /2
I

its

Boas

meaning, almost

Nevertheless, one conclusion to

which contrasts with the

is

much more impor-

this useful distinction

which these studies led him

(Ills.

and

the former category form and content are about equally

Edo-speaking

better-

art

as 'geometric' art).

vital for all

kinds of art

that the

different societies. It

follows of course that form and content cannot be considered separately in studies of
in space,

development through time, of distribution

or in the combination of both these aspects, which

we

in.)

call 'diffusion'.

Another
tioned, for

it

classic,

of broader scope than those already

men-

puts the problems of art and decoration in the wider

setting of material culture as a whole,

is

R. U. Sayce's Primitive Arts

and Crafts, 28 which draws extensively and critically on earlier studies


and

is

especially valuable for

its

cautionary examples, particu-

larly of the convergence of designs

from totally different sources.

One lesson from these early studies is still important; it is perfectly true that

weaving techniques, whether in matting, basketry

31

22.

Mask made by the Fang,


in 1905 or 1906 to Maurice

given

Vlaminck

who

Derain.

was seen

It

sold

it

to

Andre

also by

Picasso and Matisse. This


the

first

was

Vlaminck, but

it

appears

to

be the

only one from this time which


still

not

African sculpture to attract

certainly identifiable.

is

Musee

National d'Art Moderne, Paris.

Ht48cm(1878

in.)

or cloth, tend by their very nature to produce a series of motifs of


essentially geometric character,

nomorphs' since

their

form

which we might

arises

'tech-

from the technique. Any

society possessing any of these weaving techniques


to have the

call

is

likely also

corresponding technomorphs which may be copied

other media,

e.g.

in

plaitwork designs are found on Benin pottery

and wood and ivory carvings. Since there

is

strong possibility

that these motifs had an independent origin within the society

they are unsuitable for use as indicators of the influence of one


society

upon another.

Two-dimensional design has been rather neglected of late

in

favour of sculpture, but one book on African Design, by Margaret

Trowell, 1960, deserves to be mentioned. This


sophisticated and
ners.

It

much

32

study than

a far
its

more

forerun-

describes the materials and the varieties of designs

employed throughout
but

less pretentious

is

Africa.

The author

freely admits that

sampling of the immensely rich material which

is

it is

available.

and the only flaw

that the selection

is

East African material that

some of

is

so heavily weighted with

the judgments

made do not

always apply to West Africa.

The study of sculpture,

as

opposed to ornament, began

in

the

of the nineteenth century and most of the literature fol-

last years

lows one or the other of two approaches: the ethnological one,

which

essentially similar to Boas' in considering a

is

of the content of a work of art to be essential to

and even

and the aesthetic one, which consid-

for its appreciation;

ers that such

knowledge

unnecessary for

is

knowledge

understanding

its

appreciation. In

its

the extreme form of this second approach, exemplified by Carl

knowledge was indeed held

Einstein's Negcrplastik," such


interfere with the aesthetic

to

enjoyment of the work of art. These

two schools of thought have gradually approached each

other, for

anthropologists are paying increasing attention to aesthetics and

and art

art history,

critics are

paying increasing attention to the

background of African

cultural

art

for,

after

member of the community,

integral

all,

form and con-

which the

tent arc scarcely separable in societies in

artist

is

an

not an individual struggling

to express a purely private vision.

At

first

anthropologists treated sculpture simply as an aspect

of religion, but soon took note of the divergence from natural


proportions shown

regarded as

in

a childlike trait

from over-attention

taken

in

at

This was commonly

ofemphasis resulting only

a shift

to details at the

Field studies of artists


is

sculptures.

the

expense of the overall form.

work eventually showed

that great care

blocking out the form of the sculpture, so the propor-

tions are set

from the beginning and the detailed work

to

left

the end."

One
tield

of the

first

anthropologists to

make

of study was Leo Frobenius. As early as

Africa his special

896 he was writing

about the art of non-European peoples, suggesting that they have


an impulse to copy natural forms and that these copies convey
ideas and

meaning -

i.e.

the content gives significance to the

form. Faithful copying from nature thus becomes, after a while,


less necessary,

tions to

provided that the form evokes sufficient associa-

convey the meaning. Such reactions

culturally determined, so the

society to which

pursue

it

form has

this

are,

of course,

meaning only

for the

belongs. 31 Frobenius unfortunately did not

this valuable idea, but

went on

later to theorize that sculp-

ture with large heads had originated from a practice of placing


the skull on a stick over the grave
sis.

Similarly,

a quite unprovable hypothe-

he saw the mask as originating

in the practice

33

common in the Pacific -of preserving the skull of an ancestor in a


little

grass hut, but this

to carry conviction.

is

too broad and comprehensive a theory

"-'

Before Frobenius began to write Gauguin had gone to Tahiti,


the most extravagant individual act of turning to a non-

European culture

the decades immediately before and after

in

when European

1900,

ences, but

it

artists

was only about 904 to 905

its

mask

that had been given to

saw

make

He

were avid

distinctive impact.

One

piece

for

new

artistic experi-

that African art

is still

Maurice Vlaminck

bought

it

from Vlaminck and

in

turn showed

and Matisse, who were also greatly affected by


Vollard then borrowed

The

bronzesmith.

it

and had

it

it

is

1905 or 1906.

in

records that Derain was 'speechless' and 'stunned'


it,

began to

identifiable;

it

it.

22

when he

to Picasso

Ambroise

cast in bronze by Maillol's

of twentieth-century art was

revolution

under way.

Many

artists

have recorded their reactions on

tering African art. Georges Braque recalled that

first

encoun-

'les

masques

negres...m'ont ouvert un horizon nouveau' ('negro masks...

opened

new horizon

for me').

Juan Gris even made a cardboard

copy of a funerary figure from Gabon to decorate


in 1922.

This

is

Leiris's

is

recommended

account (1968) for he knew

personally, and that of Jean

European

apartment

an avenue of great interest, which unfortunately

cannot be pursued here. The reader

Michel

his

Laude (1968);

many

to see the

artists collected illustrated in the

catalogue: Arts Primitifs dans

les

1984).

The first works which

works which

Musee de l'Homme

Ateliers dArtistes (Paris, 1967);

and to read William Rubin's 'Primitivism'

(New York and London,

to read

of these artists

in

20th Century Art

33

these artists saw were of no

more than

average quality but their interest led others, not only practising
artists, to a

heightened sensitivity to African sculpture. This

increasing interest, however, encouraged a flow of writings characterized in general

An

more by enthusiasm than by understanding.


- that which asks no more

essentially subjective approach

than 'what does this sculpture

judging any

tural

of the

is

valid

enough

which the artist practised

first to

background was

attempt to set the art

is vital.

in its social

and cul-

E. Vatter, Religiose Plastik der Naturvolker

(Religious Sculpture of Primitive Peoples) (Frankfurt, 1926).

pointed out that the

34

in

understanding. For this some knowledge of the

ideas of the society in

One

to me?'

work, but, of course, does not lead to the

artist's

fullest possible

mean

artist's role is not, as

it

He

has generally been

in

190

modern Europe,

is

own

to express his

serve the community.

He goes on

personality, but rather to

to assert that the African artist

anonymous, an idea which was unquestioningly accepted, and

probably responsible for the fact that for a long time no one bothered to ask the names of

only
eties,

artists.

but the better the

As

known

the individual artist

is

the

artist,

become

will

in a

great

clear later, not

many

African soci-

more widespread is his fame.

German, Eckart von Sydow, was

In the 1920s another

at

books which approached the art of Africa

work, and produced

five

and Oceania from

number of different points of view, including

that of psychoanalysis,

though he began

as an art historian. In

1930 there appeared his Handbuch der Afrikanischen

Plastik, I

Die

West

Westafnkanische Plastik (Handbook of African sculpture,

African sculpture) (Berlin) which incorporated documentation

from museums and from the


thorough compilation and

ond

literature.

This

is

in

1954

work von Sydow came

to realize that only field-work could

produce adequate documentation, so

(In the

ingas

Kingdoms

it is, is

trip,

of the

/;;/

in

1956 he visited Nigeria,

Reich* der Gott&hnlicher Herrseher

Divine Rulers) (Brunswick), entertain-

no more- than

travelogue

At the same time, others were working on


tions,
(

and

this led to the still classic studies

Negro

Sculpture),

Copenhagen, 1935-38);
(Antwerp, 1946);" and

(New York,

in

M.

F.

P. S.

four

collec-

Kjersmeier,

volumes

(Paris

and

Olbrechts, Plastiek van Kongo

1950).

pupils, Melville Herskovits

aspects

Wingert, The Sculpture ofNegro Africa

Yet a different approach was being

worked

museum

of

Negre Africa me (Centres of Style of

etUres de Style de la Sculpture

African

was published

G. Kutscher, Berlin). In the course of

(ed.

but his book about this

monument of
The sec-

of lasting value as a source.

part, Afrikanische Plastik (African sculpture)

posthumously
this

is

and

F.

M.

made by two of

Boas's

Olbrechts. Herskovits had

Dahomey (now Benin) in 1931 investigating all


of Fon culture. He encouraged his students to do fieldin

work, and three of them have contributed to our knowledge of


art

and

artists in Africa:

James Fernandez.
A. Maesen,
field.

P. J.

L.

W.

R. Bascom, Justine Cordwell and

Similarly, Olbrechts

encouraged

Vandenhoute and D. Biebuyck

to

his pupils

work

in the

Marcel Griaule led expeditions from the Sorbonne to the

Dogon

in 1931, 1935,

1936 and 1938 to 1939 returning repeat-

edly after the war for short

visits.

His pupils

who accompanied

him dispersed to work elsewhere in Africa - Germaine Dieterlen,


Solange de Ganay,

J.

P.

Lebeuf and Denise Paulme among others.

35

Independently

F.

This book owes

H.

Lem

observers, and also by


in

1933 and

did field-work

the western Sudan.

in

a great deal to the studies carried out

later)

and

Hans Himmelheber (working

his

in

by these
the field

son E. Fischer, as will be apparent

later.

Yet the work of Griaule and his team needs to be used


caution.
first

Anne Docquet,

999, demonstrates that

encounter with the Dogon people

negre)

193

in

\\

African art

had reached new heights of popularity

ith

the time of his

at

(I'art

in Paris as

had

African-American jazz music. Griaule was thus pre-conditioned


to expect exciting things in Africa.

study of the

Dogon masks,

1938,

He was not disappointed.

is

exemplary

in its

His

thorough-

ness and detail.

Dogon and decided to return for


He did a great deal for the
Dogon he arranged the construction of a dam to improve their
Griaule

fell in

love with the

repeated short spells with his students.

water supply and lobbied the French government for the benefit
of Africans as a whole. His method, however, was his undoing as

he paid for a limited number of informants,

all

from the same

small town of Sanga, to spend time with him at his house answer-

The Second World War came and fieldwork


The Dogon missed the additional income he had pro-

ing his questions.

had to

stop.

vided so on his return


In his earlier

in

946 they looked forward

work he had become

that lay behind the

to its renewal.

interested in the

masks and he came back

to

mythology

pursue the myths

He made the further


Dogon
are no less polite
The

to the exclusion of all other lines of enquiry

mistake of asking leading questions.

than other Africans and for them he represented the colonial


power, so they supplied the answers he was seeking.
In the preface to the English translation of his 'Conversations

with Ogotemmeli', Germaine Dieterlen wrote, 'From 1931 the

Dogon had answered questions and commented on observations


made during previous field trips on the basis of the interpretation
of facts which they

call "la

knowledge which they give


ers....

parole de face"; this


in the first

the simple
all

enquir-

But the Dogon came to recognise the great perseverance

of Marcel Griaule and his team

was becoming increasingly

in their enquiries,

difficult to

our

eagerness

an

for

and that

it

answer the multiplicity of

questions without moving on to a different


ated

is

instance to

They appreci-

level.

which

understanding

earlier

explanations had certainly not satisfied, and which was clearly

more important

to us than

eages... and the

most important totemie

anything else..

and decided that the more

36

The elders of the

lin-

priests. .met together


.

esoteric- aspects of their religion

we

should be fully revealed to Professor Griaule.... Although

knew nothing of it at

the time, the progress of this instruction by

Ogotemmeli was being reported on


and

van Beek, 1991, have

daily to the council of elders

Subsequent enquirers such as Walter

priests' (pp. xv-xvi).

failed to find

any confirmation of this eso-

teric information.

Van Beek reports

proper

myth,

creation

neither

that the

Dogon know no
by

given

version

the

in

Ogotemmeli nor

that published by Dieterlen after Griaule's

death

work, Le Renardpale,

in their joint

965.

Many of Griaule's

revelations have been taken up by others, in particular, the

remarkable knowledge that Sirius

double

is

star,

which can only

be seen with the aid of a telescope. However, van Beek reports


that

astronomy

is

of very

unaware

that they are

little

importance

that Sirius

Nommo

that the water spirit

thought as Griaule told

house plans. These are not

all

Dogon
star.

is

and

religion

He

also states

not a central figure

is

nor

us,

in

double

is

in

Dogon

body symbolism the basis of

the points that Griaule emphasized

of which van Beek was unable to find proof. So what happened?

Recognizing thai Griaule offered

Ogotemmeli appears
new information

seasonal but regular income,

have been primed each night with

to

just as the Ke\. G.

Bargery was supplied

P.

with non-existent words for his Hausa-English Dictionary, 1984,

because he w as paying for words he had not previously collected.


Griaule organized the information he had been given into a

my

coherent form that led


describe him

in

late

colleague Ronald

conversation with

me

Cohen

to

Thomas

as 'the Saint

Aquinas of the Dogon'.


Dieterlen herself confirmed that Griaule asked leading questions at a

meeting of the Royal Anthropological Institute of

Great Britain and Ireland addressed by


had already been living

in

Dr

R. E. Bradbury,

who

Benin City for several years. She asked

him whether the people of Benin associated the right hand with

good and the

left

with

across any evidence of


edge.

evil.
it.

Bradbury

She

They won't volunteer

said that he

replied, 'Ah! but

it is

deep knowl-

You have

to press

was finding the deepest

layers of

the information.

them!' Griaule thought that he

had not come

African culture and encouraged his students to look for evidence


of the same beliefs

among other African peoples apparently using

similar methods.

It is

not surprising then

Lebeuf, 1961, found that the Fali in Northern


their houses

on

dents collect

a plan based

among

the

that, for

example,

Cameroun

on the human body. Nor did

Dogon any

laid

out

his stu-

information that conflicted

with Griaule's as they all used the same half-dozen informants.

37

the English-speaking world, however, the principal con-

Iii

was William Fagg, who began

tributor to the study of African art

by studying the well-documented collections of the British


N

luseum

in

London before making visits to Africa for study in

the

1949 to 1950, 1953, and 1958 to 1959, as well as frequent

field in

shorter visits after that.


his brother,

He worked

especially in Nigeria

where

Bernard Fagg, Government archaeologist and

later

Director of Antiquities, discovered the prehistoric sculptures of

Nok

the

we know

culture, the oldest African sculpture

outside

Egypt. William Fagg's books The Sculpture of Africa (with Eliot


Elisofon) (London, 1958); Nigerian Images (London, 1963); and
Tribes

and Forms

in African

Art (Paris,

966) as well as numerous

exhibition catalogues and, after his retirement, sales catalogues


for Christies are characterized

tation of individual pieces.

Fagg's work

Murray, the

in

first

Nigeria

mentation of the National


teacher himself,

owed

Kenneth

a debt to that of

head of the Department of Antiquities, the

whose researches

results of

by the accuracy of their documen-

36

are mostly to be found in the docu-

Museum

Murray worked

in

Lagos.

An

and art

artist

closely with practising artists

and cult groups long before he was asked to undertake


a

in

1943

survey of Nigerian antiquities, which not only led to the estab-

lishment of the Department but revealed that Nigeria was even

Congo Basin.
now almost a sine qua

richer in sculptural traditions than the

Work

in the field in Africa is

non,

and

very few writers' views on African art are taken seriously unless
they are rooted

in a field study. Increasingly, the really

valuable

writings on African art consist of detailed studies of limited


areas.

Some books

do, however,

draw

this

is

carefully

and

critically

The outstanding example

the literature based on field-work.

Adrian Gerbrands's Art as an Element of Culture,

Negro Africa (Leiden, 1957), which

utilizes

on
of

especially in

unpublished as well as

published field-work by others, and to which this book


7

is

heavily

indebted." Also based on a critical study of the literature and of

23.

(left

and right) Houseposts

carved by a Yoruba sculptor

in

Ketu,

24.

(far right) Like the

houseposts, carved doors

Benin (Dahomey) and sent as

be used

a present from the Alaketu to the

to

Ooni

of Ife in

1938. The

interlace

in

may

shrines or simply

decorate the house of an

important man. This one

Modakeke,

designs and the choice of colours

was

are characteristic of Yoruba sculp-

128 cm
(50'/2 in.)x58.5cm(23in.)

ture in Benin

Museum,
(58

in.)

(Dahomey). National

Ife.

Right:

Ht

Left:

152.5

147 cm

cm

(60

in.)

collected

National

in

Museum,

Ife.

Ife.

39

museum

collections

with Griaule

among

(who worked

the book by Michel Leiris

is

the

Dogon) and Jacqueline Delange,

African

.///(London, 1968), which has an excellent introductory survey,

though unfortunately

middle section of the book

the-

is

organized

round Marcel Mauss's tripartite division of arts of the body,


surroundings and autonomous figurative

aits of the

attempt

to discuss the

whole of African

reduces the value of this section.


able but

all

The

art

third part provides

too brief regional survey of art styles.

this section (Jacqueline

Delange)

has,

et

very

The author of

however, published

a fuller

scholarly survey of the various art styles of the continent

book Arts

The

arts.

under these headings

in

her

Peuples de I'Afrique Noire (Arts and Peoples of Black

Africa) (Paris, 1967).

Both these books are careful to avoid those

misleading generalizations about African art which

have men-

tioned earlier.

Margaret Trowell, however, has made generalizations about


African art which are of an unusual kind." She distinguishes
three types of art which she calls 'spirit-regarding', 'man-regarding'

and the

'art

of ritual display'. This, of course,

ficatory device for dealing with the material;

merit of emphasizing the function of the art

produced

it,

it

is

a classi-

has the great

the society which

in

though any one society may produce sculpture

which belongs

in

more than one

category.

The

sculptures of the

Dogon," 9 both ancestor figures and masks, are clearly directed

towards influencing the world of spirits, whether of the ancestors


or of the animals and trees round them; similarly the sculpture of
the Kalahari Ijo K) addresses itself to the spirits rather than to

man. Yet the Yoruba have masked dances, the

egungitn,

which are

54

directed both at ensuring that the ancestors will rest in peace and
at

entertaining the living; on the other hand their houseposts and

sculptured doors on palaces and houses are intended for the glorification of their

for the

owners, whereas similar carvings

honour of the

spirits

tion collected in the field

worshipped

it

there.

in

shrines are

Without informa-

would, therefore, be impossible to

distinguish the secular from the religious, the man-regarding

from the spirit-regarding.


Yet social scientists have to seek generalizations and anthropologists are attempting to provide a statistical basis tor general

statements on African
I

art,

using the techniques of the data bank.

Unfortunately, the individual studies

from which the

initial

data

are draw n are of uneven quality and are often silent about certain
aspects of the societies. In principle, correlations are sought

between

in

artistic characteristics

and other phenomena of society

23.24

whether they appear


example,

it is

to have a direct connection or not.

For

obvious that one might expect to find royal ances-

tor figures only in societies

which had

king

(for these are

not

entirely independent variables). Alvin Wolfe's statistical exami-

nation of the 'Social Structural Bases of Art'" confirms the

argument on

a priori

and

ment of art'; the


only a

pp.

1415 by showing

[of settlement] are

fixity

little

somehow

'that

correlation of art production with sodalities

lower - we

know

relatively

This approach

in Africa.

is

the initiation societies, which often

overlap traditional political boundaries are

patrons of art

both nucleation

related to the develop-

among

is in its

the principal

infancy and so far

elementary questions are being asked - Wolfe's study is

concerned principally with the amount of art produced, based on


the estimates of eighteen other scholars but

it

points the

way

to

further investigation/

Progress

is,

however, handicapped by the relatively small

numbers of detailed
this

is

studies of African sculpture in the field and

matter of great urgency, for the traditional cultural bases

of the art are being supplanted daily Fortunately, anthropologists already orientated tow aids field-work by their discipline

are

becoming increasingly aware of the importance of

art in

African societies, while art historians are not only turning

and more
in

the

to Africa as a field of study hut also

fit-Id

which, superficially

at least,

more

undertaking studies

are difficult to distinguish

from those of anthropologists. One of the most senior figures


in

Ins

the study of African art once complained to

younger colleagues was encouraging

me

anthropologists rather than art historians. Surely

understand African

The success
of Art

al.,

one of

if

we

be

are to

w e need to draw on both these disciplines.

so far of this approach

in Africa

(Visona et

art

that

his students to

may

be judged from

A History

published in 2000 by a team of art historians

2000).

It

provides an excellent survey of the art

of the whole continent giving considerable attention to the


social context of each

work, yet despite

history of the art of a limited

its title, it

can only offer a

number of societies.

41

Chapter 3

Towards a History of African Art

Drawings and Paintings on Rock


African art has often been written about as

always the same, but

if it

were

and

static

has in fact been continuously evolving,

it

although the rate of change has varied from time to time and

from place to

Radiocarbon dates coupled with oral tradi-

place.

tions suggest that the intensely naturalistic style of sculpture at

about the same length of time as bronze-casting has

Ife lasted

lasted in Benin; yet the Ife work, although

because of the individual


involved,

shows an

styles

essentially unaltered

to the early fifteenth centuries,

it is

richly varied,

of the several

sculptors

canon from the twelfth

whereas

at

Benin from the

fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries the progression

moderate naturalism to

a considerable

from

degree of stylization can

be demonstrated.

Evidence of the history of African art

is

available

from

ety of sources, which are naturally of uneven value.

a vari-

The main

contribution to our knowledge of the history of African art has

come from

archaeological explorations. Oddly enough, African

rock paintings and engravings were discovered earlier than the

European ones.

Mozambique as
72 1, and the first mention was made of Bushman paint-

Paintings of animals had been reported


early as

ings in South Africa in


totally

unknown

752,

43

in

whereas the European ones

until de Sautuola's

daughter looked up

roof of the cave of Altamira in 1878.

The engravings

Africa were first discovered by a group of French


travelling in southern

Oran

in 1847;

\\

ere

at the

of North

Army officers

they reported engravings

of elephants, lions, antelopes, bovids, ostriches, gazelles and

human beings armed with bows and

arrows.

When

the great

explorer Heinrich Barth crossed the Sahara from Tripoli to

Timbuktu

in 1850,

he found similar engravings

Discoveries have continued to accumulate, so that


that

all

in

the Fezzan.

it is

now

clear

the mountainous regions of the Sahara contain rock

engravings and paintings. Over thirty thousand examples are

known, half of them

They

are not

been employed

ij

in

in

all

theTassili."

of the same age and various criteria have

attempting to date them, both relatively and

1000 Mi les
l

1000

25.

Map showing

mentioned

in

the

places

text.

Kilometres

absolutely. Relative dating

is,

of course, more easily achieved

than absolute dating, for several types of evidence can help to


indicate succession in
ings. Styles

style overlaps

The

any given

series of

engravings or paint-

change with time and sometimes


and

is

drawing

in

one

therefore later than the underlying style.

subject-matter reflects change too:

engravings represent animals

some Saharan rock

now extinct in

rhinoceros, hippopotamus and the buffalo

the area: elephant,

known

as Bubalus

43

'}':.

im<i

J:

26. Engraving of an elephant at


the eastern Sahara, of

in

either the

Period. Ht

20 cm

(8

Bubalus or the
17.8

cm

Oke

in

Akure

State,

The patterns have been

Nigeria.

pecked

into the

hard rock and

then polished. The second motif

from the
a fish

left

and

is

its

now

increasingly called Syncerus coffer antiquus to indi-

relationship to the African buffalo. Pictures of domestic

cattle are younger,

and more recent

of animals which are

in.)

at Igbara

antiquus
cate

Cattle

(7 in.) to

27. Engraved rock of uncertain

age

"^.r:..

wmm

V:

Bardai

appears

to represent

66 cm (26

in.) long.

still

horse and the moufflon


carried by the

found

(a

still

are the representations

Sahara - the camel, the

in the

large-horned sheep).

human beings

The weapons

also change: axes, throwing-sticks,

bows, javelins, swords and finally firearms. Attempts have been

made

to use other criteria to indicate the relative age of engrav-

ings,

such as the patination of the cut: the more closely the

surface of the cut matches the weathered surface of the rock in

which

it is

engraved, the older it

a reliable indication,

is

however, for

parts of a single engraving are

thought to be. This


it

is

not

at all

has been demonstrated that

more

heavily patinated

where

they have been exposed to the sun than are the parts on the shady
side of the rock.

Attempts have been made also

to distinguish

various techniques of engraving, but since no consistent corre-

spondence

has

been

established

between

these

chronological sequence established by other evidence,

appear that several techniques were

in

and
it

the

would

simultaneous

use.

However

the Lutzes, 1996, have been able to correlate differ-

ences

the condition

in

of engravings

with environmental

changes, and thus with approximate dates, though this


valid for this individual site.

More promising

is

only

are cation ratio

dating of the rock varnish over the engraving and optical

examination of the erosion of crystals exposed by the act of


engraving. Both techniques require calibration with independently dated examples if they are to be used for absolute dating.

//

The

rock engravings have been divided on the evidence

mainly of the subject-matter, but also

hunting way of

earliest reflects a

animals as

in part

major periods, one of which

style, into four

the extinct

life,

is

on that of their
subdivided.

when only such

The
wild

Bubalus antiquus, elephant,

buffalo

rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, large antelopes and ostriches

were represented. Occasionally rams and


haps indicating a
are

drawn

detail: the
at

drawings are frequently on


the Tassili

in

humans

inches long;

armed with

are

never with spears.

and formerly

'the

art.

is

The

a large scale (a rhinoceros

are often 3.3 metres, eleven feet

This

animals

8.05 metres, twenty-six feet six

clubs, throw ing-sticks, axes

Hunter

have caused

cattle

shown, per-

cattle are

phase of the

manner, often with great attention to

in a naturalistic

Wadi Djerat

men

late transitional

is

tall);

the

and bows, but

usually called the Bubalus Period,

Period', but the

this latter

term

drawings of rams and


abandoned. However

to be

Muzzolini, 1986, has shown that these extinct animals lingered

on quite
Period

in

and he questions the existence of the Bubalus

late,

the Central Sahara, where-

engravings are contemporary with the

lie

suggests that these

Cattle Period'paintings.

The Bubalus Periodic followed by the Cattle (or Pastoralist)


Period. The Bubalus antiquus is no longer represented, but the
other wild animals continue to be drawn as well as
rather less naturalistic

less attention

cattle.

The

is

paid to details,

hooves for example are often omitted; the pose

is

rather

horns are usually represented

perspective',

style

is

frontally,

when

twisted

in

is

drawn

size than the earlier ones,

The next, the Horse Period,

The earliest

is

is

stiff;

in profile.

cm and 20 cm (eighteen inches and


The men are now armed with bows

between forty-six

ally

in

the rest of the animal

engravings are smaller

in length.

the
i.e.

The

mostly

four feet)

subdivided into three phases.

the Chariot Sub-Period.

The elephant

is

occasion-

represented, but not the other large pachyderms and

large antelopes; domestic cattle continue, and moufflons and

domesticated dogs are common.

The style becomes

increasingly

conventionalized: the earliest chariots are well drawn, with a


single shaft, and a horse on either side; later with increasing stylization the wheels

and shaft alone are represented, while the

human figures are reduced to two isosceles triangles set apex to


apex. The engravings are still smaller: most are between 25
and 50 cm (ten and twenty inches).

A few bows are found but new

weapons are characteristic: spears and round


pictures

shields, while later

show a dagger hanging from the forearm.


45

V
V

\V
*

jfeL

28. Faceless (aniconic) figure


at Tin Teferiest, Tassili.

Archaic

Period. Smaller figures in a related

appear

style

on

it,

to

be superimposed

but Lajoux says

it

is

complicates the establishment


of the stylistic

sequence

studies of rock
in this style in

art.

the Acacus, the

Libyan extension of the

impossible to determine which

was covered by

was

to the fifth

painted

first.

of establishing

The

difficulty

such relationships

Ht

Tassili,

a deposit dated

millennium bc

99 cm (39

Id

in all

A painting

in.)

The Horseman Sub-Period


driving

represented.
29. Stone figure at Eshure,
Ekiti,

North-eastern Yorubaland.

The trunk

is

at

Ife,

to

found on stone sculptures

which the group

sculptures at Eshure
related.

It

is

two

chariots

are

still

The same animals are drawn in a 'semi-naturalistic'


The

triangles.

size

remains unchanged; spear, round shield

is

and knife continue, while bows are also represented, but the
choice of weapons seems to reflect local preferences in different
areas. In all areas,

dresses,

time

in.)

in

and Libyco-Berber written characters appear

at this

the engravings of the central Sahara.

The Horse and Camel Sub-Period reflects

they are several centuries older.

(42

however, the warriors wear plumed head-

probably

unlikely that these

century ad and possible that

Ht

few

whereas the human figures continue to be schematized as

of

are later than the fourteenth

107 cm

covered with

spiral-headed iron nails similar


to those

style

change from horse-

reflects the

though

horse-riding,

to

the introduction of

The same animals


become increasingly rare. The

the camel, though the horse continues in use.


as before are

shown, but

style coarsens,
still

found.

cattle

though some

The drawings

one cm (seven

fine semi-naturalistic

drawings are

are of smaller size: eighteen to forty-

to sixteen inches).

The same weapons continue to

be represented, as do the plumed head-dresses.

The Camel Periodic the


not only

is

Latest,

and also the current one, for

the camel the principal domestic- animal in the Sahara,

owners

but

its

ing.

The other animals shown

still

represent

it

both by engraving and by paint-

are the present-day inhabitants of

humped

the area: antelopes, oryx, gazelles, moufflons, ostrich,


cattle (zebu)

and goats. The horse

is

occasionally found,

still

especially in Mauritania, fitted with an Aral) type of saddle with

stirrups

The style

is

highly schematic; the double triangle form

of human figure gives way to even simpler linear forms, and the

draw ings arc smaller than


to eight inches).
it is

later

first

twenty

ever, a mere- fifteen to

the spear

supplemented by

This general
in

At

the-

is

the only

cm

(six

weapon shown, but

sword and firearms.

scheme of development serves

as a basic guide

studying the paintings, most of which were found after this

scheme was constructed.

A more detailed

will be required to relate together the

framework, however,

more numerous

styles of

paintings that can be distinguished.

Paintings are less widely distributed than engravings, for

they need smooth surfaces, and to survive

at all

they must be

sheltered from the elements. Paintings so protected have been

found on the Ennedi Plateau, the Jebel Uweinat, the Hoggar,


Tibesti, parts of Mauritania, but
Tassili. Until

1957,

most spectacularly

Henri Lhote's expedition to the Tassili

most of the paintings had appeared

categories as the engravings.

to

fit

in

in the

1956 to

into the

The immense numbers

same

of paint-

ings revealed there by this and succeeding expeditions have

47

forced sour- reassessment.

numbers,
ously

in artistic

known

The

Tassili paintings surpass in

quality and in variety of styles

paintings

been distinguished,

in

many

all

the previ-

the Sahara. At least thirty styles have

of which can be grouped within the

three major divisions of cattle, horse, and camel; of the remain-

though some may be contemporary with the Bubalus Period

der,

the majority seem to be intermediate between this and the Cattle


(or Pastoralist) Period. In this,

sometimes known

as the Archaic

Period there was considerable use of symbols, and also masks are
represented which appear to resemble West African ones of the
present time.
the earliest
first

It

has been suggested that this style represents

known

the head

art

by black Africans.

featureless, as

is

it

is

It is

for

interesting that at

example on

a stone

sculpture from Eshure in Yorubaland in Nigeria; the masked figures are

later.

Stone implements abound


distribution

map

all

over the Sahara - the detailed

suggests that whenever a traveller has been

forced to halt their progress and descend from their vehicle to

attend to a call of nature, archaeological artefacts have been


found.
past,

The whole

area appears to have been populated in the

with a sequence of cultures from the relatively

uncommon

pebble tools of the earliest Old Stone Age, through abundant

examples of the hand-axes of the Chelles-Acheul complex,


apparently

made by

a variety of

Homo

Atlanthropus mauritanicus Arambourg.

with

its

tanged

flint flakes (the

erectus originally called

The

Aterian complex

African representative of the

Levallois-Mousterian of the Middle Old Stone Age)

is

less

abun-

dant and has a more northerly distribution perhaps as a result


of drier climatic conditions. There are no Upper Old Stone
industries represented; apparently the Sahara

human

Age

was too dry

for

occupation, for fossil sand-dunes have been found. There

follows a sudden reoccupation by large

made pottery (already in

numbers of people who

the tenth millennium BC), used polished

stone axes and hunted with stone-tipped arrows. In the southern

Sahara they often lived by fishing and hunting hippopotamus;


skeletal

remains suggest that they were Negroes. In some parts,

cattle-raising

became the mainstay of the economy. The paint-

ings themselves give us the

excavation

in

the Sahara

is

most information about


difficult,

this, for

though not impossible,

because of the lack of water, and cattle bones have been excavated

from

occupation

deposits

desiccation set in and settlements

of the

moved

river valleys before being finally abandoned.

period.

Gradually

close to lakes and into

masked dancer

30. Figure of a
at

Inaouanrhat,

Tassili.

of

masks alone

Tassili sites.

It

There

such figures and

are paintings of

several of the

in

is

natural to

wonder

whether

this indicates that the

painters

were the ancestors

some

of the

of

mask-using peoples

of the present day,

though

attempts to suggest specific


parallels

between the paintings

and modern masks are not


convincing. Ht

c.

79 cm (31

in.)

How

does this archaeological sequence correspond to the

The major

successive phases of the art?

demonstrating

positive connection

difficulty

is

that of

hetween any one style of

painting on the wall of a rock shelter and the implements or

radiocarbon date from any one phase of occupation. Very few


sites

have been excavated; when large numbers of sites have been

dug we may be able to detect regular correlations of archaeological industries

with particular art styles, and by radiocarbon

dating of the charcoal or bones found with the industries

we may

date the art styles.

At present, however, we must content ourselves with


general indications.

The

earliest radiocarbon date for

occupation in the Tassili


Titerast-n'-Elias no. 5 but

is

few

human

5450 300 BC (Gif-290) from

it is

not yet certain that the earliest

49

31. Camel, a small painting

from the
art.

late period of Tassili

Ouan Bender.

paintings are as old as

this.

L'Abri Lancusi

Libya has produced a date

in

cattle

bones while Hassi Meniet,

Tassili, has

in the

in the late 5th


in the

provided a date of 3460

Tadrart Acacus

millennium BC with

Hoggar, just south of the

300 BC (Sa-59) for a deposit

which contained bones of the buffalo Bubalus antiquus and of


domestic

cattle.

The

existence side by side of the wild and

domestic animals, representations of which have been taken as


indicators of the different successive phases of the rock art, sug-

gests that there

was probably a transitional phase, about the time

indicated by the radiocarbon dates,

when

wild animals were

still

hunted although the people owned domestic cattle.


Sites in the Tassili

have produced a series of dates running

from the mid-fourth to the early third millennium

which

BC,

appear to correspond to the period of the cattle paintings. The


site of
tle

Titerast-n'-Elias no.

3, for

example, had paintings of cat-

on the walls and there were bones of cattle round the hearth

which produced the date of 26 10 250 BC(Gif-228

These dated

levels

do not overlap the paintings on the

and so cannot be directly correlated with them.


been made to date the paint
\\

as a

itself,

from

sample of whitish paint said to be

ing other paintings at Initinen no.

JO

8.

its

One

attempt

lias

organic content This

'of animal origin'

The

walls,

cover-

resulting radiocarbon

date of 300

(Gif-289) was considered to be

200 BC

young. This type of test can rarely be made since


painting

itself. It will

much

too

destroys the

it

be necessary to wait until there are enough

dates to handle statistically and thus allow reasonable correla-

made with

tions to be

the succession of art styles. 46

At present only a tentative outline can be drawn. The earliest


human occupation of the Tassili appears to have been in the midsixth millennium BC, and the practice of painting

begun not long afterwards. Once begun,


ued into the

first

millennium

seems

to

have

it

seems to have contin-

BC. In the

Hoggar, as we have

mentioned, Bubalus antiquus bones have been dated

in

the middle

may be
Where the round-headed

of the fourth millennium BC, so the Bubalus engravings

supposed to have lasted as

late as this.

figures occur alone in shelters they are reported to be associated

with crude axes but never with pottery or grindstones, which

commonly associated with the Cattle Period


The round-headed figures, therefore, may well be

are found very


paintings.

contemporary with the Bubalus seri*

The cattle

paintings portray scenes of pastoral

life,

and with

then) are found pottery, polished stone axes, grindstones and

arrowheads, as well as the hones of

cattle,

sheep and goats.

Radiocarbon dates indicate a commencement of the period about

4O00

bc;

it

appears to end with the arrival of horsemen, which

can be dated to about

from the

also

\\

ritings

200 BC on evidence obtained in Kgypt,and


ofStrabo and

[erodotus, for these paint-

ings seem to reflect Cretan influence not only in the style of the

drawings (such

as the

weapons too are Cretan.

came

Sea'

as allies of the

Hying gallop of the horses)* but the


It

was from Crete

that the 'People of the

Libyans of Cyrenaica to attack Egypt

at

this time.

In the next

few centuries, the horse and war chariot carried

the conquering Libyans across the greater part of the Sahara,

though the stylized drawings suggest that the indigenous


artists

never got possession of these vehicles. Increasing desic-

cation

made

life

more and more

difficult for

horse-owners but

chariots continued to be represented right up to the declining

phase of engravings showing horses.


istic

The camel is the character-

subject of the latest phase of the Saharan rock art, but the

date of its introduction

is still

disputed.

It

was certainly known

by Roman times, and may have been introduced about 700 BC.
Painting and engraving appear to
different traditions, for not a single

reflect, in

engraving

is

part at least,

found on

of the Cattle Period in the Tassili although there

is

sites

plenty of

51

Human

suitable rock.

beings arc frequent

in

paintings, whereas

commonly

they arc rarely engraved; moreover paintings are

compositions of people and/or animals shown

in

meaningful

relationships to each other, whereas the engravings almost


alw ays represent isolated subjects.

It is

natural to inter that these

different traditions reflect differences of population. Lhote** sug-

gests that the tradition of painting in the Cattle Period was

introduced by pastoralists,

who brought cattle to an earlier pop-

ulation of hunters whose art form was engraving. Yet the

engravings of the Bubalns Period (no paintings of this period are

known)

are restricted to three widely separated areas

Oran, the Tassili and the Fezzan. Variations


resented

these

in

three

engravings may represent a


religious

different

reflect

suggest

areas

common

- southern

the subjects rep-

in

although

that

the

artistic tradition, they

Lhote suggests that these

ideas.

engravings were made by people of white

engraved plaque excavated from

race,

Capsian layer

in

since an

southern

Tunisia shows a figure in a style resembling that of figures

in

southern Oran, and the Capsian seems to have been developed by


people related to the European

The

paintings of

men

Cro-Magnon

type.

with round heads Lhote considers to

be later than the Bubalus Period engravings, and to be the work


of black Africans, as also must be the paintings of the masks,

which remind us

in

a general

Africa south of the Sahara.

from the

way of masks

still

used

in

No skeletons have yet been excavated

though there are many graves awaiting the

Tassili,

archaeologist.

The
art;

painters of the cattle often portray themselves in their

with copper-coloured skin and straight


cattle-herding Fulani

like the

herds east and west from


Fulani language

is

hair,

who nowadays

Cameroun Grasslands

to Senegal.

considered to have developed

Senegal Valley and the Fouta Toro,

they look very

travel with their

in

and certainly the history of

the people can be traced back to the eighth century \n


area.

It is

The

the Middle

in this

tempting to assume that the nomadic pastoral Fulani

painted the cattle scenes in the Tassili, but the weight of the

evidence

more

at

detailed

present

is

not

sufficient

to

prove

this.

With

knowledge of the movements of people, and the

mechanisms by which one language replaces another, perhaps

we

shall

one day be able

to

make

this assertion

once again with

confidence.

To

the north of the Sahara, art objects have been found of

even earlier dates.

The horn

of

terracotta moufflon at

Tamar

32.

Herdsman and cattle at Tin


The lower cow

Tazarift, Tassili.

wears a collar round


has a forked object

neck and

its

in its

mouth.

Cattle or Pastoralist Period.

Figures in this series of paintings

vary between

and 35.5

cm

5.3

(14

cm

(6

in.) in

in.)

height.

Hat on the eastern coast of Algeria has been radiocarbon dated


while engraved stones representing perhaps

to about 18,000 BC,

an elephant and the horns of


Taforalt

in

There

moufflon were excavated

Morocco, above a layer dated to about


is

relatively little rock art in

hist be regarded for the present as a

Saharan
tion

art. It

was

(),()()()

at

BC.

West Africa and

it

can

southwards extension of the

here, however, that the interesting connec-

was demonstrated between rock paintings, rock gongs, rock

slides

and

initiation rites.

Subsequentlv

it

was discovered that

rock gongs and rock slides were widely distributed


well as Africa and that the

Stone Age times.

"'

in

Europe

complex might well go back

This investigation

is still

as

into Late

being continued by

Catherine Fagg, 1997.

Both engravings and paintings are found


Africa, especially in the

South and the East.

covery was made in the Apollo

south-western Namibia.

"

1 1

in

other parts of

A most exciting dis-

Cave in the Huns Mountains in

Here seven small

slabs of rock, only

53

cm

fifteen

were excavated. They bore paintThe site has been very thoroughly dated

(six inches) across,

ings of stylized animals.

by a suite of 39 radiocarbon

around

'2.5,500 to

industry.

dates, three

of which put the slabs

27,500 years ago, with a Middle Old Stone Age

These paintings are on loose slabs of stone, not on cave

walls, and arc perhaps to be regarded as

art mobilier. In

Europe,

both rock paintings and art mobilier carved on bone and ivory are

found from about 30,000 years ago. There has been

far

more

exploration in the European caves than in those of Namibia.


highly unlikely to chance upon the earliest occurrence

is

area as little explored as Namibia, so

it

may

One
an

in

well be that art

as old in Africa as

anywhere

humankind appears

to have originated in Africa,

is

else in the world. Indeed, since


it

may

well be

that art, too, originated there.


In the southern part of the continent engravings and paint-

ings are

commonly referred

to as

written accounts describing

'Bushman' art because we have

Bushman

painters in the late eigh-

teenth and nineteenth centuries. For example, in 1869 Stow

described the painter !Gcu-wa,

who wore two

or three horn

paint-pots round his waist, and mentions another

some years

killed

from

earlier,

who wore

who had been

ten horn pots suspended

his belt, each containing a different colour of paint.

The

practice of painting seems to have died out soon afterwards, and

attempts to obtain interpretations of rock paintings from

Bushmen from

the late nineteenth century

onward have pro-

duced only relatively superficial interpretations. More recently


attempts have been
recorded

Bushman

made to interpret the paintings in

rain clouds, and the eland

is

seen as a

moon symbol. Certainly

rarity of pictures of the springbok, the favourite

Bushmen, suggests

the light of

legends"': elephants have been identified as

that the art

is

the

quarry of the

not simply a form of hunting

magic. In the 1970s Patricia Vinnicombe showed that the most

commonly represented animal

varied from place to place with-

out apparent reference to variations


choice

made by

in

the local fauna, clearly a

different people in different places. In the 1980s

David Lewis-Williams, drawing on records of Bushman


recorded

in

beliefs

the 19th century and comparing them to informa-

tion collected in the 20th century, concluded that the subjects

painted on the rocks represented images induced in certain individuals

who went

into a trance during

communal

dances. This

interpretation has been applied to the rock art of the whole

of southern Africa with consistent results - see for example

Peter Garlake, 1995, on the rock art of Zimbabwe. However, not

everyone has been convinced. There

a very interesting series

is

of lively exchanges between Lewis-Williams and


in

Anne Solomon

The South African Archaeological Bulletin, volumes

55,

2000 - Solomon believes

myths are

that the

52, 1997, to
sufficient to

explain the art, without any need to invoke shamanism and

same journal

trances, while H. Tributsch, writing in the

in

2000

points out the similarity of many of the images to those produced

by mirages. Paul Bahn, 1996, pp. 45-46, writing of rock art


general, not just in Africa, points out

changed over time,

how

in

the interpretation has

step with contemporaneous culture, from

in

invoking magical power to help

in

hunting, through sexual sym-

bolism to his conclusion that 'the currently fashionable theory


that rock art consists largely of trance
direct legacy of the

attendant interest

imagery seems to be the

drug culture of the 1960s and 1970s, with

its

mysticism and shamanism, hallucinogens,

in

altered states of consciousness, and so forth, culminating in the

massive literature of the "NeM Age/"

That the Bushmen made some of this


forced into the inhospitable Kalahari
less likely;

it all is

indeed

is

e\

were

art before they

ident That they made

some of the latest paintings and engrav-

ings seem to have been


I

It

low far back the

made by Bantu-speaking peoples.


art goes, however, has been much disputed.

has been suggested that

it

contemporary with the eastern

is

Spanish rock paintings which

somewhat resembles

it

these are considered to be of the

cry end

of the

in style;

Old Stone Age or

of the Middle Stone Age; the material culture of their makers,

however, seems

although

at

older than the earliest North African ones.

Apollo

The

gins.

from North Africa,

be largely derived

to

present the surviving Spanish paintings seem to be

Cave show
first

that

Bushman'

date obtained was

The discoveries in the


much earlier ori-

art has

radiocarbon date from

charcoal associated with ochre which the

Abbe

Breuil claimed

without any direct evidence had been used for making the paint-

Windhoek region of
The Chifubwa stream shelter in

ings on the walls of Phillipp Cave in the

Namibia: 1418 200 BC (C-9 1

Zambia
lines,

is

).

covered with highly schematic engravings of parallel

of inverted U's with a line

down

the centre and

some traces

of paint: only a single stone industry, called Nachikufan

found

in the deposit,

which was covered with

hid the engravings: the radiocarbon date


(C-663). Dates for Nachikufan

5590 600 BC (Y-624) up to

able dates for the Nachikufan

5 10

at

sterile

I,

was

sand which

was 4357 250 BC

Nachikufu

itself

run from

200 BC (Y-623). All the avail-

complex are erratically distributed


55

we cannot be

so that

sure that the Chifubwa stream shelter

\\

as

decorated as early as the radiocarbon date indicated, especially as

Nakapapula, Serenje, Zambia

at

date of AD 770

100 (Gxe-

535) was obtained for a very late Nachikufan stone industry

mixed with pottery

in a

rock shelter, the walls of which had natu-

painting overlain by schematic

ralistic

'

motif's.

Occasionally slabs of rock have cracked off the cave walls,


taking part of

Stone Age N.
granite,

J.

painting with them. In deposits of the Later

Walker recovered scores of small fragments of

bearing traces of paint, that had spalled off the walls

still

of a painted cave in the Matopo Hills

Western Zimbabwe.

in

Charcoal found with them was dated by radiocarbon from


13,000 to 5,000 years ago. Occupation of other painted caves

in

Zimbabwe ceased between around 8,500 and 6,000 years ago.


The subjects of the Zimbabwe paintings tend to confirm that the
art

of considerable age since domesticated animals are very

is

rarely represented, and then only sheep, which appear to have

been introduced more than 2,000 years ago. Thus we may regard
it

as certain that this art in southern Africa

antiquity,

and we must reject the claim that

to the last

two

essentially of a

The
Late Stone Age
centuries.

art

and the

type, but so

is

of considerable

it is all

to be dated

life it

depicts are

was the Bushman

economy itself.
It is

both

particularly remarkable that the

most striking similarity

and subject should be between the art

in style

extremes of the geographical distribution

at the

- the eastern Spanish

paintings and the southern African ones. That the other rock

show

arts

they

lie

little

likeness to either of these traditions, although

between them, suggests that no connection

conclusion which

exists, a

be strengthened by the fact that some

may

Australian rock paintings are comparable to both.

The fauna of southern Africa, unlike that of North

Africa, has

been unchanged since the middle of the Upper Pleistocene.

cannot use the represented animals to establish

s<

chronology

\\

for

the paintings, with the exception, however, of the cattle and fat-

which cannot antedate the

tailed sheep,

relatively recent arrival

of the pastoral Bantu-speakers.


In

South Africa the

ings, often

earliest art consists

scarcely visible.

The

earliest

of simple engrav-

paintings too have

weathered away, leaving only light animal-shaped silhouettes on


the rock.
ness;

The early paintings are characterized by their peaceful-

the

art

recognizably

56

is

moreorless

modern

naturalistic

subject-matter.

The

and

there

is

no

later paintings are

less carefully

executed and include elaborate scenes of cere-

monies, raids and battles. In the early phase of this period the
different populations

seem

to be co-existing peacefully, but the

late phase, the paintings of which are mostly concentrated round

the south-eastern part of South Africa, reflects a period of con-

stant struggle.

is

It

usually possible to distinguish

(short stature, painted in yellow, red or

bows and arrows), Bantu

(tall stature,

Bushmen

brown and carrying

usually painted in black

with ornaments on the arms and legs and armed with spears and

and Europeans (recognizable by their characteristic

shields)

clothing, and often

Many
art.

shown with guns and

horses).

allegedly foreign influences have been claimed in the

The Abbe

Breuil in particular interpreted

some

subjects as

Sumerians or Egyptians, yet none of these suggestions can be

White Lady of the Brandbe

substantiated. Breuil's famous

certainly a male figure covered with white paint or eggshell

beads
in

and paintings of figures wearing Sumerian cloaks' are

wearing fringed karosses

fact

like

Bushmen and BaSotho. Moreover,

those of the mountain

despite the large

of excavation which has been carried out

in

amount

southern Africa,

no intrusive Mediterranean or Near Eastern artefacts have


been found.

The

great richness of these art forms

stimulated

southern Africa has

great deal of study, and new sites are continually

being discovered, as the pages of the South African Archaeological


Bulletin bear witness. Different traditions prevail in different

areas and

numerous

In some- areas

it

local style

sequences have been described.

many

has been claimed that as

as seventeen

styles could be placed in order of time by their regular occur-

rence

in

the same- overlapping relationships,

shown

detailed and extensive studies have

are not consistent.

'

though more

that these sequences

Indeed, W'illcox has pointed out that in

the Drakensberg, although

monochrome

bichrome, and both precede polychrome, the


continues alongside the younger on

paintings precede

monochrome

style

The peak of achievement in Bushman

painting was undoubt-

edly in the polychrome paintings, which have a very restricted


distribution in the south-east of South Africa. In this area

main periods are distinguished, the pre- and post-Bantu,


before and after the early seventeenth century.

two
i.e.

The polychrome

paintings belong either just before or just after this divide; the

very limited distribution suggests that the style was developed


after the eastern

Bushmen were

restricted to this area by the

57

33. Shaded polychrome


paintings of rooi rhebok at the

Cavern, Site

1.

Drakensberg,

The doe on the left


turns her head to lick her thigh
South

Africa.

while the buck


to get up.

than 5

cm

is

apparently about

Each painting

is

less

(2 in.) long.

34. The so-called 'White Lady


of the Brandberg', Tsisab Gorge,

Namibia,

is

a dark-skinned male

figure covered with white paint

or ostrich egg-shell beads.

Htc.

38cm(15in.)

58

35. Polychrome painting of a


disguised

Bushman hunting

incoming Bantu. These paintings show both deliberate compogroups

of

sition

of

and

figures

an

understanding

of

ostriches at Witteberge, Herschel,

Cape

Province, South Africa.

W. 66

cm

(26

and Bleek)

in.) (After

Stow

foreshortening. Sometimes

mal heads.

It

human

figures are

shown with

ani-

has been suggested that these represent shamans

or spirits of the dead, but the hunting of animals by means of

such disguises

elsewhere

is

well documented

in Africa.

One

among

the

Bushmen and

Bushman

painting indeed shows a

disguised as an ostrich but carrying his

bow

in his

hand, while

other drawings hunters are shown with animal heads, pre-

in

sumably head-dresses. The success of such disguises, which


permitted the hunter to get close to his prey,

aged masked dancing for


conjecture."

may have encour-

ritual purposes, but that

However Garlake

points out that in

is

mere

Zimbabwe

well-drawn human figures with animal heads are not armed but

may be dancing in animal skins.


The rock art of eastern Africa

is

less well

known

than that

of the other areas. Thousands of sites have been located

in

Tanzania, where a general sequence has been established, begin-

ning with animals painted as monochrome silhouettes; followed

by outlines which show an increasing attention

to detail; then

comes a phase of degeneration, the pose becoming stitfer and the


outlines thick.

Human

figures appear mostly in the later phases,

while geometric designs, similar to examples


early in the sequence. All the
sites)

in

Uganda, occur

art (from only sixteen

seems not to be older than the beginning of the Christian

era; but
eral

Ugandan

it

seems

centuries

likely that the

if

Tanzanian sequence eo\ ers sev-

not millennia.

From Zambia northwards,

through Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia, the


is

latest

phase

ofwhite figures crudely daubed over the others. These are cer-

tainly quite recent;

motorcar.

60

one example

in

Zambia even represents

One other example of rock


cave of

Mbafu

in

the

art deserves to be mentioned, the

Lower Congo. This

Portuguese influence was strong from the

and where the

an area where

is

late fifteenth

crucifix, locally cast in bronze, has

power symbol used by

chiefs

when they

sit in

(rudely executed drawings on the cave walls

century

become

judgment. The

show among other

motifs a medal with a crucifix, a shield-shaped design with a

cross and a

XP

motif, but of greatest interest

ures, the central

on

a platform

one of which wears

the consecration of

Afonso I of the BaKongo, as the

first

Don

and stands

Henrique, son of King


8.

the rock art of Africa covers a period of about thirty

to the present day.


in

group of fig-

Congolese bishop in 151

thousand years, and shows us the changing

do

bearing a Latin cross. These motifs seem likely to

commemorate
Thus

is

a pectoral cross

There

placing this art on

is

much more

life

of the people up

for the archaeologist to

firm chronological basis.

36. European influence on the

Lower Congo

is

reflected in this

elephant tusk carved by a

BaKongo
in

to represent a

European dress,

man

sitting

above

woman. Manchester
Museum (Forrester- Warden
collection). L. 43.5 cm (17y8 in.)
a kneeling

37. Painting on a cave wall at

Mbafu which probably represents


Don Henrique, the first Congolese
bishop

who was consecrated


cm (13 in.)

in

1518. Ht 33

61

38. (opposite) Detail of the figure


of a

woman

holding a fan (now

bent) in her

hand. This

left

of the largest

is

which

it

is

It is

one

bronze castings ever

made in Africa, and was kept in


the Nupe village on Jebba Island,
to

Ancient Sculpture

art

interesting to note that the general distribution of the rock

we have been discussing is, for the most part, outside the area

of distribution of sculpture.

It

seems

likely that these artists

of the open savannas expressed themselves

in paint

and

line,

said to have been

brought from Idah by their great

whereas the peoples of the West African forests and woodlands

founder hero Tsoede

and of the Congo Basin preferred sculptural expression. While it

in

sixteenth century. Ht

the early

115.5cm
is

(A5V2

possible that the moister climate

may have destroyed

the evi-

in.)

dence of painting, there are so very few engravings on rock that


it

seems probable that both forms of rock

absent. Sculptures in stone are

still

art

paintings, they are difficult to date directly."

however, docs not survive long


preserved, so

we

in

39.

One

of a

in

group

of cast

if not

Wood

sculpture,

carefully and deliberately

studying the early history of African sculpture

are forced to rely on materials which endure neglect

chiefly terracotta

vessels

were practically

lying around and, like the

and copper alloys (bronze and brass castings).

bronze

animal form collected

among the Jukun by Arnold


Rubin. These appear to be of
ancient manufacture and had

been dug up between Wakuri

and Bantaji about 1940. National

Museum, Lagos.

L. c.

15.3

cm

(6 in.)

40. A

number

of bronze-casting

traditions await investigation in

hippopotamus

is

group of pieces thought

to

Nigeria. This
of a

have been found


in

at Ikot

Enyong Division

River State.

Two

one

Ndemeno

of the Cross

related pieces

have been dated to around the

second quarter of the nineteenth


century.

Fleming and Nicklin,

1977. National Museum, Oron.

L 21.5cm(8 /2
1

in.)

63

27

Terracotta sculptures have been found in

many

parts of Africa,

usually as isolated finds not apparently representing a continu-

ous tradition, but

in

West

.Africa

we have been

fortunate in

recovering evidence of two important sculptural traditions

which allow us to observe the development of sculpture over

period of two and a half millennia.

:*3:

z-s-

Z'~'5~

Z-"

z~-s :" :.is:

-r

:.

'r

\?r

-;

-:

.'.i>
Z-5

The earliest sculptural tradition outside of Egypt is found in


Nigeria. Terracotta sculptures, often on a large scale, of human

-.-

~g rzcce

="C T<~

'ZV5

:--.:-

:.-:ci

*.

I". Z_

'

and animal figures have been found, widely distributed


northern Nigeria. Such sculptures

first

came

c.

to light in tin-

mines near the village of Nok in Zaria Province in Kaduna State.


5.."-

".=;

Z'-'r

t .'f~

"f - _~~i~2"
2-

.'.

.-

Z"
i:L

Z"
5

Vjjc---

04

;".

-lirmj

Z:.Z

I-

"'Z_5"

f'5

r E-f'"

5.5

I"

ZS "Z'.-C

":"

:~
'

ZZ.Z

5 I'Zf

i-r''

Z r-Zf
5

"Z-~rZZ

Zi

'

E'f-

:"

"f

"ZZiV' Z"~_.

with finely polished stone axes and the remains of an iron-work-

~"
3

'

50 (Y-474) from the layer in which the sculptures lay, and a

~'z

-: :~

200

ing industry. Radiocarbon dates from this deposi

Z'-Z

T'f 'Zwf'" :.:'

-Z'-C'Z-

Here the sculptures were found in water-lain deposits, mixed up

z"

_Zv,f

'

Z"
'

"f

of dates, the latest of which was 925 70 BC

from the

"
5

:~

layer beneath the sculptures.

More recently an occupation site of

the culture has been found at Taruga, where there had been an

t I

"

43

Fragment

of the face of a

tubular head in terracotta from

Tonga Nok, northern Nigeria.


Only the nose and mouth remain.

The treatment

of the

mouth as

which

projecting block in

details

are incised appears to reflect

the existence of a wood-carving


tradition in the area

during the

last

four or five centuries bc. National

Museum,

Jos. Ht

16 cm

(6'/4 in.)

extensive iron-working industry, for ten furnaces were found.

Charcoal sealed

in

the base of one of them by iron slag gave a date

which Nok

of 300 loo BC (1-3400) while the occupation layer

in

terracotta sculptures were found yielded dates of

440 140 BC

(1-2960) and 280 120 BC (1-1459).

a different

is

large

number of thermo-

show the sculptures

Luminescence dates

approximately 500 BC and


Terracotta

\i>

a plastic

to

medium

of sculpture, which calls for

method of handling from wood. Wood

is

The

is

carved by

mass -a subtractive technique usually built up a little at a time - an addi-

removing pieces from the


whereas terracotta

between

date

500.

initial

medium

more
wood carving tends
towards cubistic representation. A few of the Nok sculptures
show basic forms which would be more expected in wood: the
mouth or beard forms a block projecting from the face, incised
lines often mark the teeth and the edges of the lip. It appears that
tive technique.

plastic

of clay appears to be

responsive to delicacy of treatment, whereas

the

Nok

wood

sculptures in terracotta are derived from a tradition of

sculpture which

is

unknown

such antiquity has been preserved

how

far

to us since

no carved wood of

in the area,

nor can we guess

back such a tradition might go, though

it is

natural

65

44. Terracotta head from a figure

found during tin-mining

at

Nok,

northern Nigeria. The eyes are


represented
style.
hair,

The

in

characteristic

the pendent locks, and the

hair-band are paralleled


later

Nok

rings representing the

sculptures from

Museum,

Jos. Ht

21

of

the

National

cm

(8

45. (opposite) Dancer

Gelede society

in

Ife.

/. in.)

of the

Meko

in

western

Yorubaland. The dances are


intended to placate the witches
in

the

community by

entertaining

them. The superstructures add


to the

entertainment value of

the mask: this one represents a

couple riding a motorcycle. The


eye of the mask resembles those

on Nok sculptures; the pierced


pupil

is

not intended for looking

through, as can be seen, for the

dancer's face

is

visible

below the

mask. The colourful costume

makes

effective

use of imported

plastic materials.

to

wonder whether some of the

reflect

which are

Tassili paintings,

thought to represent masks and masked

might not

figures,

such an ancient tradition.

The Nok

sculptures vary in size from about ten

inches) up to 120

cm (four feet) or more.

It is difficult

cm

(four

to establish

the exact size of the larger pieces since they only survive incomplete.

We

thirty-five

have, for example, a head from

cm

of 1 20 cm (four feet) even

if the

from the ground

height of not less than


the

human

is

and cars placed

in scale; the

20 cm (four feet). The limbs and bodies of

or conical

in a

in

The human head

is

way as tubes

usually cylin-

form, with an elaborate hair-style

great variety of positions.

The lips, ears, nosThe eye is

and the pupils of the eyes are usually pierced.

represented as a segment of a sphere, with the upper


horizontal, the lower

lid

forming

segment of

occasionally approximates to a triangle.

66

is

length

almost sixty cm (two feet)

figures are usually treated in a simplified

drical, spherical,

which

full

to the hips, again suggesting an overall

covered with strings of beads.

trils

itself

head was exaggerated

lower part of a figure from Kuchamfa


tall

Nok

(fourteen inches) in height, implying a

lid

usually

a circle,

which

The sweep of the curve of

67

the lower

Lid

is

counterbalanced, often very precisely,

curve of the eyebrow.

The form

of the eye

is

the

in

very similar to that

on modern Yoruba gelede masks, where the piercing of the pupil


not a functional one, for the mask

stylistic feature,

is a

is

worn on

top of the head like a cap and the wearer looks out from between
the clothing below the mask, as
is

may be seen in

15.

///.

So far there

no evidence of this particular feature in the intervening period,

may be an example of convergence.


The human figures from Nok are represented

so this

manner whereas the animal

in a stylized

figures are remarkably naturalistic,

although both share the same kind of eye. Himmelheber was told

by

that

modern Guro carver


it

human

that he never carved a

face so

resembled any individual for fear of being accused of

witchcraft; very possibly a similar idea accounts for the stylized

treatment of human beings by the

Nok

sculptors, for they

were

clearly capable of naturalistic sculpture, as the animal figures

more or

show. This same contrast between

animals and highly stylized

human

figures

less naturalistic
is

found

the

in

Franco-Cantabrian rock art of the Upper Old Stone Age, where


too

may reflect a similar fear of witchcraft accusations.


Nok sculpture seems to represent a seminal stage in

it

the cul-

West Africa for, although we cannot prove a


we find that the tubular head form set at an angle on
a tubular neck occurs also among the undated stone sculptures at
Esie," among the sixteenth-century Afro-Portuguese ivories
carved at Sherbro, and among the nomoli figures of Sierra
tural history of

connection,

6fi

Leone

(pp.

92-93). H7 Again,

commonly found
legs - are seen in

in

the

proportions of the body

African sculpture

the small

Nok

figures

large head and short

which have survived

in

reasonably complete condition.


Several details of dress and of hair-style represented in the

Nok

sculptures are to be found to this day

groups of the Nigerian Plateau.


close to the area of the

Nok

among

the small

few groups now living

culture were

making

in

or

terracotta

sculpture until very recently, for example the Tiv, the Dakakari

and the Ham. Although the details of style are

may perhaps be the remains of a continuous

different, these

tradition

going back

more than two millennia. However, only sporadic archaeological


remains have so far been identified to

between the end of the

Nok

fill

the long gap

culture in the

fifth

these nineteenth- and twentieth-century examples:


sibly final-Nok piece

time

single pos-

from Yelwa of the second half of the

millennium AD and undated sculptures from

68

in

century ad and

sites

near Zaria.

first
fiK

There

is,

however, a sculptural style which belongs chrono-

logically in roughly the middle of this time gap,

many

features in

common

with the Nofc

style.

and which has

This

the art of

is

the city of Ife, the religious, and earlier the political capital of the

Yoruba peoples of South-western Nigeria. The

art style of Ife

human and

characterized by an idealized naturalism in both

mal representations, yet alongside


the whole period

when

this there

right through

is,

Ife art flourished, a tradition

stylization. Occasionally the

is

ani-

of extreme

two strands are combined

in,

for 46.47

example, conical heads with naturalistic features. Radiocarbon


dates from the writer's excavations at Ita
that the terracotta sculptures found

broken by the twelfth century AD.

Yemoo

in Ife indicate

on one shrine were already

The two

other groups of

sculptures one consisting of seven bronze castings, the other of

4a

seven terracotta figures -are to be considered contemporaneous

on the evidence of archaeological stratigraphy.


noted, however, that this

is

while Garlake's

Another

Iff

Nok

cm

It

should be

these pieces were

older they

cupied

at

may

produced

Obalara's Land was

a little

has provided five radiocarbon dates

site in Ife

which range from the sixth

was

when

not certain. Eyo's excavation at Lafogido

a similar date,

later

the date

when they were made. How much

deposited, not

have been

is

to the tenth centuries,

showing

that

tune which might well overlap that of the

at a

we have no evidence

culture, although

was being practised

in

Ife

Thurstan Shaw's excavations

at

at

this

early

[gbo-Ukwu

yet that sculpture


date.in

Moreover,

Anambra

State,

Nigeria. ha\e demonstrated that this rich collection of ornamen-

bronzes was deposited around the ninth century AD. 7'

tal

Although the
ferent

from

art style

those

and the composition of the metals are dif-

of

the

Ife,

fact

that

brilliantly

skilful

metalwork, both cast and forged, was being made from locally

mined metal about two hundred miles aw ay supports the possibility

of a similarly early date for the beginning of bronze-

casting at

Ife.

A comparison of Xok and


with
tion

little

doubt that there

is

Ife sculptures,

a cultural

however, leaves one

and an

artistic

connec-

between them, though the precise nature of the link remains

obscure.

know

These are the only two ancient

in the

artistic traditions

we

whole of Africa which have attempted human figure

sculpture in terracotta on a scale approaching

life size.

The frag-

ments of trunk and limbs are very similar indeed

in

their

simplification, despite the great naturalism of Ife faces while the

hems of wrappers

are represented by the identical convention.

69

51.52

46.

Mask

copper

cast from almost pure

the naturalistic style for

in

which

Ife

piece

was

art

is

best

known. This

clearly intended to

worn, perhaps
of a king of

Ife.

in
It

is

said always to

have been kept on a shrine

and thus was

palace,

is
it

known

Ife

the town.

in

the

in

long

for a

time the only example of


casting

be

the burial rituals

metalIt

not surprising, therefore, that

was thought

Obalufon

who

to represent
is

supposed

National

Museum,

Ife.

Ht

have

to

introduced the technique to

Ife.

33 cm

(Bin.)
47. A group of highly stylized

heads from various parts

of Ife

which are contemporary with


heads
style.

in

an intensely

naturalistic

The second from the

shows

a blend of a conical

shape and moderately


features. National

left

head

naturalistic

Museum,

Ife.

cm (5 in.), 19 cm
(7'/2 in.), 16.5cm(6 /2 in.),
16cm(6 3/8 in.)
Hts 13

70

48. Figure
of Ife

in

found

brass of an Ooni

at Ita

Yemoo in 1958.
showed

Excavations at the site


that

contemporary terracotta

sculptures

in

larger in size

a similar style but

had been abandoned

by the twelfth century ad.

Museum,

Ife.

Ht46.5cm(18 3/8

in.)

National

71

sometimes

In both styles the sculptures are

base; the hair

is

on

set

a globular

occasionally represented as rings, and similar

pendent locks are represented. The figures are usually heavily


beaded: not only are large numbers of anklets and bracelets

worn, but the arrangement of beads on the chest

very similar

is

many cases in both traditions - a heavy rope of beads overlies


many strings of smaller beads which cover the whole chest. This.
in

of course,

is

a cultural rather than an artistic similarity,

the style of representation of the beads

Both groups of artists show an interest


a feature

which

is

is

in disease

and deformit v.

especially characteristic of Ibibio sculpture of

the present day, which

may

also

draw upon the Nok tradition

Bernard Fagg has suggested."* Between Nok and

as

though

often close in both.

there

Ife

appears to have been a shift of emphasis along the continuum of


artistic

expression between extreme stylization and extreme

naturalism.

Nok

sculpture

predominantly stylized though the

is

animals are naturalistically represented, while at


faces

and animal figures are

human

Ife

human

both

naturalistic, while the rest of the

figures are moderately stylized, and there are even

some

heads which are more highly stylized than those of Nok.

Presumably
a

change

this shift of the balance

in the

philosophy of the

towards naturalism
Ife

reflects

court and priesthood,

throwing off the inhibitions on naturalistic representation of the


49.

One

of a large

of sculptures

number

human face.

excavated by the

In the Ife art, however,

author at llesha, twenty miles


north-east of

Ife.

These

sculptures, of lightly fired clay,

appear

to

possible to distinguish a large

number of sculptures which show an increasing degree of stylization in the representation of the human face - the eyes begin

be of nineteenth-

century date and are

developed Yoruba

Museum,

it is

Ife.

in

style.

Ht 24

a fully

National

cm (9V2

in.)

to bulge, the lips to protrude as


a variety of simplified

forms

is

two horizontal projections while


used to represent the

ear.

These

three features, within a general tradition of moderate naturalism, are characteristic of

sculpture

it is

modern Yoruba

sculpture.

Classical Period

becoming more relaxed and increasingly

ized in the post-Classical works, so that

twenty miles from

Ife,

in

bulging eye reaches


sees in

its

limit as a hemisphere, a

well. Sculptures of

72

at

this style the

form which one

some

certainly the case in

to the present day. but

we can

call

upon other evidence

antiquity

may

be found

for the last five centuries

is

the Palace

some modern Yoruba sculptures.

Archaeology then can bring us close

as

styl-

revealed a nineteenth-century

phase of this development of Yoruba sculpture. In

still

Ife

we can observe a modern

African sculptural style being born. Excavations


llesha,

In

possible to observe the rigorous naturalism of the

Ife,

though here

it

is

in

modern

as

use,

usually a case of

discontinuity of use the antiquities have been found by accident

and put to a new and often unrelated


Thompson found an egungun mask in
tion of Ife

among

it.

which carried three small but

Modakeke

fine terracotta

sec-

heads

Among

the Dogon, in the bend of the River Niger,

numbers of old wood carvings have long been known,

which they

They were carved by an earlier and differwho occupied the same territory, but their

call tellem.

ent group of people


style

Bascom, Picton, and

the animal skulls and other magical materials which

adorned
large

use.

use in the

seems to be ancestral

to that of the

Dogon.

fragment of

one was subjected to the radiocarbon test and found to date from
1470 150 ad (Sa-61), roughly to the time of the

earliest

P^uropean explorations of the West African coast which afford us

evidence of a different kind.

50. Tellem figure from the Dogon,

encrusted with sacrificial matter.

Museum, London.
Ht49.5cm(19y2in.)
British

73

51

Bronze

by Thurstan

Shaw

at

Igbo-Ukwu,

The castings from

Nigeria.
site are

stand excavated

altar

this

very richly encrusted

with decoration. This example

has a male and female figure

on opposite sides flanked with

openwork panels
and

spiders.

featuring snakes

These castings were

buried about the tenth century ad.

National

Museum,

Ht30cm(ll 3/4

52.

Many

of the

Lagos.

in.)

bronzes from

Igbo-Ukwu were decorated with


coloured beads of glass and stone.

Below the flange snakes' heads


appear through tubes, and
face alternately

upwards and

downwards. This object


to

have been the head

ceremonial

Museum,
5
(6 /8

in.)

staff.

is

thought

of a

National

Lagos. Ht 17

cm

53. Terracotta head found

by gold-miners

Stream,
flat

in

protrusive lips

ears indicate
position
style of

that of

its

and

between the

ancient

Ife

naturalistic

sculpture and

Yoruba works of the

Htl9.5cm(7 3/4

54. An

stylized

intermediate

present day. National


Ife.

Mokuro

the

The bulging eyes,

Ife.

Museum,
in.)

egungun head-dress in
wooden disc with

the form of a

partly

decayed and obscured by

a cloth

human head

central sculpture of a

mass

wrapping.

It

is

covered by

of black sacrificial matter,

mainly dried blood. Three ancient


Ife

terracotta

attached to

be seen) -

heads have been


(though not

it

it

is

all

can

natural to associate

such remnants of antiquity with


the ancestors

whom

society celebrates.
in

It

Egungun
was in use

the

Modakeke area of Ife in the


1960s when this photograph

the

late

was taken but

it

has since been

broken up and the terracottas


sold

on the Western

art market.

75

European Sources of African Art History

The European explorers on

the coast were interested

nomic potential of Africa, and brought back


and spices from their

travels.

They seem very

brought back works of art or even

crafts.

in

the eco-

slaves, gold, ivory

rarely to have

Among

work thus brought back was the group of objects

in

the

first art-

hybrid styles

carved by African

workmen

sixteenth

There are over two hundred of these

century.

European models

after

Afro- Portuguese ivories surviving, mostly


rate salt-cellars,

in

the form of elabo-

end-blown hunting-horns often decorated with

European animals of the chase, spoons and


and forks

the

in

are, apart

forks.

The spoons

from the decorative handles, essentially of

sixteenth-century European form, and the arms of Portugal

occur on the hunting-horns.

Some of these ivories appear to have

been carved by Benin sculptors" but most are

in a style closely

similar to that of the nomoli figures of Sierra Leone. Alan Ryder"

has discovered in the Portuguese customs entries for 1504 to

1505 records of payments of duty on ivory spoons and


cellars

accompanied by

rice

and palm

fibre

bags or mats. According to

Pacheco Pereira 79 (writing 1506-8),


Portuguese

what

55. Nomoli figure carved

in

soapstone and representing a

man

leaning against a backrest.

These pieces resemble

some

of the

ivories
to

(///.

in style

Afro-Portuguese

57) and are thought

be of sixteenth-century date.

Sierra Leone.

Museum.

Ht

Manchester

28 cm (11

in.)

76

salt-

brought back from the Guinea Coast. The ivories are always

is

at this

rice

was bought by the

time only from Sherbro Island northwards to

now Guinea

Bissau, and he mentions the

Temne and

the

56. Sowei

masks made

for the

Sande society which arranges


the education of

young

girls in

the responsibilities of adult


are probably the

life

best-known

wood sculptures from

Sierra

Leone and adjacent areas. This

mask comes from the

Vai

overlap the Sierra Leone


Liberia frontier.

woman who,

It

is

in this

sees out through

who

and

worn by a
example,

slits

beside

the jaw at the level of the mouth.

Manchester Museum.

Ht38cm(15in.)

Buloni

who live in

spoons and palm


ited

Benin

this area as

fibre mats.

in 1588,

being skilled

in

making both ivory

An Englishman, James

Welsh, vis-

where he saw 'spoones of Elephants teeth

very curiously wrought with divers proportions of foules and


beasts

made upon

them'. Until the second decade of the seven-

teenth century, Ryder reports, the Portuguese were

still

buying

ivory spoons there.

Five of these spoons are


the

Museum of the town

raffia fibre bag.

1659.

The

Benin and

still in

the

Wieckmann Collection in

of Ulm near Stuttgart, together with a

The catalogue of this collection was published in

source of the bag appears to have been recorded as


it is

interesting that raffia-weaving

is

mentioned with

the ivory spoons in the Portuguese references to the Bulom, the

Temne and the Bini.


77

This

same

collection also includes the earliest pieces of

Yoruba sculpture
and

wooden

to be

brought

tray which

Benin (Dahomey).

The

Europe: two ivory bracelets

to

were collected

at

Ardra

in

modern

catalogue describes the bracelets as

figured with divers toads and loathsome animals, such as the


57. Handle of an ivory spoon
in

Bini-Portuguese

noblemen of the king of Ardra are accustomed

arms

style,

wear on

to

ornament and mark of distinction'. The

as a special

their

tray

is

representing two goats chewing


leaves. Collected in the sixteenth

Wieckmann Collection,
Ulm Museum. Ht of section

century.

shown: 12

cm

3
(4 /4

described as an 'offering board carved in relief with rare and

loathsome devilish images, which the king of Ardra,


sal

in.)

important
58, 59.

Two

One

first

seventeenth century.

represents snails and

frogs;

cow heads
alternating. Yoruba. Wieckmann
Collection, Ulm Museum.
the other has birds and

cm OVs
10cm(3 7/8 in.)

Max. diams: 8

and

in.)

men of the region, are accustomed

customs by making

ivory bracelets

collected at Ardra during the


half of the

who is a vas-

of the king of Benin, together with the greatest officers and

sacrifices

on

it

to

employ

in fetish

This offering

to their gods.

board was furnished and used by the presently reigning King of

Ardra himself The tone of these descriptions helps us

to under-

stand why so little was collected in the first four hundred years of
contact with the African coast - such objects were viewed with

horror as reflecting the depravity of the natives.


all

was made

to establish their real function.

No

The

attempt

tray

was

at

cer-

tainly not used in sacrifice, but for recording the signs indicated

by the oracle in

What is
ity

Ifa divination.

noticeable about

80

all

three pieces

of the artistic style from the

century up to the present day.


bracelets for

first

is

the close similar-

half of the seventeenth

The cow heads on one

example are closely similar

bracelets and planks for ancestor altars in present-day

while the

human

door panel from

78

of the

to those carved

on

Owo,

figures on the Ifa tray are rather like those on a


M
Ijebu in the British Museum, London.

60.

A modern board

for Ifa

(Dahomey).
The colours and motifs should be
divination from Benin

compared with
at the

top

is

///.

23. The face

said by

Bascom

to

represent Eshu, the principle


of uncertainty in the

pantheon. Linden
Stuttgart.

23 cm

xl9cm(7 /2
1

Yoruba

Museum,

(9

in.)

in.)

7.9

61. Tray used

in Ifa

divination

collected at Ardra (Allada) in

Benin (Dahomey) during the

first

half of the seventeenth century.

Weickmann Collection,
Ulm Museum. 56 cm (22 in.)

Yoruba.

x35cm

(13 3/4

62. Staff of

office

BaJokwe. The
staff

in.)

and two

figure

figures,

on top

of the

wears the hair-dressing

chief,

of a

simpler renderings of which

are seen on the other pieces.


British

Museum, London.

Hts30cm(ll 3/4in.),35cm
(13 /, in.), 28 cm (11 in.)
1

80

63. Soapstone figure once

thought to have been acquired on


the

Lower Congo about 1695 but

in fact

collected only in

1887.

Similar sculptures (called mintadi)

were made
BaKongo,

till

recently by the

guard the graves

to

of their ancestors. Luigi Pigorini

Museum, Rome.
64. This

BaJokwe

chair

shows

constructional features copied

from sixteenth-century Portuguese


prototypes.

The genre scenes

however are

BaJokwe

in

characteristic

style as

the backrest

is

the face on

which represents the

male mask Chihongo, symbol

of

wealth. Decoration with imported

upholstery nails
chiefs' chairs

is

also found on

made

in

Ghana,

which also evolved from European


prototypes. British

London. Ht 51

cm

Museum,
(20

in.)

Very few pieces seem

to have been collected

eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,


\\

as at its height.

when

during the

the slave trade

However, when attempts were made to admini-

ster various parts of Africa, a

number of works were gathered

and sent to Europe, often as examples of heathenish practices,


to

encourage support for missionary

the gele.de mask

shown

in

67 now

///.

societies.

in the

An example

is

Manchester Museum,

but formerly belonging to the Church Missionary Society,

was given by Governor John H. Glover who took

to

which

it,

according to the

it

label,

'from a heathen temple in a small

town which was destroyed' by him. Glover was Lieutenant-

Governor
it

in

1864 and Administrator from 1866 to 1870, so

was presumably taken about

note that

at this early date

imported

oil-paint.

it

this period. It is interesting to

appears to have been coloured with

81

'<*

H"

65. {above,

used

in Ife.

left)

pierced

is

from the Cross River area now

fine headpiece

Museum

Nigerian

at

Lagos, earlier

in

the Bankfield

have been

lost.

Museum,

National

8 cm (3'A in.) x 6.8 cm


5
3
(2 /8 in.)Ht4.5cm(l /4 in.)
Ife.

66.

(left)

Ivory bracelet carved in

the Yoruba town of


before

Owo collected

1831, probably

The elephant head

in

very similar to the

on the Ulm bracelet

Museum
Berlin.

fur

in

the centre

cow head
(///.

at

Halifax and before that in the

been acquired

in

Whitby Museum, may have

pleasanter circumstances, since

it

was collected

by Consul John Beecroft before 1854. Even as early as 1820


a

Yoruba

staff for

Shongo, the thunder god, had reached

Switzerland, while in 1854 the British

Museum

in

London

Benin.

59).

had acquired
ibeji,

very new-looking pair of Yoruba twin figures,

probably from Abeokuta."

fine single figure of the

Perhaps rather

same kind came

very

later, a

into the hands of

Vblkerkunde,

Ht 17.5

cm

(6

15
/i 6 in.)

German

collector,

some time before


67. (above) Gelede mask,
painted with European oil-paints,
seized between

1864 and 1870

by Governor Glover from a small

Georg Emil

Schiiz,

his death in 1877.

century members of the family of the

who owned

Towards
Ijo

Manchester Museum.

33 cm (13

in.)

it

for

the end of the

King Ockiya of the old

trading port of Brass in the Niger Delta were converted to


Christianity and gave a group of large carvings representing

Yoruba town which he destroyed.

L.

the

in

Museum

attaching ornaments which

for

is

Ivory bracelet

The flange

deceased members of their family to the missionaries,

them

to their

dispersed.

Fagg

as

sent

London headquarters, from where they were later

Their striking style was regarded by William

having been inspired by the figureheads of European

sailing-ships,
for centuries.

that the

who

which must have been a


83

The

common

sight in Brass

suggestion gains support from the fact

arms are carved separately and attached,

a device

83

68

68. Skin-covered headpiece, with


metal teeth, collected by Governor
Beecroft before

1854 at Old
Museum,

Calabar. National

Lagos. Ht 26.5

cm lO ^
1

in.)

presumably copied from

ships' carpenters.

Once again, European

influence, as in the Afro-Portuguese ivories, appears to have

been

felicitous.

The pieces we have been


were regarded primarily
a substantial

impact

number and

discussing were few in

as curios.

The

first

African art to

make

Europe was the vast quantity of bronze

in

castings and ivory carvings which were seized by the Royal

Navy

as

reparations

Expedition of 1897.

was considerable
still-valuable

in

s
'

It

skill

the course of the Benin

was immediately recognized

and artistry

in Africa,

and

Punitive
that there

number of

books were written on them, notably H. Ling

Roth's general study Great Renin, published

and the catalogues Antiquitiesfrom

Museum (London,

1899), by C. H.

the

C 'ity

in

Halifax

ofBenin.

in

1903,

in the British

Read and O. M. Dalton, and

Antique Works of Artfrom Benin (London, 1900), by A. H. Lane-

Fox Pitt-Rivers, describing


after

84

this

that

his

Leo Frobenius

own
set

collection.

It

was not long

out on his 'Inner Africa

Expeditions', and the deliberate collecting in Africa for the

enrichment of European collections had begun.

If

these pieces

had not been collected many of them would certainly have been
destroyed by now, but

it is

most regrettable

that records

were

rarely kept of the precise source of any objects, a practice which

dealers

in

such pieces have continued

'in

order to protect their

sources of supply'. Even Frobenius records

same

piece as

coming from completely

lack of documentation of
private, inevitably limits

pointed out

in

museum

in different

books the

different places."

This

collections, both public

and

any study based on them, as Kjersmeier

explanation of his inability to give more than a

e
general idea of the sculpture of the Igbo, Ibibio, Ijo and Efik." All

the major ethnographic collections


this

69.

Two

large

wooden

in

the world suffer from

inadequate documentation of important pieces. In order to

figures

from the old trading port of Brass


in

the Niger Delta, representing

members

of the family of the Ijo

'King' Ockiya.

They appear

to

be

based on ships' figureheads, and


it

is

probably significant that the

arms are carved separately and


attached. Left: Manchester

Museum. Ht85cm (33y2 in.)


Right: University Museum,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ht

84 cm (33

in.)

85

70. Twin figure probably from

Ado Odo in Yorubaland which


was in the collection of Georg
Emil Schuz of Stuttgart before

me

1877. John Picton informs


that as the birth of twins

is

regarded as an unusual event,


the diviner

making
or this

is

consulted by the

He may

parents.

advise the

of a pair of

such

figures,

may be postponed

till

one

twin dies. The figure of the dead


twin

fed at the

is ritually

same

time as the survivor. There

is

thus

no standard practice prescribed.


Linden

Museum,

cm (10

Ht 25.5

71.

Stuttgart.

in.)

Large skin-covered Janus

head from the Cross River area.

mask seems to have


among the Ekoi (or
Ejagham) but is now used by a

This type of
originated

number

of

There are

museum

neighbouring peoples.

many fine examples


collections

collector's data. This

in

which lack
one was

presented by the Davyhulme

County School

Museum,
is

known.

to the

Manchester

but no earlier history


Ht.

63.5

cm

(25

in.)

X(>

Bk

72. Three doors from the

Awka

area, to the east of the River Niger,

remedy

it,

research workers

commonly study museum

collec-

tions in conjunction with their field-work, so that each

where the Igbo carvers have

shown

a special talent for

geometric ornament. British

Museum, London. Hts 110.5 cm


(43y2 in.), 103cm(40'/2in.)
and 84 cm (33 in.)

may

throw light on the other.

Although very

little art

was brought back from Africa

the end of the nineteenth century,


tion

from the

during
the

was Ibn Battuta

One

in

of the

town of Nyani,

in

Mali Empire,

in Malli,

he saM

now believed

modern Bambaraland. He

first

the fourteenth

who has left us a record of masked dancers whom

his visit to the

until

glean some informa-

literature of African exploration.

travellers to write about Africa

century,

we can

to be

describes the

incident in the following words: 'On feast days... the poets'

come in. Each of them is inside a figure resembling a thrush,


made of feathers, and provided with a wooden head with a red
beak, to look like a thrush's head.
their Sultan in this ridiculous

88

They

make-up and

stand

in

front of

recite their poems."

73. Pottery sculpture for the altar


of Ifijioku, the giver
of

and protector

yams, from the Riverain Igbo


Osisa west of the River

village of

Niger. This

is

one

examples taken

of several

to

England about

1880. The man's wives hold

their

children while other figures beat a

gong, carry a box of offerings and


sacrifice

an animal. The

offering box

chest

and

in front of

the

the group are both

removable. National
Lagos. Ht

lids of

of the rectangular

48 cm (19

Museum,
in.)

Their poems exhort the King to

deeds will outlive him.

was

custom amongst them, prior


that they have kept

The

early

recall the

them so

predecessors, and imitate

that the

good deeds of

memory

told that this practice

his

of his good

is

very old

to the introduction of Islam,

and

it up.'""

European

travellers tell us very little about the

sculpture which the Africans

made

for their

own

use.

Pacheco

Pereira, for example, repeatedly refers to the Africans as 'idolators'

but does not describe their

local

way of life

'idols'.

His descriptions of the

are very brief and refer chiefly to the economy.

Describing the western corner of the Niger Delta about 1 506-08


he says: 'there is nothing on which to make a profit', and goes on:
'the

Negroes of this country are idolators and are circumcised

without knowing why, and have no laws; and because these are
things which do not have

much

to

do with the subject one can be

89

Mask from

74.

used

in

the Afikpo Igbo,

plays of social

comment

during the dry season. These

masks, called opanwa, represent


girls
in

and are worn

represents a
is

in pairs

a performance in which

by

men

one

whose behaviour

girl

being mimicked by the other, a

boy dressed as a

girl.

Manchester

Museum. Ht 51 cm (20
75. Agbogho
Spirit

Mmwo,

mask from

in.)

Maiden

the Igbo worn

with an elaborate applique

costume by the middle grade


of the

and

men's society

festivals in

at funerals

which the

masquerader mimics women's


activities.

National

Lagos. Ht 51.5

cm

Museum,
(20

/. in.)

90

91

76, 77. {above,

left)

Two

excused from writing about them'/ In the next paragraph he

Igbo

ikenga, or personal shrines at

writes of Benin: 'There are

many

abuses

way of

in this people's

which the owner ensures the

their fetishes

and idolatories which

continuing power of his right

life,

hand,

not to be prolix.' " Nevertheless, he does

of his physical as

i.e.

opposed

to his

The

is

cult

mental powers.

found on both sides

The

the Lower Niger.

over the forehead

is

among the
Museum, London.

of rank

),

tell

us that the people of

of

the itchi mark

from other peoples

cm

in

the area.*

sculpture.

He also

tells

The Bini do not wear such marks


in

Benin

us an interesting story about the Isles of

Los, opposite Conakry. Their

in.)

nowadays although they are commonly represented

Igbo. British

Hts 28.5

leave undescribed so as

Benin have marks over their eyebrows which distinguish them

scarification

24 cm (9V2

modern name

from the name Pacheco Pereira

is

evidently derived

uses: "Ilhas dos Idolos'. 'This

78. {above, right) Ikenga collected


early this century
Its

form appears

among the

to

Igala.

be derived from

a northern Igbo prototype like the

one on the

left of

illustration. City

the preceding

their

Museum,

Ipswich. Htc. 45.7

cm (18

name was given to them because when the islands were discovmany idols were found which the inhabitants were
in the habit of taking and worshipping when they went to sow

ered, a great

in.)

rice.'

This account

is

not very precise, but

the findings of sculptures of soft stone

92

in

it

seems

the lands of the

to

echo

Mende

79,80, 81. The masks


Igala

show

forms.

of the

a great variety of

The masks shown are

called Ikpelikpa (above),

(above, right) and

National

Museum,

Hts61 cm (24
(14

in.)

and 53

Amda

Ogbodo

in.),

cm

(right).

Lagos.

35.5 cm
(21

in.)

(who call them nomoli) and the Kissi (who call them pomdo, ancestors).

The Mende set them up in

and make

it

expected to

prosper. Indeed,
steal rice plants

end, and that they are beaten

The
mask

is

first

in

it

the rice-fields to protect the crop


is

reported that the nomoli are

from the neighbouring


if they

illustration of

do not do

fields to this

this successfully

anything resembling an African

Francois Froger's Relation d'un Voyagefait en 1695,

1696et 1697 au Cotes d 'Afrique (Paris, 1698) where he represents


'the

costume of the circumcised' round the River Gambia:

ure

who

a fig-

appears to be wearing an antelope mask which looks

rather like one type used by the Guro. Froger tells us that the

King 'wore on

82.

The costume
in

a pair of cowhorns',

wear

of the

the late seventeenth

century as represented by Froger.


This

is

probably the earliest

illustration of
in

an African mask

the European literature

about

head a wickerwork cap decorated with several

cised are permitted to

circumcised' around the River

Gambia

his

rows of coral beads and

Africa.

94

a similar

and that the circum-

cap for a week after their

83.

Mask

representing Zamble,

which

a mysterious being

resembles a beautiful, strong,

young man. These


reflected
of the

by

its

qualities are

form - the beauty

antelope and the strong

teeth of the leopard together with

the youthful rapidity of


steps.

From the Guro

its

dance

of Ivory

Coast. Froger's illustration appears


to represent a

form, though
in

mask
it

of similar

cannot be identical

view of the distance (almost

fifteen

hundred miles) which

separates them. Moreover the

zamble mask

is

worn

vertically in

front of the face. British

London. Ht 47.6

Museum,

cm (18V4

in.)

circumcision, which permits

them

to perpetrate all the crimes

imaginable without anyone daring to complain about

At

all

it'.

periods the writers describe the kinds of houses they

observe and eventually they provide drawings of them. Les


Voyages du Sieur Lemaire atuc

Gambie

(Paris,

Isles

Canaries, Cap-Verd, Senegal et

1695) shows a drawing of houses based on

Lemaire's sketches.

One

of the houses

is

sectioned to

show the

bed, and the text gives a very detailed description. In 1714

Godefroy Lover in

his Relation du voyage au

Royaume d'Issiny, Cote

d'Or, Pais de Gurnet en Afrique describes three different types of

houses, one of

them round, another square and of one or two

storeys, while the third

is

described as a 'miserable hut

reeds and palm leaves, so low that a

up

man

made of

can scarcely stand

inside' yet the illustrations are hardly distinguishable

from

each other, or from Lemaire's, yet Hirschberg says they were

95

84. {above) The burial of the King of

Benin according

to Pieter

de Marees

at

85. (below) View of the

city of

Benin published by Dapper

in

the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth

1668. Sculptures made by the

centuries. There

themselves confirm the accuracy

what the

artist

heads were

is

a faint possibility that

has represented as

in fact

real

of

many

Bini

of the details.

bronze castings.

96

J*

Aw* .As

t^mJkitr.

86. Bronze casting from Benin


representing a dwarf like those

shown

in

Dapper's

illustration.

William Fagg suggests that

it

is

probably from the early period


of

Benin bronze-casting, before

1550.

Museum fur Volkerkunde,


59 cm (23 /. in.)

Vienna. Ht

'obviously prepared from the authors sketches'." In contrast in

1719 Peter Kolb

in

Caput Bonae Spei Hodiernum (Xiirnberg)

describes the building of Hottentot houses with what are almost

engineering drawings.

The most

interesting series of travellers' illustrations and

descriptions, however, refer to Benin.

course, were not

tions and so have little

documentary

reason to suspect that the observer

what he

Many

of the drawings, of

made on the spot but prepared from the descripvalue.

Sometimes there

may have

is

misinterpreted

saw. For example, the illustration of the burial of the

King which accompanies Pieter de Marees's account of Benin


published in 1603 in DeBry's India Orientalis shows

human

heads placed on top of sticks round the grave, the text informing
us that these are the heads of a wife, a child and servants

willing to

accompany him to the next world.

who are

Now von Luschan

94

publishes a photograph taken in Benin at the time of the Punitive

Expedition which shows sculptured heads of an early style


placed on the brackets of a

tall staff,

and he suggests that

this

was
97

87. Bronze box representing a

what de Marees was mistakenly describing. However,

section of the palace with a tower,

Benin heads are furnished with

python and

bird of disaster.

bird (formerly two) stand

on the

ridge of the roof. Ethnologisches

Museum,
(24

in.)

Berlin. L.

61 cm

a flange

Two

armed Portuguese and another

later

and are massively made

so that they can stand directly on the altar and support carved

ivory tusks which lean against the wall behind. Moreover,

human

seen a

Benin

City,

skull

on several occasions lying on an

and von Luschan shows

another altar

in

897. So there are

have

altar in

whole row of them on

some grounds

for

whether the bronze heads may not have been used


of real heads. If von Luschan's interpretation

wondering

later in place

by a member of the Punitive Expedition),


tration

is

staff

the earliest illus-

we have of Benin art.

Less controversial
lished

this

we

right (though

is

cannot be sure that the bronze heads were not placed on the

is

the famous view of Benin City pub-

by Olfert Dapper

in

Nauwkeurige Bcschrijvingt der

Afrikaansche Gewesten (Amsterdam) in 1668.

yf
'

This shows the

King in procession with musicians and warriors. The accuracy of


the drawing has been confirmed in a
ple,

number of ways;

for

exam-

in

two of

dwarfs shown with the King are also represented

the finest figure sculptures

we have from

architecture of the Palace which

Roth commented 'This


are the

tall

is

is

Benin, but

it

is

the

of greatest interest. Ling

another fancy picture'

pyramidal towers also represented on

but not only


a

box now

in

Berlin as well as on the bronze plaques, but the cast-bronze leg of


a large bird,

which can only be from one of those shown standing

on the apex of the tower has been found

Dapper too who


98

first refers to

in the Palace. It is

the bronze plaques.

He

speaks of

88. Bronze plaque cast

in

Benin

representing a gateway of the


royal

palace surmounted by a

turret

which

carries a python.

Many heads and some body


segments

of these

One

survive.

pythons

of R. E.

Bradbury's

informants told him that at the

time of the Benin Expedition, the

body fragments were used by the

young court attendants

to

stand

upon while they bathed. The

columns supporting the shingled


roof carry

bronze plaques

representing Portuguese faces,

while the feet of a bird can be

seen

at the top of

Ethnologisches

Ht

Berlin.

the tower.

Museum,

48 cm (19

in.)

89. Cast-bronze leg from


the figure of a bird

which

formerly stood on top of a

tower of the palace. Found

on an

altar in

Benin.

L. c.

the Palace

61

cm

(24

in

in.)

'wooden
\\

m
i

huh

pillars,

from top

to

bottom covered with

are engraved the pictures of their

and arc kept very dean'.

A few

cast copper,

years

later, in

1701, David

Nyendael visited Renin. He describes the Palace more


Dapper, referring to the wooden turret

like a

sixty or seventy feet high. At the top of all

is

is

the finest

have seen

fully

than

chimney about

fixed a large copper

snake whose head hangs downwards. This serpent


cast or carved, and

on

war exploits and battles,

is

in Benin.'

very well

These

ser-

pents are represented on the plaques, and sixteen or seventeen

Y?

heads of them survive, one of which was excavated by John

Goodwin

inside the area of the former Palace.

98

Nyendael

describes passing through a big courtyard to a gallery beyond,

V-

'half thrown
rebuilt'.

down by a thunderstorm since which it has not been

Beyond was another gallery

ported on

human

in

which the roof was sup-

figures 'but so wretchedly carved that

hardly possible to distinguish whether they are most


beasts; notwithstanding

which

my

like

it is

men or

guides were able to distin-

guish them into merchants, soldiers, wild beast hunters,

etc.

Behind a white carpet we were also shewn eleven men's heads


cast in copper,

by much

as

good an

and upon every one of these there


being some of the King's gods.' 99

artist as the

is

He

former carver,

an elephant's tooth, these


later refers to seven

more
99

90. Bronze head of the


period of Benin

art;

late

massive

casting intended to support an

on an ancestor

ivory tusk
in

altar

the Palace. The projecting

decorations on the crown are said


in

Benin

to

by the Oba

have been introduced

Osemwede (1816-

48). The head cannot therefore

be earlier than this time. British

Museum, London. Ht 51 cm
(20'/8

in.)

91. This mask

is

which were used


the water

one
in

of

seven

the cult of

spirit Igbile at

Ughoton

(Gwatto), the old port of Benin.

They were brought out

to invoke

the help of Igbile against the


Punitive Expedition
style

appears

to

in

1897. Their

be derived from

that of the Western

Ijo

of the Niger

Delta, via the llaje Yoruba, for the

songs used

in

the cult are

in

the

Museum,
London. Ht 79 cm (3iy8 in.)
llaje dialect. British

tusks on ivory pedestals. This

is

the most detailed account of the

Palace so far given by the European travellers.

It

includes the

first

description of the heads and the tusks upon them, and the

first

account of the serpents on the turrets.

refer to the birds

on top of the

be that the plaques were formerly


ruined by the thunderstorm.

Why

does he not

turrets, or to the plaques?


in

Many

It

may

the gallery which had been

of them are bent and

many

are incomplete, perhaps as a result of the collapse of the building.


It is

generally thought that they had been removed to safer stor-

age before Nyendael arrived, for they were kept

like a

card index

when
we know from an
the expedition. The

up to the time of the Punitive Expedition, and referred


there

was

to

a dispute about courtly etiquette, as

old chief who

was

a Palace attendant before

storm had probably blown down the birds from the tops of the
turrets too. Yet, as William

Fagg has pointed out to me,

it is

quite

possible that the supports of the roof in the second gallery were

not

wood carvings but

the plaques themselves,

indeed show merchants, soldiers and hunters.

100

many of which do
It is

interesting to

tiitik.

"S

Mi

jj

ji?

'i

4
m
fKS&v.v. 1.

^sK

if'

92. The art style of the Benin


court

was

derived, together with

the technique of bronze-casting,

from

Gradually, however,

Ife.

it

has influenced the popular style


of

Benin wood sculpture, as

apparent
the face
of

in this

is

w''

is

ekpo mask where

'

framed by a rectangle

ass

tf

Ht

28 cm

(11

93. The

late

Akenzua

II,

the

in.)

is

strikes

ji-l^

A*t

< |V'

King of Benin, Oba

crown and
to

in

in

///.

90. His

also of coral beads.

an ivory

ivory armlets

1959. He

collar of coral

those represented

the bronze head

shirt

VI^H.

photographed during

beads similar
in

'%

VI

IfWJm A' L.f&l

Lagos.

Emobo ceremony

wears

AVi

4p

beads obviously copied from

Museum,

Ifrfl
In

the royal ancestor heads.


National

JlfT

bell

He

and wears

and has

41.

low-relief

plaques of ivory round his waist.

/ *

>

70/

94. (right) The kings of the

BaMbala or Bushongo, the best


known of the BaKuba chiefdoms,
were commemorated in wooden
figures,

each bearing a symbol

to indicate

which individual was

represented. This

is

Shamba

Balongongo, the ninety-third

Nyimi

who

reigned about

1600-20, though the carving


seems

date from between

to

1750 and 1800.


is

a board for the

In front of

game

nowadays widespread
which he

is

him

of wari,
in Africa,

said to have

introduced to wean his people


away from excessive gambling.
British Museum, London.

Ht54.5cm(21 /2
1

95.

(far right)

who

live

Jhe NDengese

across the Sankuru River

to the north of the

have

in.)

BaKuba

also

royal ancestor figures, of a

much more

elongated form and

the arms and trunk ornamented

with scarification patterns.

Musee

Royal de I'Afrique Centrale,


Tervuren. Ht

139 cm (54 3/4

in.)

observe that although Nyendael remarks on the excellence of

workmanship, he shows little appreciation of Bini art


In Benin, of course,
ellers'

we have more

to

draw on than

the tra\

accounts and so are able to gauge their accuracy.

Clapperton writing of Old

Oyo

in

1826 says

'the people... are

fond of ornamenting their doors, and the posts which support


their verandahs, with carvings;

figures of

and they have also statues or

men and women, standing

in their

courtyards.

The

figures carved on the posts and doors are various; but principally

102

of the boa snake, with a hog or antelope in his mouth; frequently

men

taking slaves, and sometimes a

slaves.'

"

These motifs

only houseposts

still

was able

man on horseback

leading

in

Yoruba sculpture but the

to find at

Old Oyo were carved into

occur

no representation. A number of sculpNew Oyo, however, were said to have been brought from

baluster-like forms, with

tures in

Old Oyo.

We do have one example where we not only have a description

96.

and a picture of a work of art, but we can identify the object

Wooden housepost

{right)

woman

representing a

an

in

unusually curvilinear stance,

bought by the author


whither

it

Oyo

in

was claimed

have

to

been brought by refugees from


Old Oyo which collapsed

in

1837. National Museum,

Ife.

103 cm (40V2 in.)


198 cm (78 in.)

Ht of figure:

Ht of post:

97.
the

Wooden

{far right)

Shongo shrine

Oyo

at Koso. Its

name

Shongo, carving

figure

of the
is

of or for

from

King of
ere Alafin

King

who was one of the first


kings of Oyo and who has since

Shongo,

become
and

identified with

lightning.

who

Allison,

thunder

According

to Philip

collected this piece,

such a figure used


each new king

to

who

be

made for

visited the

shrine at Koso at an early stage


his installation ceremonies,

in

where

he was crowned with a cloth

crown which was


one

left

behind on

of the figures in the shrine.

The king

is

never allowed to

the shrine again. This figure


said to

have been brought

visit
is

in

1837 from Koso at Old Oyo to


new site of Koso. National
Museum, Lagos. Ht 96.5 cm

the

(38

in.)

103

233-36

itself today.

This

is

the fine bronze

Idah on ceremonial occasions.

mask

still

It is a late

worn by

the Ata of

fifteenth- or early six-

teenth-century casting from Benin, which

Commander William

Allen described during Lander's last expedition of 1832-'3:5


this

way:

'In his lap,

resentation
in the

fine

- or

moon".' 102

work of art,

and suspended from

libel

- of

The libel
as we can

the
is

human

his neck,

face,

very

was

in

a gilt rep-

like the

"man

rather perpetrated by Allen on a

see by

comparing

his

drawing with

the original.

The

purely historical, written, sources are thus of limited

value in themselves, but where they can be used in conjunction

with other data, they

may prove

valuable.

Dapper's and

Nyendael's accounts of Benin allow us to infer that the casting of


the plaques ceased about the end of the seventeenth century, and
this fact is

to

one of the points to which William Fagg has been able

anchor his chronology of Benin


In general

98.

Commander William

drawing

Allen's

of the Ata of Igala in

1832-33. He

is

wearing a mask

round his neck which Allen


described as

or

libel

very

like

'a gilt

of the

the

representation

human

"man

in

it is

art.

U)i

evident from this survey that

we must

look

primarily to archaeology to reveal information about the history

we are likely to get the most valuable insights


when archaeology, history (oral as well as
written) and museum collections can be used conjointly.
of African

art,

but

in the later centuries

face,

the moon"'.

104

99. The Ata of Igala


the

mask which

called

wears

still

Allen saw.

is

It

Ejube auilo, the eye which

brings fear to other eyes,

and

kept brightly polished.

is

Benin work of the

It

is

late fifteenth or

early sixteenth century, a period

when

there

were substantial

contacts between the two

kingdoms. There are


the eyes

was intended
Benin masks

Ife

it

found on similar

in ivory

feature

with the

below

that

wear over the

for

face, a feature

In this

slits

which indicate

it

and bronze.

may be compared

mask

in

///.

46.

Property of the Ata of Igala, Idah.

Ht29cm(ll

/2

in.)

Egypt

in

Africa

In the history

of African

art, as in

as a whole, the effects of Islam

the history of African culture

and Christianity are very

clear,

but some writers have seen older influences which are more
notably those from Egypt, which although

difficult to prove,

geographically a part of Africa

is

more

tific

study

of the

Egyptian past has

distinguished history.
ancient

Egypt

at the

African

history

unknown.

came

infancy.

It is

itself

great deal was already

beginning of the twentieth

scientific investigation
still in its

usually regarded as

Middle East. The scien-

falling within the cultural orbit of the

long and

known about
century, when

of the peoples and cultures of Africa was

There was no chronological framework

for

and the sources of African culture were

hardly surprising therefore that,

to light of considerable cultural

African peoples, they were

commonly

attributed to influence

from ancient Egypt despite the great gap

extreme Diffusionist school of W.


which sought to derive

all

J.

when evidence
among

achievement

in time.

Moreover, the

Perry and Elliot Smith,

the higher civilizations of the world

105

from ancient Egypt, was very


traces of this influence

Trow ell

still

influential.

many

persist in

West and East

is

The

influence in the rest of Africa."


in

Margaret

between African sculpture and

refers often to parallels

ancient Egyptian, suggesting that this

found

" Unfortunately,
writers.

Africa have

evidence of Egyptian

variety of divine Kings

all

been thought to derive

from ancient Egypt

Nowadays we know more about


clearly the relationship

Bohannan expresses

nent. Paul

Egypt

it

way:

this

that a strong Asian influence

is

and can see more

Africa,

between Egypt and the

rest of the conti-

What happened

was stamped upon


Egyptian

cally African culture, giving rise to

in

a basi-

civilization....

Egyptian religion can be best understood only by reference to

many

African religion;

other aspects of Egyptian history and

polity are illuminated by African ethnography.

assume that

ish in the past to

were invented

in

Today we know

all

Egypt and spread

that such

It

has been styl-

these social and cultural forms


to other parts of Africa.

was an oversimplification: Egypt

\\

as

basically an African culture, with intrusions of Asian culture.'

100. Late Predynastic Egyptian


pot with a drawing of a bull
incised

Lowie

upon

it.

Museum

From

El

Ahaiwah.

of Anthropology,

University of California, Berkeley.

Ht 25.5

cm

(10

in.)

The resulting culture flourished with typical hybrid vigour.


The art of pre-Dynastic Egypt shows essentially African
characteristics. The engraved bull show n in ///. 100 would be at
home among the rock engravings of the Sahara while the bowl
shown

in

///.

102, dating

from about 3 100

a boat in a simplified, highly stylized

bc, bears a painting of

form which

is

in

harmony

with the much later paintings in caves round Lake Victoria.

The

statuary of later periods has

developed Egyptian

onwards

style, yet

it

retains

all

the characteristics of

from pre-Dynastic times


1

a rigidity of form, a frontality"" of pose, a lack of facial

expression, and an absence of any clear indication of the age

of the subject: features which are characteristic of most African


figure sculpture.
In function too, these

Egyptian statues are very similar

many

ancestor figures from

to

parts of Africa: they act as a reposi-

tory of supernatural force, in particular they provide a residence


for all eternity for the spiritual essence of the person repre-

sented.

Art for the Egyptian

is

completely practical

designed not to move the emotions of the spectator tor

any case

it

as not produced: but to

ensure by magic means the

immortality of the person represented.

which Egyptian
skill

with which

art often took,


it

106

it

The

naturalistic

form

and the high degree of technical

was fashioned should not

the ideas underlying

aflair,

whom m

blind us to the fact that

are nearer to... Africa than they are to a

nP\r\nn(Lp
101. Part of a rock painting
at

Nyero, Teso

showing parts

district,

of

long. (After

The more
76 cm (30 in.)

in red.

is

Posnansky)

102. Late Predynastic Egyptian


pot with a boat

and concentric

arcs painted in red.

Nag'

el Deir.

Lowie

of California, Berkeley.

23 cm

(9

Italy....

Each tomb statue

magical ritual which ensured

that

it

became imbued with the


was

secration

upon

effected

representation of the

sitter....

may have

shown

lite...

died, he

is

spirit

of the dead man... this con-

sculptural form which

was an

ideal

At whatever age the Egyptian

in

the

prime of

full

a successful

the realistic rendering of the muscles of the torso and

From

Museum

of Anthropology, University

Ht

Periclean Athens or to Renaissance

was completed by undergoing

two canoes and

concentric circles

complete canoe

Uganda,

limbs, and the apparent attempt at careful portraiture cannot

disguise the fact that the conception

is

"primitive'',

and that we

are confronted with a perceptual, rather than a visual represen-

in.)

tation of the

human

form.' '"These characteristics put

Egyptian

sculpture firmly within the African orbit. Far from being a

potent source of influence

in

be a local manifestation of a

African

art,

Egyptian

art

is

seen to

w idespread African tradition.

This does not mean, however, that no

artistic or

other ideas

have spread from Egypt to the rest of Africa, 111 but rather that we
should show

reasonable caution in identifying them. In partic-

ular, as art historians,

chronology.

To

we need

to

pay very careful attention to

infer direct connections,

intervening links, between Egyptian (or


objects and others

Africa

is

made two or

dangerous.

symbol of life.

None

Roman

or Phoenician)

three or four millennia later in

has been claimed for example that the

It

akua ba doll of Ashanti


112

without the evidence of

is

derived from the ankh, the Egyptian

of the existing dolls

is

likely to

be older

707

than the nineteenth century: the immediate ancestors of their


-

form appear to be the terracotta sculptures found on

number of

o Ashanti such as

Ahinsan where they date from the

late

nth and seventeenth centuries, yet these seem to have little


in common with the ankh symbol.
>n\

from dissimilar

origins. Single traits

lated cultures. If form,


societies in
qgBd

be :eautrful too.

.:

Too little regard

may occur in

paid to the

several unre-

meaning and function are

which contact

vant period, then

is

ergence. of the development of similar forms

is

known

we may legitimately infer an

the direction of the influence

may

similar in

to have occurred at the releinfluence,

not always be

clear.

though

Without

chronological controls the claim that .African institutions are

copied from Egyptian ones can certainly not be supported, especially as the

prototypes are usually collected

entire history of Egypt.

nation,

it

When Africa was

was understandable

attempted to show that their

at

random from the

under colonial domi-

many of its sons should have


own cultures drew on the same

that

sources as the cultures of the European powers;

it is

less

under-

standable that European and American writers should


-

still

105. Terracotta heads excavated

continue to follow the same

by Dr Oliver Davies at Ahinsan,

anything good ever came out of black Africa. With indepen-

line,

unless they cannot believe that

southern Ashanti. These


sculptures date from the late
sixteenth

and seventeenth

centuries and appear to be


ancestral in their artistic

conventions to the more recent

akua

mma sculptures.

of

Ghana. Hts 13

to

15

cm (5%

cm

dence, a

new generation

of African scholars has

grown

up,

take justifiable pride in discovering the history of their

who
own

people with objective scholarship; fortunately, these include

some very able art historians.

University

(5

in.)

in.)

109

Chapter 4

African Architecture

Architecture

been made

is

which remarkable achievements have

a field in

in Africa, yet for a

long time

was the subject of no

it

more than passing comment or of desultory study


only survey of the whole

field

most.

at

of African architecture

is

The

by Susan

Denyer, 1978. There are however specialized studies by Lebeuf,


1961; Jacques-Meunie, 1961; Swithenbank, 1969; Oliver, 1971;

Wenzel, 1972; Schwerdefeger, 1982; Moughtin, 1985 and 1988;


Blier, 1987;

Dmochowski, 1990;

Prussin, 1968, 1970a and


eral studies

b,

Carroll, 1992; and notably by

1986 and 1995, as well as more gen-

by Fraser, 1968; and Guidoni, 1975; while Herta

West African

Haselberger, 1964, has discussed

architecture in

general, and Julius Gliick, 1957, has provided an outline of

African architecture as a whole.


It is difficult to

decide where mere building ends and archi-

The windbreaks used

tecture begins.

as

shelter by

the

Bushmen are perhaps hardly even to be considered building; the


simple round beehive hut of flexible branches covered with
leaves such as the
architecture.

Pygmies build can scarcely be considered

These impermanent homes take advantage of

materials that are freely available in the environment so their


builders can

move unencumbered

nomadic peoples

in

more

to follow the game.

Other

where nature

hostile environments,

has been less liberal with building supplies, have had recourse to
tents which can be collapsed and taken to a

particularly suitable for pastoralists

who

new

site.

These are

can use one or more

of their herd as a pack-animal. Prussin, 1995, discusses several

examples

in detail

and argues convincingly that they do consti-

tute architecture and

shows

that their design, decoration and

construction are very largely under the control of women.

However, the circular hut with


structed by

a conical

roof which

con-

the agricultural peoples of the grasslands offers

greater opportunity for architectural creativity.


built

is

by the Tiv are an example of this type

excellent technical quality.

The Tiv

are

at its

The houses

simplest, but of

renowned

as thatchers

throughout northern Nigeria. Decoration of the walls may


consist of low-relief ornamentation round the doorways, or of

painted designs

110

all

over the walls.

Many

of the small 'pagan'

106. Granary constructed


by a

village.
is

at

Jos

Mada man from Andahar


The

prefabricated roof

being raised into position.

Ill

groups of northern Nigeria have exploited clay and stone most


effectively in their adaptation of this basic form.

on a foundation of stones

mites into the walls; beds are fashioned

underneath

which

in

a fire can be

counteract the biting

Houses are built

to discourage the penetration of ter-

chill

of the

lit

-a

have a space

in clay to

veritable hypocaust

to

December and January nights

when

the Harmattan winds may produce a drop in temperature


much as 70F (39C) from the day's high.
The houses of the Ham (or Jaba) round Nok afford an out-

of as

standing example of the exploitation of the possibilities of clay

in

architectural design. Their houses are oval in plan with a thatched

roof which slopes gently upwards from the front but


tical at

the rear.

The small, low doorway leads

defined by a transverse wall which

is

nearly ver-

is

into a front room,

pierced by an oval doorway

in the centre, giving access to the sleeping quarters behind.

These are divided again by a transverse wall which

swells out on

both sides forming large cavities accessible only from the top of
the wall.

These are for the storage of grain, not simply where it is

protected from rain by the roof of the house, but in an atmosphere

kept dry by the

fires

under the clay beds. The walls over the beds

have recesses for the storage of personal property"'' The

have a relatively simple technology, yet they have


the plastic potential of clay architecture in a
that of medieval and later

surface

pargetting usually done

in the clay

of the walls.

design which

is

Ham

grasped

way which surpasses

European builders

European clay architecture often had

fully

in clay

and thatch.

relief decoration

in plaster rather

on the wall

than directly

The Ham, however, have produced a house

a veritable sculpture for living in,

something more

than the mere machine for living in which Le Corbusier demanded.

Other peoples

in the

same area have not incorporated

granaries into the walls of their houses but have

independent and beautiful structures.


of stones
to

is

set in clay to

///.

their

made them

into

ring

106 shows one.

support the granary above the ground

keep termites and rats away

Upon

this

is

set a

of clay, upon which the cylindrical clay walls are

pre-formed dish
built.

Apertures

are cut in the wall to give access, and the surface round each

decorated

wide enough

for

through the lower aperture

until that level

piece of wall which had been cut out

When

with

clay.

filled

from the

cal

the upper aperture

top, a lid

is

is

is

is

reached,

when

the

replaced and sealed in

reached the remainder

is

sealed in position with clay and a coni-

roof is set on top to keep off the rain.

112

is

The top is built inwards to a narrow neck just


a man to get through. The grain is poured in

in relief.

*<107. Ancestor statues, carved


door-frame and verandah posts on
a

completed house similar

to that in///. 1

in style

08. Bafussam

chiefdom, of the BaMileke,

Cameroun.

113

108. The framework of a square

house with pyramidal


for thatching, Bafut,

roof ready

Cameroun.

109. Hausa buildings

in

northern

Nigeria are constructed from pear-

shaped, sun-dried bricks. They


are laid

in

clay

and the surface

plastered with clay.

114

110.

Wooden

chair,

BaMileke,

Cameroun. Elaborately carved


seats such as this are strictly

reserved for chiefs

and certain

notables. British

Museum,

London. Ht 117

cm

(46

in.)

we
development made
In the forests

find rectangular houses with a ridge-pole,

The

possible by the availability of timber.

commonly painted'" while the BaKuba


cover them with decoratively woven matting." In swampy areas
walls of these houses are

houses of this type are built on

piles.

with pyramidal roofs are found

Cameroun Grasslands we find


this

development

tant in

in

monumental

As can be seen

in

in

Sometimes square houses


the grasslands.

a particularly striking

example of

which the principle of vertically so imporarchitecture,

Ills. 1

07 and

is

very clearly demonstrated.

108, the posts (which

do not in

support the roof) afford an opportunity for the sculptor,


also decorates the

the

In

frame of the door, which

with the figures of ancestors.

is

fact

who

further flanked

118

A common type of house in the grasslands of West Africa has


a basic structure consisting of a rectangular

box of clay with a


115

116

^^^^jgg^T

111. {opposite) The interior of


buildings in the
Nigeria have

been decorated

a long time, but

been only

in

Muslim north

it

seems

to

of

the late nineteenth

be decorated.

In

modern

northern Nigeria have, since the

and

bicycles.

may include modern elements such as clocks


They use pieces split from the trunk of the Borassus

Zaria

palm, azara, to support the


length of three metres (ten

was allowed
a dispute

about

while

was being pursued

who

should inherit

can be achieved.

feet)

painted, but painted decoration

often employed.

is

limited to a

The

azara are also used to reinforce the

arches in public buildings such as mosques, emir's palaces and


gates."

The

decoration of the interior of these buildings,

with relief sculpture and paint, follows a long-standing tradi-

surfaces of buildings are often

is

the useful part

but by setting them across the

it.

112. {above) The sculptured

Zaria, Nigeria.

feet),

corners to reduce the direct span, spans of six metres (twenty

town

alone

flat roof:

and

house

to collapse

of

decoration which

with motifs representing prestige


items, in this case a bicycle

The Hausa

nineteenth century, deco-

rated the outer walls of these houses with paint or low-relief

one finds many houses decorated

a motor car. Sadly this

late

for

have

century that the outer walls began


to

roof which needs wooden reinforcement.

flat

tion.

China plates and - nowadays - brightly coloured enamel

bowls are set into the walls and ceilings. This mode of decoration
appears to have originated on the East African coast where on

Kilwa Island Persian and Chinese porcelain bowls were used


120

in

The prac-

this

way in

tice

appears to have spread northwards into Nubia and thence

the first half of the fifteenth century AD.

westwards across the Muslim Sudan.

were inspired by

It is

possible that the

Nupe

this habit in their invention of the fired clay

117

saucer with concentric

rills

on the convex

surface, with

which

they decorate the walls and floors of some of their houses. These
saucers, 7.5 to 10

cm

(three to four inches) in diameter, are set

with the concave side against the moist clay and tapped with

wooden mallet which


into the clay.

The

shatters

them and presses the fragments

resulting surface

is

attractive to the eye

and

resistant to the elements. ia]

This type of architecture has been developed by the peoples


of the western Sudan with the sensitivity to

which marked the

Ham

apparently reflecting the

Bend have rectangular houses and


elegance, and the

flat

its

plastic qualities

Round forms have been built,


round huts. The Dogon of the Niger

houses.

tall

tubular granaries of great

surfaces of the house walls are often

relieved with vertical rectangular recesses

which are also found

on the faces of their masks.

The strong African

sensitivity to

treatment of the mosque

itself,

form

is

shown even

in the

despite the fact that the basic plan

prescribed by Islam. Labelle Prussin has studied the mosques

113. This Dogon mask,

is

representing walu the antelope,

of the Niger Bend and the Volta Basin. " Clay buildings here

was

collected at

echoes the architectural forms


of the

Ht

Dogon.

(After Kjersmeier)

45 cm (17%

Sanga and

in.)

need constant renewal, for although the annual


great,

it falls

wooden

rainfall

is

not

during a very short period each year. Permanent

scaffolding has been incorporated into the design of the

114. The decorated front of the

mosques, giving them a prickly appearance. At the same time,

house

however, this provision for frequent repair to the surface appears

of

an important person

among the Dogon,


of

in

Sanga on the bend

the town
of the

River Niger. (After Griaule)

to have kept even the earliest buildings relatively


in

form.

lis

The

earliest

monuments

are the Sankore

unchanged

Mosque

at

Timbuktu
cult

(reflecting the establishment of Islam as an imperial

under Mansa Musa of Mali,

Songhay from 493


1

on

to

a massive scale, with

flourished from 1312 to

529)

centre as did Djenne:

it

at

in essentially the

Gao (who ruled


style - built

same

heavy pyramidal forms. Despite

Timbuktu never evolved

tinuing fame

to the

who

tomb of Askia Mohammed

1331) and the

was the

its

con-

into a stable political

stability of this centre

which led

development of skilled craftsmen who created an articu-

late architecture.

The mosque

Djenne has an advanced sense

at

of vertically, with hollow minarets integrated into the face of

The interior has all the loftiness of a Gothic catheThe Mopti Mosque is similar in style and has a sculptural
quality which echoes Dogon architecture and masks.
The Djenne and Timbuktu types eventually merge, leading
the building.

dral.

to

two other

of Kong
115. The front of the
at Mopti.

face of a

is

to the

striking.

William Fagg suggests that the

mask form
of the

is

copied from that

mosque,

but this

seems

it was built in 1935


masons directed by the

unlikely since

by Djenne

French administrator Cocheteaux.


(After Prussin)

types: those of Bobo Diulasso in Burkina

Faso and

Ivory Coast. These result from the southward move-

mosque

The resemblance

Dogon mask

in

ment of Muslim Mande traders


established village states. Their
the scale of the polity,
style.

The moister

tresses and

more

in

into these areas,

mosques

where they

reflect the reduction in

being smaller and less monumental

in

climate compelled the use of broader but-

liberal horizontal

timber scaffolding for the

maintenance work, which together reduce the vertically of


the design. Indeed, in the

Kong

type of mosque, the horizontal

119

116. The Sankore mosque


at

Timbuktu,

built in

fourteenth century.
bristles with the

the early

The surface

permanent

wooden scaffolding provided to


make possible continuous repair
of the building. In

consequence

the form of the building has

remained unchanged since


has never needed

to

be

it

rebuilt.

120

timbers become so major a feature that the style loses most of its
vertical character.

In the small rural

that sculptural
tural form.

mosques,

like the

The result

is still

it

is

The

interior

no longer used,

is

it

this has

the

entirely

for the Friday activities are carried out in


all

major African religious

creativity has taken over an imported plan and

its

been done

Kwara

is

classic plan, indeed

are.

Thus African
made

Kawara, we find

absent and vertically

no longer follows the

the open space outside the mosque, as

ceremonies

at

very pleasing, but of the two major

architectural qualities, horizontality

minimal.

one

form has taken over completely from architec-

own. Of course,

in different

State of Nigeria, there are a

small mosques.

///.

of Africa,

in different parts

ways. In Ilorin, a Yoruba town

120 shows the way

number of

in

delightful

which the sculptural

qualities of clay have been exploited in one of them.


In the forests

ofWest

Africa,

among the Yoruba and

of Renin, a particularly interesting form of building

is

the

Edo

found, the

impluvium. Gliick regards this as closely related to the clay box

house of the savanna, but


117. Village

mosque

at

Kawara,

Niger Bend.

mosque on

the

structure

it

is

much

closer to

the usual rectangular ridge-pole house of the forests. Four of

Ivory Coast, a late stage in the

evolution of the

in

these, with verandas,

grouped together round

square courtyard

could have been the beginning of the development as

it

clearly

121

ann type of house described by Swithenbank.

Among the \oruba, this is still often

all

tha:

:'.:_:

v-:

--.
.

-.:'.;.

::

Lirtyard

me note

has bee

so that the i eran das together ipnn a kind of large

courtyard reduced to

the rain

falls,

Provision

is

small open area in the centre into which

hence the name, imphrrivm or rain courtyard".

made

to catch the water in large pots

(nowadays cement-lined tanks are sometime


are provided to com

:er

away

md

sometimes a pottery

pipe,

drains

In excavations at Ife

pavements were round made from sherds of broft


on edge which had been the floors of such imphrn^L with
at their edge,

bddbD,

room with the

sometimes

grindstone pierced by a hole and forming

drains

worn-out

kind of funnel

through which the water could pass without eroding the wall.

Imphcna seem no longer to be

built in

Yoruba

storeyed houses of fired brick or cement block are preferred.


Fortunately, however, a

number of old houses

and maintained. Some of these


J-

are bi

numbers of
-_

lc

ngm den

are

still

inhabited

are palaces, and although


I

uses I

traditional ones survive for

Yoruba

themselves, suflk enl

to have

classified

them into four types, each with

distribution.

The

Palace in Akure

is

a different geographical

one of the best-preserved

examples, perhaps because the late Deji of Akure, Adesida


in his nineties

when he

embodiment of the
ple, that

I,

was

died about 1958, and thus was a living

traditional

he 'rebuffed finally

way of life. Ojo tells


in

us, for

exam-

1953 the overtures of some

Protestant Churches to build a chapel within the Akure Palace.

He considered

that

it

would be

a superfluous

venture since, as he

claimed, there were already seven hundred and twenty deities,

each with a temple or shrine of its own

in the Palace.'

his conservatism, the ancient plan of his Palace

1Ji

is still

Thanks to
preserved,

and one can see that the impluvial courtyards vary from uwa nla

(the Great Courtyard,


forty-six metres (a
119. Impluvial courtyard

in

the

in

one metres (seventy

feet)

122) with an open area about

///.

hundred and

fifty feet)

wide down

palace at Eton Alaye.

A modern

(Courtyard of the River Aya,

cement-covered tank

now

metres by one metre (nine by four feet).

the rain

catches

in the plan)

uwa odd ayd

only about three

which would formerly

have been caught

in large

pots

immediately below the eaves.

The low wall edging

of the

courtyard confined heavy rains


until

long and up to twenty-

to the tiny

they could drain away. Note

the verandah posts supporting

In

Benin the houses which

Expedition period,

numbers of small
but not too

much

impluvia,
heat.

by Agbonbiofe between

1900

survive from the pre-

which allow adequate light to

The thick mud

enter,

walls also help to keep the

building cool; they are thick enough to accommodate cavities

the roof which were carved

and 1920.

still

which date from before 1897, have large

i.e.

which serve

as shelves.

the completely enclosed

Major storage, however,

rooms which

lie

is

provided by

beneath the ridge-pole.

The

120. One of several small


mosques in the northern
Yoruba town of llorin. The
plastic quality of clay

been very

traditional building

method

here, as

among the Yoruba,

consists of puddling the clay with water in a hole in the ground,

and when the right consistency has been attained,

has

course of clay

fully exploited.

is

laid outlining the floor plan

gaps for the doorways.


built

Ji

The

continuous

of the building, with

Palace of the King of Benin was

with thicker walls than other buildings, with a greater

number of courses

(seven or more) of clay, and thus a greater

height than those of other people's houses.

The

surfaces of the

wall were horizontally fluted. Chiefs' houses were less

tall

than

the Palace (five courses) and also horizontally fluted outside,

while a few high-ranking chiefs could have flutings on the

121. Corner of an impluvial room


in

Chief Oghiamien's house

Benin. The walls

which

is

show

in

the fluting

permitted on inside

walls only to the king and a few

highranking chiefs. The cavities


serve as shelves.

124

\nrjTJTJTrirjT-"jTJTriJTrLrLnj

Reference

A Uwb Mo

J.

Uwb

Oriole

Ogogb

K.

'

Ojukbtb

C.

Ele**

L.

Og'orb

0.

Odb Owo

M.

'

Agobo

E.

Ibiiro

N.

F.

IKbmb

, .

0.
P.

6.
H.

Imprun
Ojutb
Cbyo

Q.

Lake

R.

lit

1.

, i

Agb.tb

Odo Aya
Odb Ult

Courtyard
Covered courtyord

room

fi
veronda
Storeyed port

Mud

pillar

Wall

Mud steps

Idoni
Scale

Wooden steps

n_TU

::
--||

eOFett

[Adapted from a plan surveyed by

Anthony Harrison

122. Plan of the main building of the


Palace of the Deji of Akure.

125

interior walls as well, but commoners' houses were limited to four

courses and lacked

all fluting.

smoothed and polished so


visible in walls

maintenance

is

The

wall surfaces were well

that the courses of

which have been neglected,

mud

are only

for a great deal of

required to repair the effects of rain, not only on

the walls themselves but also on the edges of the tank in the floor

beneath the impluvium.


is

a national

The

monument,

late

told

Chief Oghiamien, whose house

me

that before

was introduced one of the main


house used to be to bring clean
in

Western education

duties of the children of the

'sand'

from the river and to help

restoring the weathered surfaces. Now, however, they are in

school most of the time, and

trained in this old craft.

museum for Benin

it is

necessary to pay to have this

now relatively few workers


Zbigniew Dmochowski designed a new

work done, although there

are

with an area on the scale and

in

the style of the

King's Palace where works of art intended for the royal cults were
to be exhibited,

and an area on the scale and

house for displaying art


123. Great Zimbabwe. The

Temple from the


tower

is in

air.

the foreground

between the

trees.

materials were to be used, with

The conical
fire, in

in

works of humbler

the style of a chief's


origin. Traditional

some modernization

to inhibit

order to save from extinction the dying craft of wall

maintenance. Unfortunately his plan was rejected

in

favour of a

126

concrete building with totally inappropriate circular rooms and


steel-framed windows.

Probably the best-known architectural

whole of Africa

monument

in the

Great Zimbabwe. This spectacular stone ruin

more speculation than any other African monument;

has caused
it

is

has been thought to be King Solomon's Mines, or the Palace

of the Queen of Sheba.

was indeed exploited

It

as a

mine by the

Ancient Ruins Corporation from 1896 to 1901, ransacking the


site for

ancient gold artefacts to melt down.

liant archaeological excavation of the

conducted

in

It

has taken the bril-

few tiny undisturbed areas

1958 by Summers, Robinson and Whitty to put

this site into its

proper chronological setting.

lifi

There are three main groups of buildings


Zimbabwe.

In the valley

Great Enclosure, which has


and

(thirty feet) high

six

tall

feet) thick,

enclosing

conical tower, a smaller

mass of fallen stonework from other buildings. This

was apparently the Royal

who

Great

massive outer wall nine metres

metres (twenty

another smaller incomplete wall, a


tow er and

at

the elliptical building, 'temple' or

is

reigned here was

Palace, and since the

divine king,

it

was

Monomotapa

also in

some sense

a temple.

About

which

precipitously steep on the east side. Stone walls and

is

quarter of a mile to the north

is

a granite hill,

terraces have been constructed between the boulders on the


to

make

a fortification; access

this site is

refuge,

known

is

by

as the 'acropolis',

comparable to the keep

hill

stepped pathway. Although

it

clearly served as a place of

in a

Norman

these two groups of buildings are the valley

castle.

Between

ruins, a

complex

mass of walling and enclosures.

The

excavations revealed that the site was occupied before

The

the stone buildings were erected.


tion

seem

to

the second phase

is

recognized

of poles plastered with


cattle.

earliest traces of occupa-

belong to the second and third centuries ad while

clay,

in

the remains of round huts built

and containing pottery figurines of

This phase of occupation began around the fourth century

ad but it is not known when it ended. The third phase, some time
between the tenth and the sixteenth centuries, saw the beginnings of stone building.

The

defensive hill-top acropolis was

probably resorted to as a refuge

in its natural state,

and some of

the earliest stone buildings are found there, conceived as extensions of the natural rock, rather than as independent walls.

Mortarless dry stone walling was used to fill in the gaps between
the boulders. Eventually, the idea of building true freestanding
walls

was conceived.

When these walls join at an angle they are


127

not keyed into each other as stone or brick walls usually are, but

they simply abut each other,

like clay walls.

This suggests very

strongly that the technique of building with stone evolved on the


spot.

Four different types of wall construction have been

guished by Anthony Whitty,

all

of them consisting of a roughly

dressed stone facing with a rubble core. Class


neatly built, but without courses; Class

between
Class

this
is

and Class

which

is

PQ

in

the other buildings on the

is

moderately

intermediate

analysis of

that this

The same

so that

site,

The

built.

represents a chronological sequence there.

ble to

is

well built with neat courses;

rough, uncoursed and poorly

wall junctions on the Great Enclosure shows

found

distin-

has been possi-

it

work out the sequence of building in broad

scheme

styles are

terms.

Class P walls are related only to the basic constructional


needs, but Class

PQ

sees the introduction of architectural con-

siderations such as buttressed entrances and rounded wall ends.

The culmination

of this development

in

Class

Q walls produced

the finest buildings and the neatest work. This level of skill

reached

in

the later part of the fourth phase, from

was

AD 1450

to

1833, and culminated in the Great Wall of the Enclosure, the

Conical

Tower and

the Platform. This phase occurred at the

peak of Great Zimbabwe's prosperity, reflected


of gold

which

Corporation.
124. Decorative stone walling

at

Naletale, apparently built by the

BaRozwi

in

the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries.

l'JS

were

The

Class

mined

here

by

the

in

the quantities

Ancient

walls belong to the

fifth

Ruins

phase of

125. Fragment of a wall

built

from sun-dried bricks decoratively


laid.

may

This technique

well be

the antecedent of decorative

building with stone, for stone

seems

architecture in Africa

always

to

copy

This example

town

of

mud

is in

prototypes.

the abandoned

Old Somorika

north-east of Benin.

in

Afenmai,

The stone

benches were provided

for the

comfort of the elders, for this

is

the edge of the meeting area in


the centre of the town.

Mugabe occupation, from

occupation, the time of the


the

Nguni sacked Great Zimbabwe,

until the

833,

when

end of the nine-

teenth century, during which time the Great Enclosure served

merely as

a cattle kraal.

Great Zimbabwe

is

by no means the only group of stone

buildings in southern Africa.

The Khami Ruins

are hardly less

impressive, and Naletale in

modern Zimbabwe, which was

occupied by the BaRozwi

the seventeenth and eighteenth

in

centuries, has outstandingly fine decorative walling. Ruins of

stone

buildings

are

Mozambique from

throughout

scattered

the

Limpopo

Zimbabwe and

to the Zambezi.

These are

all

complexes of circular buildings, no doubt deriving their form

from prototypes

in clay. It

seems probable that the idea of build-

ing in stone arose from the need to terrace the hillsides for

make platforms

cultivation and to

north

at

Engaruka

in

for houses. Indeed, further

Tanzania, there are such retaining walls

They are
By this
and it may

with circles of stone which seem to be the floors of huts.


thought, however, to date from no earlier than

AD

1500. 127

time the Indian Ocean trade was well established

be that the exotic influences, perhaps by raising the level of


available wealth,

buildings in

encouraged the undertaking of such public

stone on a truly monumental scale. Certainly, Great

Zimbabwe would hardly have been


which the trade

in

the groups of circular


are similar in

possible without the wealth

made possible. Nevertheless,


forms of the Great Zimbabwe buildings

gold and copper

arrangement

to the buildings of the Palace of the

Paramount Chief of Barotseland, which

wooden poles.

is

built of reeds

and

128

129

Chapter 5

126,127. (below)

Collectors have

often attempted to estimate the age


of African sculpture

by

its

two

which passes

vertically

in.)

step towards appreciating any art

some

is,

of course, to look

of Western ideas of beauty and

crow

1913. Manchester

was

46.3cm(18 /4in.)

in particular.

Yet they are

respects fallible guides, for they start from the premise

BaYaka and BaPende

near Opobo,

Museum. Hts shown 45 cm


(17 3/4

it.

selves ethnocentrically, as

in

a hut during a punitive expedition

Nigeria, in

We have the writings of many artists and critics to help us to

in

through

the trunk, were found together

among the Ogoni

first

at

look at and to enjoy African sculpture

in

figures with

movable lower jaws operated by


rod

The

appear-

ance. Despite the differences


condition, these

Looking at African Sculpture

variety'.

that

it

129

had

Her

as

all

too often express them-

when Margaret Trowell wrote of the

having 'elaborate masks of the scare-

entire assessment of the art of the Ashanti

'little

to

commend

it

as of serious interest.

The

ingenious

little

goldweights, although pleasing

in their

wealth

of representation of local proverbs, must be relegated to the class


1

28. (opposite) Brass weights for

measuring gold-dust which was the

Many

currency of Ashanti.

of

them

of collector's

Akua

trifles,

Mma with

while the small

fertility figures

their curious plate-like heads are of

refer to proverbial expressions. Left

(top to bottom): cast box for storing

gold-dust: the double spiral motif


a sign of creation by the

is

supreme

interest to the ethnologist than to the artist.'


tainly not been

whom

being; weight with a geometric

design edged with the life-giving


rays of the sun;
a shield
still

remains',

deeds

two shields: 'when

wears out the framework


i.e.

men

die but their

on. Centre-, a repousse

live

storage box; a small geometric

weight; a war-trumpet decorated

with

human

merits a
i.e.

it',

jaws: 'when a horn

jawbone one

rewards have

is

added

to

be earned;

to

a cartridge-belt: 'the cartridge belt


of

Akowua

[a

celebrated warrior]

has never been known

to lack

bullets', i.e. a resourceful


is

person

never found wanting; a geometric

design representing the

fire of

the

sun. Right: a weight cast directly

from a

real

okra

not

show

its

i.e.

there

is

fruit: 'the

okra does

seeds through

more

in

its

skin',

man's mind

than shows on his face; a triangular

weight representing the sky, the


earth and the underworld symbol
of

Nyame

as ruler of the universe;

an equal-armed cross edged with


the sun's rays, symbol of

as the sun god.

Coll.

F.

Nyame

Willett.

The okra measures 7 cm (2%

in.)

130

140

known
more

as

real

This has cer-

my own experience: both artists and art students

have introduced to Ashanti gold weights and dolls have

found them exciting. This then


look

at,

and either to

like

is

the problem. Is

it

sufficient to

or to dislike, a particular African sculp-

ture or art style?

As Wingert put

it,

Tor

the art historian and for the serious

art connoisseur or collector, this art has certainly very impor-

tant advantages over the study of other traditions. For one thing

there
that

is

not the vast bulk of historical and analytical literature, so

it is

possible for the individual to exercise his

own powers

of perception and analysis without any fixed attitude to direct


or curtail his observations. In other words,

with primitive
all

art,

when

dealing

the scholar and the art connoisseur can with

freedom express their own aesthetic interpretations and

131

129. The Ogoni show a great

masks with movable

liking for

jaws,

some

of

which,

like this

one

representing an elephant, appear


to

be intended to

spectator. British

London.

L.

amuse the
Museum,

47 cm (lS

in.)

130. Mask representing a

bush

pig,

Ogoni. The movable

lower jaw and cane teeth are


greatly favoured by the Ogoni,

though they are used also


by neighbouring
British

Ibibio.

Museum, London.

L 41 cm (16%

in.)

132

judgments.' 11 Surely
'

may be

inhibited

and analysis by
ture'.

Most

it is

only the professional art historian

from exercising

his

own powers

'the vast bulk of historical

visitors to exhibitions of

and analytical

Western

who

of perception

art,

litera-

ancient or

modern, are able to enjoy themselves to a certain degree without


131, 132. Without
the

field

the

necessarily having read

subject of a sculpture

may

not

gain the

documentation

in

always be identified with certainty.

The headpiece
ceremonies
called

for

of the

mangam
Mama (now
the

Kantana) has retained the

despite the simplification of

Lagos.

49.5 cm 19^2

L.

is

representing the tuft of hair

is

at the front

said to be the nose. This piece

used

It

is

called

the

in

aku onu and

akumaga

cult to

represent a beneficent spirit

who speaks

for the

celebrated,

Museum

fur

Berlin. Ht.
L.

the greater the knowledge, the

at

great deal of satisfaction can indeed be found in looking

African sculpture without background information, looking

simply to see

one

is

how

the artist has solved his artistic problems, but

not necessarily sharing

in

the sculptor's experience or

enjoying the sensations he intended to convey.


first

of all the overall artistic conception

in

One

can observe

terms of masses and

open space. The use of open space enclosed within sculptures by

and

African artists appears as one of the

fortune

at funerals.

in.)

features

borrowed by twentieth-century Western sculptors. Depending


on the degree of emphasis on the masses and the open spaces
the impression

may

be of weight or of lightness, which

reflect the function of the sculpture, but the

volkerkunde,

25.5 cm (10

48 cm (19

more obvious

ancestors

when good

on occasions
is

art;

collected by Frobenius in

1912.
is

no different from Western

left

on the otherwise shaven heads of

was

is

this respect African art

an

human

head, the projection at the back

Jukun men, while that

preceded and influenced others, deepens both one's

greater the enjoyment.

A
The

in.)

Jukun headpiece however


extreme stylization of the

the relevant monographs. Yet to

understanding and one's enjoyment. In

Museum,

the form. Nigerian

artists

all

appreciation, a knowledge, for example, of

bush-

characteristic horns of the

cow

which

maximum

sculptor's success in this cannot be

may

measure of the

gauged without knowledge

in.),

of his purpose.

133

133. This mother with child by

an Afo sculptor

among the

is

treatments of the theme

whole

of Africa.

It

is

in

finest

the

thought

to

represent a female ancestor, the

mother

of the

similar piece
shrine.

The

Afo people,
is still in

use

fact that the

for a
in

her

baby

at

her breast has herself mature


breasts suggests that this

is

more

than just an ordinary mother and


child.

Although few

in

numbers,

the Afo enjoyed a high reputation

as artists

among

neighbouring

peoples, though their finest works

seem to date from before 1900.


Horniman Museum, London.

Ht70cm(27 /2
1

in.)

134

African sculpture has been


i.e.

commonly

described as frontal,

the figures are symmetrically disposed about a vertical axis,

and face forward. There

are,

of course, exceptions to

this,

but

asymmetrical pieces are uncommon. Because of their frontality


African figure sculptures are commonly photographed or drawn
full face,

concealing the fact that the sculptor has paid a great

deal of attention to the profile view.

the

Female twin figures

(ibeji) in

Oyo style very often show a remarkable balance between

breasts and the buttocks which


It is

is

only apparent in

the

profile.

easy enough to analyse the formal characteristics of

African sculpture in terms of vertical, horizontal or diagonal

emphases; of relative naturalism or abstraction; of rounded,


angular or cubic elements; or
135.

Profile of

Yoruba

ibeji (figure

movement, and

this

is

of a twin) in the style of the city

rience, since African sculptors

of Oyo.

expression

in

in

terms of tensions, rhythm and

certainly an enjoyable and satisfying expe-

what has been

have achieved a remarkable level of

called 'purely sculptural' form.

134. {opposite, below) A British


District Officer

on tour

in

the

Nigerian Creeks, represented

by

Thomas Ona who used


Yoruba

traditional

style to

represent everyday

around

life

him, both European and African.

Europeans, not accustomed to


seeing themselves represented
in

an African

presumed

style of sculpture

that they

were being

Ona however
declared, when interviewed by
William Bascom, that he was
caricatured.

simply representing the world


as he

saw

it.

The group

constructed from

is

many

parts,

even the D.O.'s hat and pipe


are separate carvings. Formerly
Coll. R.
1

(16 /4

P.Armstrong.

L.

41 cm

in.)

136,137.

(right)

Two

figures of

horsemen from the Senufo,


examples
form'

which

admire

in

fine

of the 'purely sculptural


artists

and

African art.

critics

They

represent two of the bandeguele,

minor

divinities

concerned

with divination. British

London. Hts 25.5

32cm(12 3/4

cm

Museum,

(10

in.),

in.)

135

Western
appreciate

artists of the present

superfluous ideal

century were very quick to

once the camera had made academic naturalism

this,

two-dimensional

in

art.

They saw what they

took to be free creative interpretations of nature, totally unrestricted by the

canons of realism, and saw how their own art

could be freed.

They

were,

mistaken

in fact,

believing that

in

there were no bounds for the individual artist, and as

African sculptures were brought to Europe,


clear that their creators

It

bush-cow

his

reasonable to look

perfectly

is

through Western
138. Male figure carved by the

eyes.

own approach

purpose

is

in

///.

to collecting African art.

African mask. .not because

in.)

liked

it

sculpture

has described

my

bought

but because

first

that being

felt

131 Their
.

not known. British

Museum, London. Ht 67 cm
(26 3/8

African

at

The painter Fred I'hlman

masks seen

artistic tradi-

which had developed over many centuries

tion

Mama who make the

were working within an

more

became

rapidly

it

now
I

a painter

had to be

in the

movement Most

of the artists

admired, Picasso, Modigliani, Derain, to mention only a few, had

collected African art and had been profoundly influenced by

Shortly afterwards
bin which are

easy to see

still

bought the Baule

two of the

fetish

it.

and the Baule bob-

my

finest pieces in

collection.

It is

why bought them and why from that moment have


The head of the bobbin or heddleI

never stopped collecting.


pulley which

after all only a functional object for the purpi

is

weaving seemed
goddess.

The

to

They appealed
is

and

its air

me as

to

submitted to the same

it

means

be so but for
if

one

me

that
it is

its

of profound meditation.

European brought up

test:

does

that this

speak to

it

in the classic-

have ever bought

me and

dot

too narrow an approach

is

exclude works of great power. Tins may

the only honest and reasonable approach

collects for pleasure

or rare or a

as deeply as the bobbin by

Greece and Rome. Everything

move me.
Somebody may argue
and that

then and today as beautiful as a Greek

moved me

fetish

silent tragic dignity

tradition of

me

and not because something

good investment After

all

have to

str

is

with

live

my

collection
I

ing

have met many collectors

a single piece, often

lived with

it.

who began

in a

similar

ay.

buy-

on the spur of the moment, and. as they

being seduced by

its

aesthetic quality into collect-

ing more and more examples of African sculpture.

This approach

to African art.

nicates immediately,

reaction to a

work of art

of the action of the

136

is

enjoying

a valid one. It
is

artist.

it

for

what

it

commu-

could he argued that the

a creative act

which

is

the counterpart

There can be no question

that African

Some

139.

of the

first

African

sculpture to be sought out by

European collectors was that


produced by the Baule. The high
polish, the careful representation
of exotic details of hair-style

and

scarification pattern together

with the serenity of expression

appealed immediately to

European
typical of

uses
a

taste.

human

number

This figure

is

Baule sculpture which


figures to represent

of different types of

British Museum, London.


Ht52cm(20'/2 in.)

spirit.

137

140. Three figures from northern


Nigeria.

The one on the

appears

to

left

have been used by the

Chamba but may have been made


by a Mumuye, while the other
two are certainly Mumuye. A
remarkable feature of the

style

way in which the arms and


even the abdomen of one piece
is

the

are used to enclose space within

and centre:
Museum, London. Right:
formerly Coll. James Crabtree.
the sculpture. Left
British

Hts47.6cm(18 3/4 in.),46.5cm


(18 3/8 in.),44.5cm(17 /2
1

in.)

sculpture

moves Western viewers, and

with further exposure. Yet


limited in
art.

The

much

the

at this level

same way

scenes of pastoral

easily enjoyed, but

life

as

it is

that

its effect

increases

of study understanding

in the

represented

in

the Tassili can be

one can only guess at the artists' motivation.

Fred Uhlman's account shows that he appreciates that


approach

is

one of communication between the

he does not assume that he


original artist.

is

study of prehistoric

is

art

his

and himself;

thereby communicating with the

Some writers, however, in adopting a similar sub'What does this sculpture mean to me?'

jective approach, asking

have presumed that the meaning they extract from a sculpture


is

the

meaning which the

Underwood,

in his

artist

intended to convey. Leon

day one of the rare European sculptors who

himself carried out the entire process of casting his bronze

thrown great

sculptures, has

light

on the technical aspects of

when he writes about wood carvings he sometimes suggests that his own interpretation is that of

ancient bronze castings'" yet

the original artist: 'In this figure [a

cupping her breasts


represented

in

in

woman

with a large head,

her hands, but without a

her biological role -

human

figure with a small head, nursing a child]

child]]

fertility;

\\

woman

is

hereas [a

.personifies, with her

more comprehensive idea offertility that of the


The association of the idea of woman as mother of the race

child mankind, a
earth.

with mother of the universe (the earth of Africa) is emphasized in

l.'iS

141. Two
Ijo

ejiri

of the

Western

representing the head of the

household making sacrifice

to

British

appears never

Hts82cm(32 /4
70cm(27 /2 in.)

The creature

is

to

be represented.

probably entirely

The Urhobo

the family guardian spirit

imaginary.

represented below as a strange

have similar sculptures used

animal,

commonly

said to be

Museum, London.

an elephant, though the trunk

in a

in.),

also

warrior cult.

139

142, 143.

Wooden bowl

for

holding the sixteen palm nuts

used

in Ifa divination.

on horseback
for

is

The man

a favourite subject

supporting this type of Yoruba

bowl. British

Museum, London.

Ht28.5cm(ll'/4in.)

sculptural expressions by a reduction of the head, thereby giving


a

monumental

scale to the body.'

In describing an

assured and indicates

Urhobo

134

piece similar to

by questions: 'The fanged

The

leopard's head

less

are painted with leopard's spots.

Does

reduced to a

is

fanged mouth, mounted directly without body on

The head

is

interpretations

maw and legs of the animal at the base

are those of the leopard.

swift ferocity?

141 he

///.

some but not all of his own

legs.

The legs

mean ferocious speed or

it

of the divinity or spirit

in

the centre

is

attended on each side by baboon-like figures with human-faced


birds (messengers?) on their heads..

.''"
.

The author's subjective

interpretation, however, permeates the passage; for

spots of paint by no
in

///.

means necessarily represent the

leopard, as

244. Clearly in looking at African art through western eyes

we are in danger of projecting our own


been claimed,
not

example

in

in a colonial

manner.

danger of treating it as

ideas into

it,

often,

has

it

If the art 'speaks' to us are

a ventriloquist's

we

dummy?

Writers about the arts of the Western world pay heed not
just to the formal qualities of a

work of art, but

to its date and

place of composition, the patron, the purpose and the meaning.

The meaning not infrequently


reader
life

may be presumed

reflects ideas

with which the

to be relatively familiar, events in the

of Christ or the lives of the saints, famous historical events or

personages. If this background information should relate to an

obscure event or person, the art historian usually provides the


necessary information. So
that

it

is

not formally expressed,


is a

ital

/(>

the background

it

is

often forgotten that this

part of our appreciation of a

writers trained

much of

is

familiar

often taken for granted, and in consequence, since

in art

it

is

knowledge

work of art. Hence, many

history seem to believe that

it is

possible

144. {above) Senufo

mask

called

kponiugo representing a mythical


being

who

protects the

community

a hornbill

is

He

first

represented with the jaws of

a hyena, the tusks of a wart-hog,

the horns of

some
the

an antelope and of

other creature. Appropriately

mask

is

intended to

recall

the

chaos before the world was set


in order.

Between the horns are

chameleon, two

The

chameleon's slow and careful walk

from sorcerers and soul-stealers.


is

and

of the primordial animals.

due

to the fact that

creature to walk on the newly

formed surface

masks appear
and appear
held

he was the

of the earth.

in

groups

These

after

145, 146. {below)

bowl

for

Wooden

the cult of the Yoruba

god Obatala, whose igbin drums


are represented being played

by women. National Museum,


Lagos.

Ht26.5cm(10 /2in.)
]

dark

to spit fire, for tinder is

in a cleft stick in front of

mouth. Courtesy
of Chicago. L.

the

of the Art Institute

102 cm (40'/8

in.)

141

147. This unusual Yoruba mask


of the

Gelede

dances

which

society,

to protect the

community

from witchcraft, represents


a gorilla.

Such masks usually

include a body section (like


the Baga

mask

in

They are

called

ogede and

///.

17).

appear on the second day


of the festival.

On gelede

see

Drewal and Drewal. 1990.

and Lawal. 1996. Hunterian

Museum. University
L 56 cm (22 in.)

of

Glasgow.

to appreciate the arts of the non-\\ estern

knowledge of the world of ideas which they

While
a

it

work of

is

clearly possible to get

art of

stances in which
for the
148. Pottery tobacco pipe

showing the exaggerated nose


which is typical of BaYaka
sculpture. This form

may have

been developed from the upturned


nose

of

BaPende sculptures

a chief, a

is

attempting to represent the

the scale of the

naturalistic form.

amusing

to

we cannot
is

more

Both look

European eyes, but


be certain that

their effect

enjoyment, which only true understanding

worshipper or even

static

of a

this

work?

position or

is

Is
it

we cannot know

spirit

a god. Similarly,

of an incest

what detern.

it

intended to be placed

shown
1.8

sculpture

metres

m\

in a

twenty pounds

feet

Ht 7 err

is

142

itself, for

dominant

William Fagg and

is
I

not

were

shrine in northern Kkiti which was over

high and weighed

K5 kg - vet

an epamask.

in a

intended to be portable? This

always clear from the object

on a MuYaka.

Manchester Museum.

circum-

(Ills.

BaYaka sculptures

an exaggeration

o\ the

to have this information

trying to do; without specialized information

whether he

nose
is

was created, we need

When we look at sculpture we ask what the artis*

193. 194). while the large fleshy


of other

some enjoyment out of

any period without knowledge


it

maximum

can bring.

world without any

reflect.

it

at least a

was intended

hundred and

for

wear on the

149

BaYaka dance mast

;-:/. -z

-.>--.-

After circumcision,

:t.t ::~t--

which

is

the

culmination of the segregation


in

the bush school (nkanda), the

boys dance
ail

in

masks

like this in

the villages of their district

T -e-e

-: Eri'r:.

identity of the

3::..-~f

who

dancers,

receive prizes for their skill, white

honoured

for his

the carver

is

originality.

The face of these

masks

is

commonly set

in

represents an animal.

Rtetberg

Museum,

Zurich.

Ht54cm(21%in.)

African sculptures

show

a variety of styles

ranging from

naturalism to the most abstract stylization. Without additional


information

it is

quite impossible to guess the

meaning of the

more stylized works. Most African sculpture in Western

collec-

tions is unpainted. yet in Africa sculpture is probably more


commonly painted than not. How can we then assess the surface
finish of a sculpture if we do not know whether or not it was

intended to be visible?

The most treacherous ground of all. however, is that of the


mood or expression of a sculpture. Western writers are very prone
143

to look for expressions of

which

in their

own

society

A very strong

horror and terror

may

in

be intended merely to amuse.

influence in writings about African art has

been the collector, whether private or public,

African

i.e.

values.

We

see

many

museum

the

and especially uniqueness have been

curator. Rarity

supreme

African masks

up as

set

exhibitions of 'masterpieces of

most of these include very pedestrian works.

art', albeit

Even where the works are carefully selected with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the

field, as for

organized by William Fagg


pieces','

how

17

'Africa:

example in the exhibition

100 Tribes - 100 Master-

one may well ask how a masterpiece can be typical or

a single

work of whatever quality can represent

whole

We can hardly write an adequate art history in the terms

people.

of masterpieces alone, for

we need

to study the

whole range

of artistic production in order to detect the outstanding


achievements. Advances, on the whole, have been

outstanding individual artists


resolved problems

so that

when we

more

made by

each generation

in

the

who have

effectively than their contemporaries,

read a book on art history

we

usually read only

about the more gifted and influential 'great' masters. Yet we

cannot appreciate the achievements of the great masters without a

knowledge of the lesser ones. The true masterpieces must be studied in the

context of the overall artistic production of the society.

who

Despite this emphasis on the 'masterpiece', those

approach African art from a purely aesthetic point of view seem


until recently

not to have regarded the artist as having any real

individuality. It

gin of the piece

was considered important to determine the ori- a 'tribal' name was usually enough - but the

name of the individual


that the

felt

group

style, that the artist


skill

artist

as a

was not usually sought since

whole

it

some vague way produced

in

was
the

was merely expressing with greater or lesser

the aesthetic conceptions of the community. In fact, there are

two forces at work

in

the creation of traditional African sculpture:

the established artistic style appropriate to the type of object

being made, and the individual vision of the carver himself.

So long as African

art

was studied primarily

in

the

museums

and armchairs of the West, so long was it possible for the myth of
150. The
the

initiation

BaSuku

of the

masks

of

are related to those

BaYaka, but are entirely

carved

in

wood, including the

superstructure.

The nose lacks

the anonymity of the carver to persist, for

Museum,

Zurich. Ht

60 cm

was only on the

work

Africa, they had

somehow not

and when they


ments.

//

The

art

did, they

were apt

of woodcarving

to

is

soil

artists.

Although anthropologists had long been undertaking

the BaYaka exaggeration. Rietberg

(23'/,in.)

it

of Africa that one could discover the names of individual

field-

much heed to the art,


make some surprising compaid

governed

in

part by the poor

'L'a

151. {above) BaLuba mask, the


decoration of which appears to

be derived from the BaSongye


(see

///.

153). Used

in

ceremonies

associated with chieftaincy.

Mus6e Royal de I'Afrique Centrale,


60 cm (23 3/4 in.)

Tervuren. Ht

152.
in

{right)

Helmet mask used

boys' initiation rites of the

Northern BaKete

who

live

among

the BaKuba. Formerly Coll.

JayT. Last. Ht 53

cm

(21

in.)

/<>

quality of the tools, the blades and cutting-edges of which are

when

ineffective

faced by a hard and unyielding substance.

Further, the sculptor

with neither

ing,

progress, works by
rial

which

is.

correction.'

188

who practises

design nor a ground plan of the work


trial

and error: he requires, therefore

.easily cut,

one that lends

is

itself to

commonly

the cutting tools

soft,

it

locally

in

mate-

untrue.

is

took a very sharp

more

said to have been far

now made

experiment and

Practically every part of this statement

While traditionally-wrought iron was


edge and

method of carv-

the "direct"

efficient than

from imported

tem-

steel

pered for other purposes (for example matchets and knives are

commonly made nowadays from motor-car

springs), but

how-

ever good or bad the tools, carvings of very high quality were

made in the hardest woods, such as iroko, which indeed had to be


when freshly felled before they reached maximum hard-

carved
ness.

While

it is

work

true that African artists

directly,

without

preliminary sketches, they do have a remarkable vision of the

end-product from the time of making the

first cut. It is

an amaz-

ing experience to see a carver cut an elaborate interlace design

covering a large panel without ever having to change a

line,

or

modify the size of one section of the design to make the whole
fit in.

By

the end of his apprenticeship, an African artist has

achieved the motor


us:

skills to

match

'No matter how complicated

no drawing

his vision.

Father Carroll

to guide him, Bandele never cuts

any wood he may need

later;

tells

w ork may be and though he has


aw ay by accident

he would be ashamed to have to add

The only Yoruba sculpture know in which the


carver evidently made an error in cutting is the work of an
apprentice. Of course, there are circumstances in which carvings
- usually masks - are made by the initiate who has not been
apprenticed. This is commonly the case for example among the
another

piece.'

139

Dogon, whose masks are carved of very

soft

wood. Here

is

another instance of the dangers of generalization about African


art;

here the tendency

basis of one particular

is

to

judge African art as

group

whole on the

closely studied by the

w riter. Such

among French writers are often based on familiarity with the Dogon. Let me candidly warn the reader that
myself, though try consciously to avoid it, may tend to general-

generalizations

ize

on

a basis

ofYoruba

practices.

African art has a great appeal, more intense and

spread than ever before.

with naturalism
artists'

148

in

Why

Western

is

art,

this?

more wide-

For one thing, the break

which was so indebted to the

discovery of African art has

made

us

all

more receptive

to

53.

Mask from

the BaSongye,

whose word for mask, kifwebe,


is commonly applied by collectors
to this type of

mask. These male

masks embody the power

of

sorcery and perform spectacular


feats to

induce fear

spectators.

in

the

Musee Royal de

I'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren.

Ht

56 cm (22

in.)

the stylized forms of African sculr

African art styles there

is

such a gre

thing for every taste. Even

BaSongye

masks.

in their

African art, however,

is

Op

The

pri

the reason

is one of the highest expressions o


bring us continual refreshment -

sense.

the

The

fact that

West shows

its

it

has so

much

importance as

p>

the whole of mankind.

The peoples

take pride in this for

provides the

it

others of African descent, with one

<

tance by the world at large as eqi


individuals.

Inderstanding African Sculpture

important for us not to deceive ourselves into believing that

is

e can understand the intention of an African sculptor simply by

we have to study
we cannot do

>oking at his work. For a true understanding


Jrican art and artists on the soil of Africa,
for ourselves, then

lis

we should pay

or, if

particular attention to

which are based on direct observation

le studies

in the field,

tudies in the field have frequently disproved generalizations

emulated by scholars

in their

museums and

und, for example, that although sculpture

ommonly

painted, the paint

and

studies,

oing so have sometimes produced new concepts.

It

in

has been

in Africa

very

is

often applied without any refer-

is

nce to the sculptural form. In the case of the masks

made by

ne Kalahari of the Niger Delta, Horton has discovered that


his is

because the painting

:ulpture, but

ccupy the mask.

"he

the

is
1

is

not simply an enrichment of the

means whereby the

spirit is

brought to

Proportions of the Body

feature of African sculpture which has intrigued scholars from


le first is that the

head

is

commonly represented

.onately large. For a long time, this

haracteristic, a result of the carver's


3 the details, instead

udies,

however, from

as dispropor-

was thought to be a childlike


paying too much attention

of to the overall proportions.

many

parts of Africa have

Field

shown

that

:ulptors begin by dividing up the block of wood very carefully


ito
?gs.

separate parts which will eventually be the head, body and

The

proportions are thus deliberately established

utset and are certainly not due to lack of skill.


3

observe this was

mong the BaTeke on


inately his

The

first

at

the

person

French doctor, Robert Hottot, travelling


the

Lower Congo

as early as 1906; unfor-

most valuable observations were not published

until

fer his death.


Later James Fernandez discovered the meaning that these
roportions have for the

Fang of Gabon, where they occur

in

gures which stand on the boxes containing the ancestors'


ones.

He

points out that 'the large torso, the big head, and the

exed, disproportionately small legs are definitely infantile in


haracter.

50

Now... the statue presents both an

infantile

and an

156-58

155. Mask called

^^^^m

mayamba worn

men conducting initiation


ceremonies among the BaSosso, a
BaKongo sub-group. It was carved
by

by Yoquila 'many years before.


1961.' Collected by Michael Strotz
.

in

January 1973

in

the village of

Damba in Angola.
Height of face 2 2 cm (8 3/4 in.).
Height of whole mask 74 cm
Luzuanda, near

(29

in.). In

a private collection.

151

ancestral aspect.

While the Fang argue

that the statues repre-

Wooden

figures

sent age, the ancestors, and their august powers

collected by Robert Hottot

among

descendants'

156, 157, 158.

BaFumu

the
in

section of the BaTeke

1906. The one on the

had

its

has

left

magical substance (bonga)

removed and

is

called a tege.

The

the figures themselves.'

the

their

He

explains that these contradictory

imply cosmological and theological explanations.

qualities
...

in

they also recognize the infantile qualities of

affairs,

new born

are felt to be especially close to the ancestors and

other figures with their bonga,

which
their

is

the effective source of

power, are called

power

of the fetish

specific:

success

is

in

butti.

The

said to be

comes

status.

such material as

ultimately from

hair from the

head

tion

is

Ht

Museum, London.

17cm(6 /4 in.), 13 cm
cm (5% in.)

and 14.6

ritual

and time to human

the primary concern of the

An

infantile representa-

(5

an apt expression of the desire for children... these

contradictory qualities
for the

Fang

that

aged person or an

and white

chalk, symbol of the bones of the


ancestors. British

in

ancestral cult in fertility and increase.

the ancestors for the bonga contains

of a venerated elder

weaned away by

Another explanation... lies

hunting or

trading; protection against disease.

Their power

arc only gradually

in.)

production of

Wamba

in

,2

the ancestor figure give

would not possess

infant.'

if it

Similar ideas

it

a vitality

simply figured an

may have

Led to the

terracotta head of the Nofc culture found

which the form of the head

face is bearded.

it

in

is

infantile

at

although the
i& 2

The Function ofArt in African Society


It

has

commonly been

society,

asserted that there

and also that

in Africa,

when

all

African art

ever,

'art for art's sake'

mean

is

valued for

edify, a

product

final

does have an acquired social function

room or serve

as a status symbol.

European

art

had

faithful, to edify the

a social

it

product,

may

Now

there are

The Fon

devout, or to

this

farmer

in

in

its
is

the noble.

social purposes, but

not clearly defined.

of Benin (Dahomey), for example, make brass castings


at

work or in processions, which have no

religious or didactic intent.

Babaloke

academic

At one time

commemorate

some products whose purpose

of animals and of people

Isola, a

how-

be used to

purpose - whether to instruct the

Traditional African art similarly has

159.

which the

in

The content of the work of

secondary to these considerations. The

attitude to art appears to be of quite recent origin.

village of

itself,

concerned exclusively with the solution of artistic prob-

decorate a

all

Western
which

lems of composition, colour or form.


is

no

religious. In

which

attempts neither to instruct nor to

art

is

art critics speak of 'art for art's sake', they

that the artist produces an object

artist is

is

They

are

made

as objects of

beauty

the remote

northern

Yorubaland, used to carve

He was
1957 as a
wife. Some of his

calabashes as a hobby.
carving this one
present for his
tools are

now

in

in

the Manchester

Museum.

153

60.

type

{right) Goli Glin

shown

in

///.

mask

163.

is

It

of the

said to

represent an antelope and to refer


to wild

animals

in

contrast to other

masks which refer to domestic


animals. Himmelheber I960,
Plate 1 56a to / shows two of
these masks

in

action

performance. British

London.

L.

a musical

in

Museum,

84 cm (33

in.)

161. (above) Bronze figure of a

man

hoeing, from the Fon of Benin

(Dahomey), among

whom

they

serve as objects of prestige, either


to

own

bronze

or to give as presents, for


is

regarded as a valuable

metal and according to Herskovits


the castings are looked

upon

by the brass-smith and

as jewels. The craft has of late

become

directed chiefly towards

Museum. Ht 9.7 cm

(3

13
/i 6 in.)

162. (below) Terracotta head


of the

Nok

mining

at

the head
a

culture found in tin-

Wamba. The form


is

infantile yet

it

of

be considered exam-

do have a social function which

entirely independent of the subject represented: that of estab-

lishing prestige, brass being regarded as a semi-precious metal;

only the wealthy can afford to buy them, and they are displayed
in the

home both

as objects of beauty

Himmelheber 'found the Dan produce

and as status symbols.


objets

d'artfor

mere

*4

aes-

has

moustache and beard. Jos

Museum. Ht 14 cm

ples of 'art for art's sake'. Yet they


is

the tourist trade. Manchester

in this respect are to

(5'/2 in.)

thetic

enjoyment, but only

in brass.

Such an object

the fire where the entering guest sees


objects

may be little animals,

or a

it

placed near

is

at his first glance.

man and

his wife

with

of characteristic attributes as gun, basket, pipe."'

"These

all

sorts

The

fine

Baule brass casting of a figure wearing an antelope mask, and

surrounded by musicians probably functioned


as an artistic status

young carver

in

in a

similar

way

symbol. Kenneth Murray has mentioned a

the Ilaje area of western Yorubaland

who had

covered his walls with combs and spoons of various designs as


a decoration,

while the writer met a Yoruba farmer

calabashes as

Similarly,
(

hobby and gave them

it is

not true that

all

who

carved

to his wife to please her.

African art

is

religious.

,4i

Adrian

rerbrands " has demonstrated this very clearly, using the docu-

mented pot
154

lids collected

among

the

BaWoyo

of Cabinda, just

north of the mouth of the Zaire (Congo) River, by two mission-

163. Goli Glin masquerader

accompanied by musicians,

ary Fathers, brothers

named

Jan and Frans Vissers.

It is

the

Baule. Groupings of figures like


this

have long been

ofkuduo by the

made on

top

related Ashanti,

and the individual figures are


similar to gold

weights

by both peoples. Coll.

Htl2.4cm(4 7/8

in.)

made
F.

Willett.

custom among these people


from

his wife.

When

for the

to eat separately

the wife has a disagreement with her hus-

band, she covers his food with a


figures

husband

wooden

lid

sculpted with

which convey through the proverbial expressions they

symbolize, the substance of her dissatisfaction.

Of

course, the

7.5.5

when her husband

wife chooses an occasion

friends, so that they, representing the

She usually receives

arbitrate.

is

entertaining his

community

number of

can

at large,

these lids from her

mother and mother-in-law when she marries, but

if

she does not

possess one appropriate to her problem, she gets one made.

The

lids

vary

in

complexity.

One shows

round pot sup-

ported on three stones.

With fewer than

would

signifies the proverb: 'All

come

in threes,'

must cook
therefore,
in

hence

over,

fall

husband must give

for her husband; there

is

some

good things

his wife clothes; a wife

must be

a general indication that there

is

children.

The

lid,

something lacking

The husband himself will know what it is.

the marriage.
In

i.e.

it

three stones the pot

cases the lid

is

decorated with a large number of

objects including audiovisual puns: such as the conus shell which


is

called nsosse,

which sounds

ance, and hence

means

'I

like a

sucked-in sound of annoy-

am angry and

am going

to tell you

why'; or another shell called zinga, a word which also means


'life',

and hence family life, harmony, and thus conveys the exhor-

tation to 'live in

harmony with your family'. Clearly this is purely

secular art and this single example vividly disproves the assertion that

African art is religious. Many other examples could


Among the Yoruba for instance it is the custom to offer

all

be found.

kola nuts to visitors: a wealthy


rately carved lidded

most elaborate ones represent


in

man would offer them in

bowl kept specially


a

an elabo-

for the purpose.

The

woman kneeling with a cockerel

her hands.
Nevertheless,

it is

true that a great deal of African art has a

religious purpose, yet even within the field of religious sculpture

there

is

a great variety of practices. It

usual for the act of carv-

is

ing itself to be hedged round with rituals, since the tree which
provides the

wood

is

generally regarded as the

home

of

a spirit

which needs to be placated. In the case of sculptures which are


he

home

for a spirit, such as the

Dogon,

the

it is

inhabiting the
life

wood needs

the mask, since the

is

is

to be avoided.

in

Among the Dogon

controlled by driving

life

force of the iron

wood. Yet even where no

involved, as

figures of

easy to see that a conflict between the two forces

force of the tree

that of the

masks and ancestor

to

is

little

the

iron hooks into

more powerful than

later spirit occupation

Yoruba drums, and even

secular objects like stools, the spirit of the tree

in
still

the case of

needs to be

propitiated.
It

is

ings are

156

sometimes surprising, therefore,

commonly

neglected. This

is

to find that old carv-

especially true of

masks

BaWoyo

164. {opposite, above)

proverb pot-lid from the village of

Monaquena, Cabinda. The

woman

lying in the centre beating

head on the ground

her

frightened lizard

husband's

tell

you what

is

am going
my mind.'

on

scattered round the

'I

edge

will fall

fire;

one

if

indicate that

good things come


marriage the

husband must give


clothes; the wife

that

who

set their

authenticity!

after

The general import

own

special value

Western

for sale to collectors,

on decay as an index of age and


if

BaTeke could be deconsecrated by removing the

medicine from the abdominal socket; the priest

is

would keep the figure by him and


cine for another client.

when

later supply

it

who does

this

The BaTeke distinguish

with fresh mediclearly

between

endowed with medicine which they

such

a figure

/>/////,

and one which has not received the medicine, or from which

it is

it

has been removed, which they

call

call tege.

is

wrong with the

African Sculpture in

husband's

In the

pity in putting

it

right.

Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde,

cm

Diam. 17

(6 /4

in.)

BaBembe have

its

Setting

West we think of art

as

meant

to be

openly and continu-

ously on view, but some African sculptures are seen only by a


select

165. (opposite, below) Fetish


figures of the

a result of increasing

Other types of carving too may be abandoned

marriage and the wife begs the

Leiden.

though as

commonly recovered

In

his wife

must look

and there must be

something

to decay,

contact, they are

figures of the

removed, they

is

in threes', i.e. in

children.

much wood.

are used once and then

since the pot

'all

the cooking;

Dogon masks, new ones

of the

together to support the cooking

on the

only during the cere-

they cease to function properly. Hottot observed that the fetish"*

normally they stand close

pot

spirit

At her feet the

pity.

The three cooking stones are

lid:

the case of some

abandoned

like a

imploring her

nsosse indicates

shell
to

is

which arc usually occupied by the

monies; between times they are regarded as so

band of initiates An example

was seen only by

initiates of the

is

the figure in

Ogboni

///.

society,

169,

which

who were

the

'medicine' hidden inside the trunk

through a hole between the legs.

BaBembe
small

in

sculptures are usually

size with cicatrices

carefully represented

trunk. British

on the

Museum, London.

Ht26cm(10'/4in.)

166.

{right) Terracotta

ram used
at the

is

safety,

head

of a

the cult of Orisha Iko

Omitoto Grove

Obaloran
cult

in

who

is in

in Ife.

Chief

charge of the

not allowed to see

it.

For

however, he has placed

it,

on loan,

L.

15.3

cm

in

the

(6

Ife

Museum.

in.)

157

156-58

167. (opposite, above,

Malongo

BaKongo. The
the

abdomen

involved

left)

from the

fetish figure

on

fetish material

is

covered with an

imported mirror, while more of

has been moulded

it

The

into a hat.

the cult of the earth and also formed, as indeed

in

among

does, a major political force

Some

the Yoruba.

it .still

shrine

figures are not seen by devotees, only by the priests of the cult. In

contrast Chief Obaloran,

who

is in

charge of the Orisha Ikocult

not permitted to see the terracotta sculpture which

in [fe, is

is

eyes are covered with glass. The


upraised right hand formerly held
a weapon. This piece
in

museum

was

already

collection by

1897.

Manchester Museum. Ht 27

(10%

cm

used

the festival, though other worshippers may. Sometimes

in

more common

sculptures of a

wear

the Yoruba,

kind, such as the twin figures of

special clothes or

wrappings which partly hide

them from view when they stand on family

in.)

When

shrines.

among the BaTeke


owner's hut. The figure was

Hottot wished to photograph a fetish figure


168. (opposite, below,

Bamgboye

left)

was a highly
when the British

of lloffa

reputed carver

administration established a

school at

its

We

removed

garments, to get a photograph of the carving. Having taken

my photograph

training in Yoruba

conventional Western subjects.

He was appointed

to teach

carving and adapted

realized that the village, which previously had

been very animated, was hushed and deserted, but we were being

cultural practices as well as

wood-

observed from behind the huts by a few of the villagers,


their distance.

traditional

Western tastes as seen

to

outside the

it

Omu-Aran which

embraced

forms

1906, he took

in

clothed in ample red robes, fixed at the neck...

ritual place.

We

who kept

reclothed the figure and returned

Nine days later.

it

to its

we were not surprised to learn that

here - the handle of his woodcarver's knife serves as the


for a letter-opener. Knife
L.

16.2

cm

Museum,

in.).

Hunterian

1957. Length

in

cm

cases of smallpox had broken out in the village, but the villagers

considered that

and

his

(4 /j

in.). In

of handle:

a private

companions the

for interfering
in

with the

169. (opposite,

right)

This

bronze figure of Onile, thought to

have been made

was

Apomu.

in

the eighteenth

formerly used

Ogboni house

in

in

the

the Yoruba town

lie

conceived as female

is

contrast to Olorun, the


of the sky.

The

male

must have

fetish.

in

Hottot's offence seems to have

figure out of the hut which

was

its

removing the clothing.

Some sculptures are kept wrapped up and hidden from sight


when the rituals are performed. The Yoruba figures
which commemorate deceased twins are commonly wrapped up

except

and kept

in cloths

in a

calabash by their mother, while

in Ife

role of the

harmony between the

Museum,

buried

Ogboni

two.

in

the

ground between festivals.

Even when
by certain

in use,

some sculptures may only be looked upon

members of the society. Horton

reports the case of the

shrine of the head of the village heroes of Soku, where even the

Lagos.

Ht74cm(29 /4in.)
:

in

ancient terracotta sculptures are reported sometimes to be

spirit

society appears to be to ensure

Nigerian

Fortunately for Hottot

Onile, the spirit of the

earth in which the ancestors


buried,

150

villagers thought that they

moving the

proper place and

of

it../

very great spiritual power, not to have been harmed themselves

been both

collection.

century,

we had caused

University of Glasgow.

opener purchased from the

Letter

carver

10.8

3
(6 /8

model

handle:

priest
a

does not see the cult object, which

bership of masked societies

is

is

hidden behind

Wry commonly mem-

screen of skulls of sacrificed animals.

restricted to

one

sex.

Around

the

Plateau of northern Nigeria there are several small groups o\

people whose womenfolk are forbidden to see the masks used by


the men, and take great joy, therefore, in visiting the
I<

>s

museum

at

w here the masks are openly displayed.

Of course, most
unable to see it

people interested

in use,

in

African sculpture are

and must form their own impressions from

166

**

70 Face-mask

cult

which

is

for

the

egungun

primarily concerned

with funeral ceremonies, but


also provides entertainment.

The wearer looks out through the


eyes. Collected by Frobenius in

Northern Yorubaland
Ethnologisches

Ht

28 cm (11

in

1912.

Museum,

Berlin.

in.)

museum displays. A museum usually possesses only the wooden


it may display under a spotlight which pro-

part of a mask, which

Kenneth Murray

jects a single interpretation of the sculpture.

has pointed out that masks 'are intended to be seen in

movement

in a dance; frequently one which is inferior when held in

looks

more effective than

tume.

It

what they express,

for

what was never meant


The Arrow of God
ters,

Edogo,

is

it is

little

know whether

carving as

it

'

15 2

it

seen with

its

cos-

use beforejudging

Chinua Achebe

'When he had

a carver.

in fact

One of his

charac-

But the owners of

they had praised

that he

was good or

was conceived by the

in his novel

finished carving the face

disappointed..

Edogo knew, however,

action to

in

brings this out very well.

work had not complained;

highly.

when

easy to read into an isolated mask

to be there.'

and head he had been a


the

a finer carving

moreover, essential to see masks

is,

the hand

it

ei

must see the Mask

*y

in

To appreciate the
we need to see it in

bad.'

artist,

movement, possibly above eye-level, and perhaps illuminated by


the intermittent light of torches. Moreover, to isolate the
to take

it

out of

its

meaningful context, for the mask

mask

is

itself is

regarded merely as a part of a complex - part of a costume which


is

danced

in to

music - and

present that the


spirit.

made

it is

mask comes

60

\\

life,

hen

all

these elements are

becomes inhabited by the

Indeed Starkweather commissioned


a full-length

mask but the carver

we would
we saw only the

painted figure as he 'was worried

not see the full beauty of the

only

to

masquerade

if

mask'.

Increasingly

films and videos

museum displays are being augmented by

made

in the field

showing the masks being

danced, but even this conveys only a small part of the original,
for the

atmosphere of excitement, mingled with awe and even

fear, is still lacking.

The emphasis which museums inevitably place on the mask


may often mislead us in another way, for the mask may be the
element

least significant

in

the complex.

egujigun dancers of the ancestor cult in

which cover the

face, in

wear

fibre

wearing masks,

areas wear

masks

others head-pieces, and elsewhere cos-

tumes without any sculptures


initiates

Among the Yoruba, the


some

at all.

Among the Kissi

in

Guinea,

and \gere

faces in brilliant colours

girls after initiation paint their

and their upper torsos

white-.

Not only are many figure sculptures not normally seen but
many African masks are not seen at all even when they are in use!
in

describing the sculpture of the Kalahari, has

many

of their masks such as the otobo masks, which

w ater

spirit

Robin Horton,

shown

that

represent
are

171. Headpiece
cult

for the

with

human and hippopotamus

worn on top of the dancer's

features,

head, so that the main features of

egungun

carved by Adugbologe of

Abeokuta. The four attached


figures
British

W.

173

costumes, but paint their faces instead of

may be by his son Ayo.


Museum, London.

SS^cmdSVsin.)

161

172

172.
are

On

worn

occasions where masks


in

some communities,

others paint the body,

Ngere

girl

prepared

like this

for a festival.

the sculpture are facing the sky, while the

den from spectators by

a ruff.

141

mask

as a

whole

most often exhibited mask of this type

is

shown

in

///.

wonders how many of the people who have admired


tural quality realized that

it

is

hid-

Probably the best-known and

was not made

for

human

175:
its

one

sculp-

gaze.

The

whole masquerade is directed towards the spirit, not towards the


spectator an excellent example of Margaret TrowelTs class of
'spirit-regarding

art'.

Horton's Study has exploded

tions about African art. Because

objects of beauty,

we imagine

number of other generalizawe look upon sculptures as

that their

makers and users

the Kalahari view their sculptures with apathy; even


spirit is

62

being invoked, the mask

is

hardly looked

at.

'

do, yet

when

the

Indeed, the

sculpture

pared to a

who does

may evoke

of a god by one

not know how to carve'. Moreover, pregnant

are advised not to look at sculptures

'lest their

est

is

women

children acquire

big eyes and long nose, and so turn out ugly'. 18" So

its

little inter-

taken by the Kalahari in the appearance of their sculptures

that they often keep sculptures of spirits in dark shrines


173.

Members

of the

E/ewe

group of egungun dancers from


lla in

Northern Yorubaland. They

wear no masks but


hidden by

their

in their athletic

dances. Bells above their


leather gaiters

with their
are

sound

in

rhythm

movements which

emphasized by the

one case even the priest does not see the sculpture.
In contrast, however, their ancestor

memorial screens are

intended to be seen. Moreover, these constitute another exception to the generally accepted idea that African sculpture

monoxylous,

i.e.

constructed from separately carved sections which have been


ted together.

is

carved out of a single block of wood, for they are

This carpentry may

reflect

fit-

European influence

brightly

coloured woollen tassels hanging

from the waist.

which

may not enter and cannot see into. As we have mentioned,

their faces are

costumes which

are designed to permit free

movement

people
in

com-

revulsion: a man's ugliness will be

spirit sculpture, or to 'the sculpture

resulting from the palm-oil trade in the Niger Delta, for these

screens seem to have been constructed only since the eighteenth

5T^
"

atsfcs^

Sfc'v

I
:s*
':

'**

I
/

6/

century, perhaps modelled in form on the rectangular bronze

plaques at Benin, which in turn seem to have been ultimately


inspired by

all

Kalahari masks are hidden from view, of course.

central character of the

Ngbula

doctor whose ugliness, which


helps

him

away

to drive

the Kalahari do not


in

contrast to

is

play, for

example,

emphasized

evil spirits.

'

is

The

a native

in the head-piece,

Horton points out that


vhich represent beautv,

some Igbo groups who have

representing ugliness (the elephant

spirit)

pairs of

rr.

and beauty- (the

maiden sp
It

has been found too that masks of similar appearance

be used

in different

ways. Vandenhoute has

the masks used along the

174. {oppc\

ancestors.

most

fobara) for their

They are

conspicuous pc

assembly

the house

hall of

where they used

shows

ship

to live.

The

man was

that this

a prominent trader; the

heads

owned r
Museum, London.

indicate that he
slaves. British

Ht 115.5 err

175. {above) Otobo

the Kalahari

Ijo

mask used

among

by the Ekine society

to rec

a water spirit with

humar

hippopotamus features.

Ir

Museum. G R
Raymond and Laura Wtejg
honour of the late Rudy Professor
Emeritus Roy Sieber. L. 47 cm
University Art

n.)

176.

{right)

Broken bronze

plaque from the Pa

The unusual arrangement


the
to

huntsman

in

of

what ap:

be an attempt at perspec

together with the rectangular

shape of the unbroken pteq


suggest that the artist

may have

seen European book illustrations.


Probably sixteenth century.

Ethnologisches
Berlin.

Ht 45. 7

Museum.

cm (18

in.)

shown

may

that although

Upper Cavally River in the Ivory C

by the Dan, Ngere (or Gere or Kran and

make memorial screens

262

European woodcuts in books.

Wobe

vary

in their

179, iao

ranking and function,

this differentiation

appearance. For them the mask

with the high god Zlan, but the

of the ancestors

who

is

is

not related to their

a channel of

communication

real intermedial ies are the spirits

are invoked through the mask.

The power

of the mask to influence the ancestors depends on the social prestige of the

owner, since a

their help,

and

him.
the

An

inherited

man

can only reach prominence with

very success shows that the ancestors favour

his

mask

retains

its

more prestigious its owner was

power over the ancestors and


in this life, the

more powerful

he will be as an ancestor. Similarly, old masks which span several


177,178.

Figures

style representing

in

the Benin

Portuguese

soldiers {below, left)

show

generations are considered especially powerful.


of a mask

is

deduced from

do the

information acquired

traditional representations

of court officials like that of

Again,

the messenger (below, right).

may be due

to

prestige

greater freedom of pose than

This

The

thus an acquired characteristic which cannot be

Portuguese

influence. Sixteenth or

its

appearance, but only from the appropriate


in

Dan masks

different functions

the

field.

of identical appearance

and these too are

higher and lower rank.

The

may have

quite

classified into categories of

use of the masks

is

regulated by the

seventeenth century. Nigerian

Museum,

Lagos. Hts 43.8

cm

(17 /4 in.),63.5cm(25in.)
1

go-master, the priest of go, the highest imaginable power. In his

hut there

66

is

not only the potent fetish which

is

the source of his

179. Maiden

spirit

mask,

Mmwo

Ogbegu, symbolizing beauty,


used

in

an Ekpe play

at

Onitsha Igbo. National

3
(8 /8

in.)

Mask representing

the

21.3

Lagos. Ht

180.

cm

Awkusu,

Museum,

Elephant

Spirit,

ugliness,

used by the Ekpe

society of the

Owerri Igbo.

symbol

of

Aba Asa Clan,

The

ears, tusks

and horns have been carved


separately

and attached.

Museum,
Ht48cm(19in.)

National

Lagos.

167

":

181, 182. Mask

of the

Dan

of Ivory

Coast and Liberia. The

interior

shows

the marks

by the gouge, but

it

is

it

uncomfortable

and

are used

Pom
not

from

make

Masks

of several other types

in

some

to

areas by the

though

society,

seem

to wear.

this

have been

original purpose. Coll.

Ht24cm(9'/2

in.)

also the actual presence of the ancestors, for

it is

in his

hut that prominent people are buried and their masks preserved.

left

free

jagged edges which would

of this

power but

does

These masks are of the highest rank, followed by


masks upon which heads of families

sacrificial

sacrifice to their ancestors.

Then come avenging masks, who act as police and

judiciary

com-

bined; these sometimes act independently of the go-master, thus

forcing

him

to

employ one of his highest-ranking masks

in

order

their
F.

Willett.

to maintain his authority.

Other high-ranking masks include

those used at initiation, not only to teach the initiates, but also
to entertain those

who have remained behind

Communities on the edges of the


sagbwe masks, with their

own

the village, especially from

forest

in the village.

and savanna have the

hierarchy; their task

fire,

which

is

is

to protect

major hazard. The

lower categories are described as dancing, singing, begging and


palaver masks, and are mainly intended to entertain, though
they often teach as well. Even

when

these perform, fear of the

supernatural can sometimes be detected

168

in

their audiences.

Now masks can move up these hierarchies - usually on the death


of their owner,
there

is

if

he has achieved eminence

in his lifetime.

Thus

no correlation between rank or function and the form

of a mask.

Masks may
damaged,

also be

demoted

they prove ineffective or get


in

order to please the

damaged masks were thrown away, but

ancestors. Formerly,

nowadays they are often sold

why many

if

have to be beautiful

for they

to Europeans.

of the examples

This

museums

in

one reason

is

are inadequately

documented.'"'

Himmelheber, however, denies that the Dan masks are used


in

the ancestor cult; he maintains that they are the materializa-

tion of spirits

which

live in the

bush and which reveal themselves

to individuals because they wish to take part in the

human

The masks have

beings.

corresponding to three major groups of mask.


head-dress indicating 'beautiful'

which

is

concerned

with

worn with

is

circumcision

the

initiates

and children from the

and

initiation

tall

the

of

conical

Dea mask

of the youths.

There are two types of Dea mask, one of which


for teaching the

life

three types of head-dress

responsible

is

away women

for frightening

camp, and the other for collect-

ing food from the mothers of the youths. These masks are carved
to look

like

beautiful

woman,

and to keep the

initiates happy.

indicates that a

mask

is

several types of mask,

all

make

to

A huge

mask

the

feather

likeable

crown which

frightening or imposing

is

worn by

of which have social responsibilities

whether peace-makers (large masks with animal-like features and


a

moveable lower jaw), or Got society masks, or

in

the northern

savanna area, running masks concerned with fire-fighting.

This

last

group

is

Vandenhoute. The

clearly the sagbwe

first

two appear

group mentioned by

correspond to

to

of avenging masks, for the Gor society

mask

is

function to the peace-making mask, with which


forces

in

many

places.

If there

in a

town, a mask of lower rank

the

Gor

society:

in

this

is

may

respect

his

category

very similar
it

in

has joined

no peace-making mask
be promoted to act for

Himmelheber confirms

Vandenhoute's assertion that the form may not be an index of


the function of a mask. Himmelheber's third group of

masks

are those intended purely for entertainment, wmich wear a sort

of wig

made from cotton

cloth.

These are of two

kinds, dancing

masks which can be of any form, though the most frequent


type has a

human

face with short tubular eyes

and duiker horns

carved across the top, and fault-finding masks, which play

169

very roughly, whipping bystanders

misbehaving,

by laughing

e.g.

whom

they have tricked into

mask which represents

at a

deformity."-'

Girard, working
ent picture.

among

le tells

Wobe, has given us yet

the

us that a

group of pure

the laws of social organization to the first

a differ-

gave

spirits, kosri,

men and

these sepa-

rated

them from the animals. Each law was symbolized by

great

mask made

to resemble the spirit

which gave

it.

Girard

mask among the Wobe, Ngere and Yacuba


name for the Dan) never represents a woman's face,
instead a symbol of virility, for the mask lies at the origin of
that the

insists

pejorative

(a

but

is

the differentiation of the sexes.

When

guishable.
kosri,

members

its

At

first

the sexes were indistin-

one group acquired the

mask from the

first

also acquired virility at the

same

time,

together with superiority over the other group, which developed

feminine characters. At the same time, the

from the

One group drew

groups.

forming
derived
its

its

power from

men

received
in

power from the

group

Thus, from the beginning,

kosri.

and ancestors have been involved

still

in the

lesser masks,

made

Girard's account

is

own

in his

Gnon

in the

same way.

Soa, had to give the

likeness, to later

a refinement,

spir-

masks, but whatever

masks function

the spirit of the ancestors,

two

that of the ancestors,

societies of the great masks, while the other

its

their source of power, the great

Later

first

which were already

kosri the secret societies

men. In general

not a complete contradiction of

Vandenhoute's. Indeed, he shows that although there

is

a fixed

hierarchy of masks, in any one village the principal mask, and


therefore the most powerful one,

masks the
the

mask

make

it

reliable

village possesses.

in

these related groups

its

mask

clearly copied

its

role

(vi\ PI. 4>5)

confusing,

mask

is

all

role of

three accounts

not an absolutely

shows

that the appearance of a

among the Yoruba too. He

mask

illustrates

from southwestern Ybrubaland that

is

from an cpa mask from northeastern Yorubaland

similar to those

170

be chosen from any of the

rank or function.

pi. 8.1 1)

be no guide to

gelede

is

clear that the appearance of a

guide to

Lawal (2000,

may

may

Although the picture of the

shown

in

Ills.

25 land 255.

Style in African Sculpture


in museums or
commonly considered

Examples of African sculpture exhibited


trated in books on African art are

representative of the style of the people from


collected.

William Fagg,

uses art

solidarity

from

and

to be

they were

for example, writes that 'every tribe

from the point of view of


tribe

whom

illus-

art,

universe to

itself...

is,

The

among many other means to express its internal


self-sufficiency,

all others.'"'

He

and conversely

its

difference

goes on to mention several instances

183, 184, 185. Each medium


may have its own style. Azande
wood sculptures are much

more

stylized

The two

thought

have been used

to

rituals of

^m

than their pottery

sculpture.

plays

the

many

Mani

figures are

society

in

beneficent roles

society. British

the

which
in

Museum, London.

HtsSOcmOlV^in.J.SScm
(20 3/4 in.)and33cm(13in.)

171

189. {opposite, above,

The

figures of the

chosen one from each

cate the complexity of the situation.

elaborate scarifications

and usually have the navel


emphasized presumably because
it

very limited can

art objects

is

fully typical

of a style, but there are

represents the physical link to

Museum,

the ancestors. British

London.

Ht49cm

stylistic features,

artistic universe',

but his plates,

do not adequately

indi-

They

are highly distinctive.

show

where adjacent peoples share

left)

Bena Lulua

(19Vi 6

in.)

Only where the range of


work he considered

a single

many

societies

ent art styles are used in different contexts, for


a

mask-using

cult has been introduced

happened

as has

in the case

where

from an adjacent

BaLumbo

BaPunu, from whose area of the Ogowe River the

The BaBembe from eastern

cult group,

styles,

none of which

that one cannot speak of a

out

in

1946 that

in

is

fig-

whose white-faced masks cannot

be distinguished stylistically from those of the

markedly different art

area,

of the BaKota, whose reliquary

ures are highly distinctive, but

to be derived.

differ-

example when

cult

or

seems

Zaire have a variety of

each associated with a different

found throughout Bembeland. so

BaBembe

style. ""

Olbrechts pointed

Zaire masks are usually employed by societies

whose ramifications extend through

territories

than those of regional styles, so that the mask style

much larger
is commonly

quite alien to that of the statuary; for example, masks of the

Bena Lulua are quite unlike

their figures, but very similar to

the masks of the neighbouring BaKuba; while BaPende masks

too are widespread

among their neighbours."'

cult group, instead of distributing a single

out

186, 187, 188. TheMangbetu,

who

are neighbours of the

Azande, use a similar

style in

both pottery and

wood

sculpture.

The deformation

of the

head

reflects their

own

practice of

binding their babies' heads to

make them
The

effect

is

long and beautiful.

heightened by a

and often expanding


which

is

also represented

sculpture. British

London. Hts71

cm

(7 in.)

tall

hair-style
in

the

Museum,

cm

(28

in.),

and 25.5 cm (10

17.8
in.)

IT'J

its

area of influence,

may

Yet

widespread

mask type through-

use a variety of different styles.

190. (above, right)


figures

Wooden

covered with brass or

copper sheeting are placed by the

BaKota over a package containing

sample bones

of outstanding

ancestors. Siroto suggests that the

was developed to display


much of the valuable metal

form
as

as possible. Certainly

its

two-

dimensional character attracted

Western painters; Juan Gris


a

copy of one

1922.
Ht

in

British

66 cm (26

191.

(right)

of a type

cardboard

made

in

Museum, London.
in.)

Wh ite-faced mask

used by the BaKota,

BaLumbo, BaPunu, Mpongweand


several other groups.

Documented

among
Among the

pieces have been collected


all

these peoples.

BaPunu the wearer dances on


stilts.

Rietberg

Museum,

Ht30cm(ll 3/4

Zurich.

in.)

173

192. The BaKuba have a great


variety of

masks, many

of

have been taken over by


neighbours. This, the
a

mboy

type,

is

worn

initiation rites to

culture hero
royalty,

which

their

mwaash
at the

symbolize the

Woot who

originated

the political structure

and most

of the arts

The superstructure
appears

and

crafts.

of the

of
it

an elephant (on some examples

193, 194 The BaPende have an

has tusks) which

even greater variety

is

a royal

emblem. The mask may only


be worn by

men

(Collected about

of royal descent.

1892 by

the

to

have been used

important person

Ht41cm(16 /8
1

mask

in.)

Virginia.

society.

reported

in

BaPende

Although they represent

roles in the secular society rather

than

to represent the trunk

is

the

represent an

initiation, to

W. H. Sheppard.) Hampton

Hampton,

in

masks than

ceremonies which follow

African-American missionary

University,

of

the BaKuba. This type

spirits

they are used also to

control supernatural forces.

171

The

person

who has

benefited from

their intervention

required to
of the

wear

may have been


a miniature

mask, usually

in ivory,

copy
as

a pendant. Confirmation of these


roles

may no

longer be possible

as the masquerades have

become

largely secularized. British

Museum, London. Ht
(2V2

in.)

c.

6.4

cm

Private Collection.

Ht31.7cm(12 1/2

in.)

175

195. The Dan and Ngere modes


of sculpture contrast strongly yet

the

same

sculptors carve in both

styles. Contrast the cubistic

construction of this face

in

Ngere mode with that

///.

of

the

181.

Liberia. Yale University Art

Gallery. Gift of

Osborn

Mr & Mrs James

for the Linton Collection

of African Art.

Ht 23

cm

(9

in.)

The Poro

society uses leather

variety of

wooden masks

in

masks

in

Sierra

Leone but

a great

Guinea, Liberia and the Ivory

Coast, including the sleek moderately naturalistic masks associated with the

name

'Dan' and the violently contrasting Ngere

masks, which are highly cubistic


finished

in style

and often only roughly

(though the Dan and Ngere do not have

Porol).

Moreover, Vandenhoutehas shown that these contrasting styles

may both

be carved by the same individual

apparent external influence the


distinctive

styles,

the very

artist.

'"

Without

Dogon have developed

simplified

three

forms used on their

masks, the solid cubistic figures of ancestors used as decorative


motifs, e.g. on doors,

176

and the spindly, knobbly style of their

181

196

Door

for a

free-standing ancestor figures, though the latter two sometimes

granary

decorated with figures of

stored inside, carved in a very


simplified style.

de I'Homme,

Dogon. Musee

Paris.

Ht 39.4

when for example the main figure carved

occur in the same piece;

ancestors to protect the food

cm

in

the third style

may

sit

on

a stool with legs carved in the

second. Again Olbrechts pointed out that stylistic elements

can be borrowed; BaYaka eyes and the elbows-on-knees pose

n.)

of BaPende caryatid figures both appear to be derived from

theBaJokw

One

aspect of the

phenomenon seems

overlooked - that masks


cult in

may

which they are traditionally used.

of Benin, in 1959,

so far to have been

be diffused independently of the


In Ishan, north-east

found that the masks used

in

the boys'

177

199

197. Masks are often carved


in

a style completely different

from that used


This

for figure sculpture.

mask used by

sub-group

of the

the Tsaye

BaTeke

is in

striking contrast to their figure

sculpture

Formerly

Musee

(Ills.

156-58).

owned by Andre
in.)

Lett:

Wooden

mpuwu and

said to protect the

village. Right:

Wooden

figure

from the roof of the hut of the


chief's senior wife, in

which

the regalia are kept. BaPende.


Derain.

Barbier-Mueller, Geneva.

Ht34cm(13 3/8

198. (opposite)

figure of the BaYanzi, called

Musee Royal de I'Afrique Centrale,


100 cm (39 3/8 in.),

Tervuren. Hts

111.4cm(43 /8
7

17 H

in.)

179

99. Figure of a Dogon ancestor

in a

spindly style, sitting on a stool

whose

legs represent ancestors

carved

in

the door

the style of those on

(///.

Museum,

196). University

Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. Ht 63.5

(25

in.)

cm

200. Mask carved by an Ibibio


in Ikot

Ekpene but used

masquerade by
in

Ishan, a

away.

Coll.

(11 Vain.)

masquerade dances had

all

Ikot Ekpene, well over a

been carved by Ibibio carvers

hundred and

fifty

in

miles away across

uninitiated boys

hundred and
F.

in

Willett.

fifty

miles

Ht 28.3

cm

the other side of the River Niger, yet in one village


that they

during

my

visit.

same time bought

The people who

My

who

was

told

a local carver

a figure

carved

in the traditional

sold us these pieces did not

seem

between the indigenous and the imported


Ishan village

who happened to be away


companion, Dr R. E. Bradbury at the

were carved by

Ishan style.

to distinguish

style.

In another

bought a typical Ikot Ekpene doll from an old lady

declared that she had had

it

since she

suggests that the trade in Ibibio sculptures

was
is

a child,

which

not a very recent

phenomenon.
181

Even more remarkable


[gbira masquerades

native [gbira carving,


peoples,

is

John Picton's observation: 'on

have seen the following types of masks:

masks

in

the style of the northern

from Ikot Kkpene (these

latter

two types presumably traded by

diverse routes), an ebony face carved for Europeans, and a

can ed by Basa Nge. That is six different


Igbira the same ritual function.'""'
tribal style to influence another,

it is

possible for

but he regarded this as

exceptional. Yet he considered the basic philosophy of


African, as indeed of

one, a desire to

all

organized societies, as being

promote increase of the

1x2

all 'tribally'

life

67.200

mask

art styles fulfilling for

William Fagg himself acknowledged that


one

Edo

Yoruba gelede masks from near Lagos, Ibibio masks

force in their

own

212

201,202. A group of Ishan men


who lived and worked in Ibadan
in 1968 when these photographs

with a net covering the face

were taken

a figure

still

performed the

traditional acrobatic

ani-mhin of their

dance Ikhien-

home

area.

The

acrobats wear bright costumes

but they are accompanied by

who wears an

mask from
to

III.

Ikot

Ibibio

Ekpene, similar

200.

183

203. The use


in

Ishan

Ekpene

is

of Ibibio sculptures

not recent, for this Ikot

was bought

doll

who

from an old lady

she had had

that

childhood. Coll.

Ht31cm(12

it

F.

/4

there

declared

since her
Willett.

in.)

204, 205. Two old

Ibibio

masks

representing

made

for the

Ekpo

spirits,

society to

males used

which

all

adult

to belong. Its duties

involved propitiation of the


spirits of the

ancestors and the

maintenance

of the social order

by supporting the elders.

British

Museum, London. Hts 38.7 cm


(15 /4 in.),24cm(9 /? in.)
1

is

kind, their crops, their stock and the animals they hunt, a notion

which he saw expressed

in

the art by exponential curves, curves

of constantly increasing radius which are found

organisms, being especially clearly seen


the shells of snails.

over Africa (and from

all

eties

such as the Old Stone

all

Age

other

'tribally'

all

which seems

his idea of 'tribality', of the

hermetically sealed tribal universe. While

African religions are

concerned with

it is

probably true that

fertility

and increase,

does not necessarily follow that every horn represented


sculpture
all

is

Horned animals

are the

some form of food

most valuable creatures

reminder to the god or ancestor of the

Some

it

in a

symbol of fertility. Sacrifices are an integral part of

African religions and usually

is

offered.

to be sacrificed

and their skulls are commonly kept on the altar as a

206.

in

in sculptures

organized soci-

artists of Europe),

somewhat inconsistent with

growing

animal horns and

Fagg detected these curves

from

to be

in

in all

sacrifices that

tally, a

have been

African peoples have

been strongly influenced by the


styles of their

art

neighbours. These

Idoma sculptures

reflect influence

from the Igbo to their south. Left:

Dance headpiece
society of

for

the Ogrinye

men who had

killed

an

elephant, a leopard, a buffalo or


a

man.

British

Museum, London.

Ht25.5cm(10in.)/?/gM:
for

Figure

the cult of Anjenu, spirits of

rivers

and termite-mounds, served

chiefly

by

women

seeking to be

cured or to conceive. Coll. the late

W. B. Fagg. Ht 38

cm

(15

in.)

185

207. An ancestor

altar in Chief

Oghiamien's house

Benin.

ancestral spirits. Blood from

The heads are of wood plated


with brass sheet. The tall objects

sacrificial animals can be seen


on the altar while the skulls of
sacrificed animals hang above

are rattles used to invoke the

as a

in

tally.

186

made and

at the

same time

a display of the devotion of his

Sometimes these horns and the

shippers.

wor-

shells of edible snails

are attached to the statues. Being hollow; they provide natural

containers and are


stances,

i.e.

ram's horns

commonly used

fetish material.
filled

to contain magical sub-

Vandenhoute says

that 'formerlv

with magical substances used to be attached to

the hair-dressing of notable warriors, originally as a protective

amulet

in

time of war then as a mark of honour.

tresses of the popular hair-style are copied

from

The

with ram's horns.' These horns are

now

the mask. Similarly, he reports that

masks sometimes

horns

filled

represented carved on
still

with magical substances attached to them.

Boston telK us that

among the northern Igbo

horns are attached to the mask while

in

in

can be related to the

communal hunts

"

have

John

some cases

real

others thev are repre-

sented by the sculptor. 'The custom of using horns

in this

way

for wild animals which

were traditionallv carried out bv young men,

208.

forehead

this decoration

in

order to win

(right) Fetish figure of the

BaSongye. The horn on the head


contains magical substances.
Large figures exercise benign
influence on behalf of the

community while small ones


protect

households or individuals.

Musee Royal de
Tervuren. Ht

209.

I'Afrique Centrale,

87.3 cm (34 3/8

in.)

(far right) 'Hunting' fetish

from the BaKuba. Although the


sculpture

is in

BaKuba

style,

the

horn on the head appears to

be derived from the BaSongye.


British

Museum, London.

Ht46.3cm(18y4

in.)

187

renown

for their age-groups.

transferred to other

fields,

Today these quests have been

such as feast-giving and road and

house building, and the head-dress

But
used

it

is

no longer an actual trophy.

conveys the same symbolism of masculinity, and

in

is still

performances to draw an analogy between the physical

perfection of wild animals and the strength and vitality of young

men.' 171 Exponential curves are found too in the canine teeth of

carnivores and the talons of birds of prey which are, like the

horns of small antelopes, commonly used as personal ornaments,

e.g. in

would appear

necklaces and head-dresses.


to suggest that the

The symbolism

wearer seeks to share

here

in

the

courage, strength, or swiftness of these creatures (unless indeed

they are purely ornamental). Horns and

shells, then,

appear

in

contexts which do not seem to be directly concerned with


increase and fertility and

exponential curve

in a

it

therefore seems unlikely that every

sculpture

many of the so-called 'horns' on

is

a sign of increase. Indeed,

the heads of human figures have

been regarded by other workers as hair-styles,

e.g. in

the drink-

Of course, it could be argued that the


way to imitate animal horns and thus

ing-cups of the BaKuba.


hair

is

dressed in this

the symbolism

210. Wooden cup for a chief.


The elaborate horns may
represent a hair-dressing.

BaMbala,

a subdivision of

the BaKuba. British

London. Ht 20

cm

Museum,

(8

in.)

is

merely

less directly expressed.

However, no

211. Northern Igbo mask with


large

carved horns, reminding

viewers of the

communal hunts

conducted by young

enhancement
of their

men

for

the

of the reputation

age-group. National

Museum, Lagos. Ht 61 cm
(24

in.)

field-worker has yet produced evidence that exponential curves


are either conscious or unconscious expressions by African
artists of a desire for increase. Until this

cally in the field,

(where

by Father Placide Tempels)


this issue. In fairness to the

it is

which may never be proved:

has been demonstrated

best to keep an open

author of this theory

pointed out that he himself regarded

it

documented unequivo-

from outside the area of Bantu-speaking Africa

at least the philosophical basis

elevated

is

it is

it

it

mind on

should be

as a tentative hypothesis

some of his followers who have

to a doctrine.

189

212. Mask collected


Eganyi

in

district of Igbira

the

(about

midway between Okene and


River Niger) carved

in

the

the early

years of this century by a Basa

Nge

sculptor. This

which the

is

the

mask on

Igbira carver Ihiovi

commented. National Museum,


Lagos.

L.

56 cm (22

in.)

While

it is

probably an exaggeration to regard each African

art style as incomprehensible to

tigation
light
fine

neighbouring peoples, an

by John Picton among the Igbira throws an interesting

on the problem. An old carver,

Basa

Nge mask

Amodu

Ihiovi,

which Picton had just obtained

for the Nigerian


it

man who carved

for

if

SO

it

would look

/<)()

is

tall.

liked,

quite eclectic

is

if all

this

choice of masks.

if

were

Evidently this

and liked what he knew so that

highly resistant to change

in its

it

placed higher up

Of course,

just like a typical Igbira mask'

knew what he

appears that one carver

which

that

the nose had only been about half as long, and

the top of the head had not been as

carver

Museum. 'He

to carve. But then he said

it

teat u res,

some time and saying

knew how
would have been better if the mouth had been
the face, and

examined

with elongated, almost reptilian

chuckled with delight, admiring


the

in\ es-

in a

it

society

3
213. Mask carved

in

the early

mask

include magical 'medicines'

years of this century by Ihiovi of

and the remains

Opopocho

the

of Igbira.

village,

hima

district

The objects on top

mask

of sacrifices, for

is still in

use.

of the

191

Aesthetics in African Sculpture


I

low docs

this affect

our understanding of African art? Are there

absolute standards of beauty which operate transculturally as


the large variety of masks used
is

ment of

the Igbira carver

obvious

same

in

among

the Igbira appears to

there a specific aesthetic for each society, as the judg-

imply, or

our

level

own

Amodu

Ihiovi

would suggest?

society that artistic appreciation

throughout the community:

artists

cultivate their awareness of artistic values in a

is

It is

not on the

and art

critics

way not shared by

we wish to gain an underwe would probably have to obtain

large sections of the community. If

standing of contemporary art

our information mainly from art


atively

few

artists

who

of their ideas and, while

critics,

secondarily from the rel-

are articulate in the verbal expression

we might

talk to people at exhibitions of

we would probably not interview people at random


streets. The same problem exists in studying African art

art,

this case the critics

might be difficult

art,

concentrated on the

how works

to identify.

of art

ways with

artist, his

come

different groups.

on them;

in

sheeting, Ashanti. Stools


related to this are

the other

Akan peoples

in

forms

among

found

(e.g.

Anyi and the Baule) and

the

among

unrelated peoples like the Fon

in

Benin (Dahomey) and the Duala


in

Cameroun.

British

London. Ht 40.6

Museum,

cm (16

in.)

lf)2

showing

to be created, while others have concen-

one case we have

judgments passed

comparative evaluation of sculp-

ture by Africans and by Americans.

queen

Some have

incentives and training,

trated on the art objects themselves and the

stool for a

in

but several interesting studies have already been

carried out in different

mother, decorated with silver

the

but

great deal more work needs to be done on this aspect of

African

214. Wooden

in

Whatever the approach,

it is

clearly necessary to take as our

starting-point the society in which the art objects were made.

Hans Himmelheber was

the first to attempt to investigate the

standards of beauty applied


the

Guro

His study of the artists of

in Africa.

and Atutu published in 1935 showed that there clearly

are standards of beauty, for he found that a client might refuse to

accept a

made
ture.

mask

if it

were not beautiful enough, or the payment

might depend on the beauty of the sculp-

to the sculptor

He conducted

a series of simple

experiments by getting his

among those

porters to point out the pieces they preferred from

he had collected; he invited artists and other people to do the


same. This was done repeatedly, and always the same three
pieces

were picked out

he preferred himself.

as the best,

When

and they were the three which

he attempted to get them to explain

their preferences he got only rather

'beauty of
that he

line'

vague

and 'power of expression*, so

came up against

it is

little

wall of incomprehension'.

'a

he appears

replies, but

through interpreters, about their

to have been asking them,

More successful, however, was

wonder

171

his discovery that both

masks

and figures were intended to be likenesses of their living subject.

many

In

name

cases his informants were able to

the person

represented without any hesitation, recognizing him by the features of the sculpture, not by his scarification pattern.

To non-

Africans the faces of these sculptures seem undifferentiated and


expressionless, hut both the

iuro and the Atutu said thatfeeling

w as shown by the mouth of the carving. Indeed the mouth


Liveliest part

Others

of an African

Himmelheber

followed

have

in

these

attempting to establish the criteria by which sculpture


in

the society of its origin.

experiments

among

the

Vandenhoute conducted

Dan

the

Lome

studies,
is

judged

number of

of the Ivory Coast. Pieces he used

have been illustrated by Gerbrands.

had carved himself, a

is

face.

17

7
'

Of three masks which he

sculptor called

Yituwo chose

as

best one which had a fringe of stylized horns over the forehead,
a feature of

which he was particularly proud.

masks were added


men, agreed

in selecting a different

carefully finished

was

slightly

When

he, as well as the local chief

three

more

and various old

mask because

it

was more

and a better colour, despite the fact that the eye

damaged, the

tip

of the nose worn, and the lines

above the eyes not quite straight. In another experiment, the


sculptor
his

Uwi Magbwe,

Gulome, 176 preferred, out of a group of

own masks, one with a hair-dressing carved in a way which he

had originated. The choice was confirmed by old men of the

193

2 1 5. Head of a spoon carved


by Tompieme, and his daughter

whom

it

village.

As a result of such experiments Vandenhoute was able to

formulate as the

Dan criteria of beauty symmetry about

the ver-

portrays.

tical axis,

coupled with balance, rhythm and harmony between

the various masses, surfaces and lines, criteria which

we

tend to

appreciate intuitively, rather than measure in an objective w

Vandenhoute pointed out

ay.

that his informants did not indicate

these criteria in words, but that the carver demonstrates his


appreciation of them by continually pausing to assess his work,

sometimes holding
his eyes

it

upside-down or back to

and holding the mask

at

front,

arm's length. This

screwing up
is

the think-

ing which the artist declared to be the hardest part of the work,
as other
for this

Dan
is

artists in north-eastern Liberia did later to Fischer,

the crucial stage in achieving in

wood

the image con-

ceived in the artist's mind. In the European tradition, the artist

can experiment beforehand


this the

elements of his

alize his finished


his

in his

sketch-book and copy from

work; the African

final

artist has to visu-

work from the beginning and carry

mind continuously. Additional

criteria

Vandenhoute found

were those of finish (both polish and the colour) and of


comfort
Ills.

in

wear so

181 and 1H2

as well as out.

194

that the

show how

wearer can sec and breathe

well these

in

it

masks are

use,

i.e.

well.

finished inside

216,217. Although

Afr,

sculpture often strikes

as highly stylized,

resemblances

th.

surpris-.

to real

pec

sometimes be observed.
Yoruba twin figure carved
is

remarkably similar

in

the

to

who

represented

1963

'Miss United

Idowu,

IV

contest. Coll. Michelle Gilt

Ht28.5cm(ll

/4

in.)

a particular sculptural style, yet the sculptures


are not portraits
of individuals, but they are supposed to look as if they
might be.
A second quality is ifarahon, visibility; the various parts of a

sculpture should be clearly formed both in the

initial

blocking out of the masses and

of finishing the

in the later stages

stage of

details with a knife. Equally

important is didon, luminosity, or


shining smoothness of surface, so that the whole sculpture offers
a play of light and shade. Another criterion is gigun, a
straight
upright posture and symmetrical arrangement of the parts of
the sculpture. This does not exclude asymmetry, but
restrict

it

sentation of the subject in the prime of

life.

expected to show 'coolness' or composure,


is

sought

in

it

does

minor details. Odois also important, the repre-

to fairly

human behaviour too.

absence of violence

in

sculpture

tutu,

In sculpture

a quality

it is

is

also

which

shown by the

the facial expression or gesture; in the

dance by the withdrawn expressionless face of the dancer; the


thief should always behave calmly and unemotionally.
last criterion has

among

This

been reported also by Warren D'Azevedo

the Gola of Liberia: 'The pinnacle of success... comes

with the ability to be nonchalant

no emotion

in situations

at the right

moment.

another world.

It is

.to reveal

where excitement and sentimentality

are acceptable - in other words to act as though one's


in

,8

mind were

particularly admirable to do difficult tasks

with an air of ease and silent disdain.

Women

are admired for a

surly detached expression, and somnambulistic

movement and

attitude during the dance or other performance

is

considered

very attractive.' 1M1

Some

of the criteria which

Thompson was

able to elicit by

general discussions, rather than by direct questioning, which

can produce misleading answers, have sometimes been remarked

upon by sensitive Western observers of Yoruba sculpture - the


moderate naturalism has always been pointed
finish has

out; the careful

been observed but not always mentioned; the symme-

try of pose is generally regarded as a basic African characteristic,


as

is

the portrayal of human beings in their prime; balanced visi-

bility

and composure of expression seem not to have been

expressly remarked, yet they are obviously there to be seen in

all

good Yoruba sculpture. The judgment of sympathetic non-

23,70,

African observers such as experienced curators of collections of

96, 97,

African art would probably agree with the Yoruba about which

233-43,

Yoruba sculptures are good and which bad, even without know-

254, 255

ing the criteria

Thompson

has determined; yet without the

demonstration of these standards

in the field

we should not have


197

been justified

admired
moral

in

Yoruba

able to

show

subsequent field-work,

In

that the concept of 'coolness'

the other arts and in other places, and

ideal,

ideal

this

interring them.

in

Thompson was

is

is

a reflection

is

of

while the evidence from the Gola confirms that

Armed

widespread. 181

criteria, the

Western

with Thompson's

critic is better able to

intuitive judgments of the sculpture

of

list

check his

own

by reference to the qualities

the artist had to seek.

The
before

some of these standards had been remarked

fact that

Thompson's

into thinking that


in all

analysis should not be allowed to mislead us

Western

of their makers.

found that

all

sensitivity will

produce judgments

art

which w ill coincide with the standards

Among

the BaLega, for example, Biebuvc k

works of African

the traditional sculptures used by the

Bwami soci-

ety in their rituals were judged to be 'good' by which was meant


that they fulfilled their functions. 'Criticism of the physical

appearance... is inconceivable.'

As

""

celluloid dolls

result,

obtained by trade enjoy equal regard with the traditional sculptures

in

ivory and

wood. This

is

surprising because the

traditional objects serve to demonstrate

prestigious association

- only

them; moreover, each of them

is

initiated

membership

in

the

members may possess

associated with a proverb which

expresses the ideal of moral beauty to which initiates aspire.

It

seems strange that objects which are presumably inexpensive


and

easily obtained should be accepted for use in the relatively

exclusive society. Yet Biebuyck observed that the possession of


219. BaLega

large

figure in ivory,

collected by Daniel Biebuyck in

1952.

It

was owned by

Bwami society.

called 'One-Arm'

results

It

harm

part in a great

acquired chiefly by inheritance.


in

other people's affairs. Coll. Daniel

cm

(5 /.

many

It

is

this

very

fact,

however,

that

from undue interference

Biebuyck. Ht 13

them he must have taken

rituals and have served as head of the funer-

ary ceremonies of other high-grade members, since they are

is

and represents

the physical and moral

traditional objects reflected great prestige

member

of the highest level of the kindi

grade of the

numbers of the

for the owner, for in order to acquire

which explains the acceptance of the foreign


n

artefact, for the

umbers alone are what matters, the quality and age of the

pieces

in.)

are of no importance.

The general congruence of judgment of Yoruba and

Western

critics

appears to imply that there are certain

aesthetic standards

which operate across cultural

common

frontiers. e\ en

though some societies like the BaLega appear deliberately to


ignore them. Leon Siroto investigated this possibility. M In order
to

ensure that the results were not culture-hound, he chose to

obtain

opinions on

series

of thirty-nine photographs of

BaKwele masks from sixteen male BaKwele informants and from


thirteen 'advanced art students and others able to

198

make such

220. BaLega mask carved

in

ivory

and rubbed regularly with

palm

oil

same care that


Bwami society

the

anoint themselves. During the

ceremonies

to the

highest grade, kindi, such

may be worn,

masks

or held in the hand,

hung on a fence
floor.

in

New

Haven, Connecticut.

To

have asked his

African informants to judge European works would have intro-

with the

initiates of

initiation

judgments'

or laid

on the

duced

bias,

since the

informants were familiar with

were thus aesthetically

BaKwele would have been

w ide range of artistic

styles,

less culture-bound. Siroto points

disadvantage of using photographs rather than originals,


his

in.)

cultural

unfamiliar with art objects in other styles, whereas his American

Formerly Coll. Pablo Picasso.

Htl9.4cm(7 5/8

New Haven

photographs,

and

out the
in that

informants were accustomed to interpreting

whereas

his

BaKwele informants were

although they were selected for their experience

in

not,

making or

using masks. Eight of the photographs were found to mislead his

BaKwele informants, whose judgments were more consistent

when

these particular examples were omitted.

The informants

were asked to choose the four most beautiful masks, then the
four

most

repeated

beautiful

till

masks of those which remained. This was

the thirty-nine photographs had been divided up

into ten groups, ranked in order of beauty. Scores

were given

to

199

.^H

^4&L^\^

^^^^hlSL J^l

221,222. Representation

human head

of the

with a 'heart-shaped'

face formed by two intersecting


slices cut

from the wood

is

found

across the northern edge of the

Congo Basin

right into Nigeria.

The provenance
this feature

distinguish.
(called

is

The one on the

Ngbangba

carved by an Igbo

Bende

Division,

Ikoro)

to

left

correlations were calculated between the overall rankings of his

New Haven informants taken as a single group, and his BaKwele


informants taken not only as a single group but also as groups of

general there was substantial overall agreement between the

BaKwele and the New Haven judgments. The agreement between


each group of BaKwele informants and the

mants could

State,

Nigeria, while the other

each photograph in each of these groups from nine to zero, and

was

at Abiriba,

Imo

'''

four carvers, four cult leaders and eight other informants. In

masks with

of

sometimes hard

'^[

was

arise

by chance

The agreements between

less than

once

the individual

New Haven

in a

infor-

hundred times.

BaKwele

carvers, cult

carved by a BaKwele. 221:


Nigerian

cm

(8

Museum,

in.)

222:

British

London. Ht 26.5

20
Museum,

Lagos. Ht

cm

(lO'/a

leaders and four of the eight other informants with the New

judgments could

by chance less than once

arise

in

Haven

twenty times.

in.)

Despite these general agreements, however, there was also


clear evidence of disagreement.

tently ranked

more highly by

they were by the

New

Two photographs

all

the

were consis-

BaKwele informants than

[aven group. In contrast the photographs

ranked second and third best of the thirty-nine by the consensus


of the
a

New

[aven informants were not placed in the

single BaKwele.

These differences

first

four by

are significant, since the

rankings between the BaKwele sub-groups are also consistent

ith

each Other, and correlate with each other more highly than

any sub-group does with the

2(H)

New Haven

consensus.

The

only

inconsistency discovered was in the BaKwele attitude to a group

of eight masks which were described as


these are used to exercise social control,

were

power through them looked upon

in a position to exercise

them with
felt fearful

favour,

masks. Since

'fierce'

may be that those who

it

whereas those who were dominated by them

and hence disliked them.

evident that background

It is

knowledge possessed by the BaKwele informants

make

different

judgments from each other

led

as well as

them

to

from the

New Haven critics who judged them entirely by their appearance.


In his investigation of

Fernandez too found

aesthetics

background was

that his informants'


to pass

Fang

influential; they

were loath

judgments on sculptures which had been used on the

reliquary boxes containing ancestral bones; something of the


religious

awe deriving from

seemed

this use

them

to place

beyond the reach of everyday aesthetic judgment. He found too


were unwilling

that artists

other's work.

to criticize each

Nevertheless he asked eight informants which of twelve figures


they liked best and w h y.
nical qualities

The answers

referred, of course, to tech-

- whether the surface was smooth, whether the

carving was complete -but they showed an interesting concern


with balance (bibwe). Legs, arms, shoulders, eyes, breasts,

were expected

Without

ber.

to be

carved to match exactly

w ould not be

this balance the- figure

would have no

life

or vitality within

is

one -

uvwould

my

call

informants.

this

is

the best

it

'that

movement
They gen-

w hose presentation and posture were

formal even - and perhaps

Here then there

a real

all

mem-

Fernandez found

it".

those features that seemed to have what


or vitality were not those selected by
erally picked those

opposite

its

stolid,

word - suppressed.'

""

and Western

a clear opposition of African

judgments, for the frontality usually regarded as static by

Western writers on African


ture

its

art

is

precisely

what gives the sculp-

vitality for a Fang.

Fernandez found that the sculptor

in

Fang

jected to great pressure from his critics while he

society
is

is

sub-

working, and

that indeed 'the villagers consider themselves to be the final

cause of the statue and apply what social pressures they can to
the efficient cause, the carver, to see that the
their expectations'.

186

The

aesthetic acquiescence

artists thus

upon

their clients, yet

came across

a case of a statue being refused.

prevail that

any statue can serve

whether

is

it

work turns out

its

Fernandez never

'The view seemed to

function atop the reliquary

aesthetically satisfying or not',

echoes that of the BaLega, that

all

to

cannot expect to impose

187

view which

Bwami figures are good.


201

Fernandez's study shows clearly the influence of a paper by


Paul Bohannan

Tiv

which he discussed the

in

Bohannan found

""

society.

the art but not

at all in the artist.

and

artist

The Tiv

had

artists

made

him; one said that he liked everything he

liked best

little to tell

so,

explained

and why. Another, engaged

in

patterns on a cloth with raffia for the resist-dye process


the oversewn parts

in

equally well; his

kinsman, however, without being invited to do

which pieces he

his critic in

Tiv were interested

that the

sewing

in

which

would come out undyed. was evidently pay-

ing no attention to the design and concentrating on a political


discussion.

When Bohannan

does not look


if it
"I

come out

has

will sell

it

well. If this

Bohannan found
asked
told

it is

finished: then

shall

shall give

that the bystanders

a figure of a

why he had

keep

to

it

were the

woman when

breasts.

to object that 'even if they had fallen they

upon the old man chopped


be no great sense of the
the fact that the

turns

set
in

artist's vision,

same word gba

world and of working

would

off all three

in

is

one

well, he said.

And

if it

comes

mother-in-law."
critics.

carver

youngster came up and

carved three bumps on her

him they were her navel and

it.

my

'that

one looks to see

one did not come out

to the I(g)bo; if it does,

out extraordinarily well,

was making

remonstrated he was told

pattern until

at a

belly.

The

old

man

The youngster began


would

not....'

where-

bumps. There seemed to


of his creativity, despite

used of God's creation of the

wood. As many as four men

in

turn

about carving decorations on a walking-stick, or take

carving stools or chairs; thus there could be no overall

preconceived design.

The

ultimate criterion was whether

it

turned out well.

Thus Bohannan concluded that In Ti\ land almost every


man is a critic. Because there are no specialists in taste and only a
tew in the manufacture of art, every man is free to know what he
likes and to make it if he can. It seems to me that as many Tiv are
aware of why they

like

something

as are

aware of the implica-

tions of any other aspects of their culture. In

faculty

all

spheres, this

is

which varies greatly from person to person.'

Most of the specialized


been conducted

studies of African art in the field have

in societies

which have professional

artists,

and

have taken the artist and his creativity as the starting-point of


the-

study.

Thus Bohannan's account

of the Tiv opened our eves

There are indeed many societies in which,


among the Tiv. every man is his own artist. Among the Fanti
and many Igbo groups art is fundamentally non-professional,
though on occasion a man whose talent is well known may be
to other possibilities.
as

223,224.

Tiv figure of a

woman,

with elaborate scarification on the


front

and back

figures are set

house
for the
land'.

of a

tige

man's senior wife

artist.

"'

fession,
of

Archaeology and Ethnology.

Ht47.6cm(18 3Ain.)

do work

for

work

someone else.

In general,

no pres-

as the expression of an individual

Yet there are also societies, such as the Yoruba,

sculpture

of 'repairing the

Cambridge Museum

to

attached to the

is

Such

of the trunk.

up outside the

purpose

commissioned

The
is

is

usually a strictly professional

and by implication the

talent, usually

casual attitude to art of the Tiv which

clearly impossible in societies

professional artists. Indeed,

by professionals may be
influence than
tradition.

is

it

affair,

which

runs

in families.

Bohannan described

where the

seems

in

where the pro-

art

is

the

likely that art

work of

produced

less susceptible to outside stylistic

the art of societies without a professional

15*"

203

The Individual Artist


In the societies that

have

a professional tradition, individual

artists are able to evolve their personal style within the sculp-

These personal

tural tradition of the society.


identified

and \ery often the

connoisseurship

in

artist

African sculpture has progressed from the

identification of 'tribal' styles


to that of

town or

styles can be

can be named. Over the years

through that of sub-group styles

village styles,

the style of the individual artist.

and

finally

reached the level of

We are even beginning to distinthe

same

artist's style

from

guish between the hands of masters and apprentices

workshop and

to trace the

his apprenticeship

One
though

of the

it is

first styles to

now considered

be reported as an individual one,

the style of a workshop,

Almost

name

225, 226. BaLuba neckrestwith

occupied by the BaLuba. 191

which
in

necessitates the use of such


a device.

The

slight

degree of

asymmetry produced by the


arms

is

British

l6.5cm(6V2 'm.)

ambiguous for it

The naming of this style by Olbrechts

1938 represented a major breakthrough, even though the

sculptor's

name was not recorded. By now, the number of artists'


in the published literature runs to some hun-

names recorded

particularly well handled.

Museum, London. Ht

is

of a district as well as of a village, within the area

two caryatid

figures with elaborate

the 'long-

the place where they were collected has been

is

coiffures of the type

is

a score of pieces in this style are

recorded for only two of them: Buli. Even this


the

in

through to full mastery and even to decline.

faced style of Buli'.

known but

development of the

dreds.

For example, the names of twenty-five carvers are

mentioned from four quite small Nigerian groups

20

in a

short

227. Chief's

stool

BaLuba, carved

one

style of Buli',

of

in

from the
the 'long-faced

of the

first

styles

an individual sculptor or

workshop

to

literature.

This unusual style

be reported

in

the

contrasts strongly with that of

more
t&

typical

Ills.

British

Ht

BaLuba pieces such

225, 226, 228, 229.

Museum, London.

53 cm (21

in.)

study by Roy Sieber"- while de Grunne's incomplete


229.

Among

the

Montol Sieber found

kept secret for masks which are

could be revealed

when

the

list

that the carver's

still in

use,

mask ceased

totals

name

is

though the name

to be used.

193

The

recording of artists' names and the identification of their works

was pioneered independently by Kenneth Murray

in

from the 1930s onwards. Most of his data

in the files

is

recorded

Nigeria

Museum in Lagos and has thus not had the pubdeserves. He encouraged William Fagg to seek out

of the National
licity it

artists

and their works

all

over western Nigeria and elsewhere,

205

and

his writings

abound with the names of individual sculptors

and illustrations of their works, as do the writings of Henry


Drewal, John Picton, Rowland Abiodun and John Pemberton.

One
ever,

of the most detailed studies of individual artists, how-

was conducted by Fischer among the Dan

Liberia.

*4

sculptors

He

in

Tame,

Si,

Tompieme and

Son.

By diagrams and pho-

tographs he shows that although their tools are

them

in different

ways; he shows too

changes with time as


sculptor

may

north-eastern

studied the techniques and personalities of the

how

similar, they use

the individual's style

his technique develops.

Moreover, the

follow different methods with different types of

Tame

carves a geangle mask (the upper part of the face

of which has

human features but the lower part resembles the bill

mask.

of a bird) from a cylindrical block with a flattened back. Using an

228. Ivory neckrest, BaLuba.


Formerly

in

the collection of

Charles Ration. Ht 17.8

cm

(7

in.)

229. Statue

of a

female ancestor,

BaLuba. The rounded and smooth


forms are typical of most BaLuba
sculptures. British

London. Ht44.5

Museum,

cm (17V2

in.)

207

230. (top row) Stages

in

Tame's

carving of a geangle mask. Dan.

adze 195 he

cuts in deeply beneath the nose and blocks out the

first

form of the

bird-like

bill.

Then he

cuts

two horizontal grooves,

(After Fischer)

above and below the eyes, and two sloping grooves to define the
23 1

(second row) Stages

Tame's carving

of a

Dan. (After Fischer)

in

ngede mask.

nose.

He

and the

then cuts away the cheeks, and blocks out the forehead

eyes.

Only when the

front does he turn the

work
a

is

essential forms are visible

mask over and hollow out

finished with a knife. In

making

on the

The

the back.

a ngede mask

which has

human face, he first of all cuts the block of wood into an oval, the

outline of the mask, and then cuts four grooves across the face

converging towards the sides of the mask. These define the


mouth, nose, eyes, forehead and

groove

all

On

the back

lie

round, parallel to the edge of the mask, with

verse groove towards the top.


the mask,

hair.

first

Without complet-

mask over and reduces

series of blocks,

still

the main forms

using the adze.

reduces the eyes from cubes to cylinders with this tool.

smoothes the surface and

a trans-

then hollows out the back of

the lower part, then the upper.

ing the inside he turns the


of the mask to

He

cuts a

He

even

Then he

starts the eve holes with a knife,

and

then completes the adzing out of the back and, with a knife again,
the piercing of the eyes.

and

finally the

mask

In carving a dea

is

Aluminium

teeth and eye rings are fitted

oiled.

mask

(similar to

the outline of the face with his adze.

///.

181)

Tompieme shapes

On the back he cuts a groove

across the upper part, stopping short of the edges of the mask.

He strikes blows towards

it

from

all

directions, so that the chips

wood terminate at the groove. He takes out about two centimetres of wood in this way, then turns the block over and cuts

of

two grooves

in the front,

above and below the eyes, and immedi-

Taking

ately cuts back the area between.

haft of an adze as a mallet, he

232. Stages

in

Tompieme's

carving of a dea mask. Dan.

a chisel,

and using the

marks the outline of the nose, and

proceeds to adze out the cheeks, Leaving the nose and mouth as
blocks

He

separates tht forehead and hair with the adze, then


.

(After Fischer)

completes the detail with

his knife,

which he uses

tapping the back of the blade with a block of

like a chisel,

wood

to cut the

grooves of the hair-dressing.


Fischer describes the techniques of the other carvers too, in
far greater detail than

one of them uses


a

gouge

to

is

possible here, and

his tools in his

own

it is

clear that each

way. Son, for example, uses

hollow out the back of his masks, though he uses the

adze on the front.


Father Kevin Carroll worked closely with a group of Yoruba
sculptors in a scheme which will be described in the next chapter.

He worked with carvers of several generations. Arowogun (born


1

880, died

who was
(died

954); his son Bandele or Bamidele (born about 1910)

apprenticed not to his

about

1945)

who had

own

father but to

himself been

Oshamuko

apprenticed

to

Arowogun; and Lamidi, the son of Fakeye (born about 1925)

who was

an apprentice of Bandele. Father Carroll has written

209

233. Panel from a door carved by

Arowogun. National Museum,


Lagos. W. 63.5

cm

(25

in.)

234. Panel from a door carved by

Oshamuko, former apprentice

of

Arowogun. National Museum,


Lagos. Ht of panel: 36.8

(14V.

cm

in.)

2/0

the biographies of these three carvers"

who all work in

of the Yoruba town of Osi Ilorin. Lamidi

is

the style

descended from a

who lived at Ila and was trained in the family


He was not, however, a willing apprentice, though eventuafter five years with his father, he set up on his own in the

family of carvers
style.
ally,

town of Oro. Eventually he met Father Carroll and Bandele


there and he was invited to

become Bandele's

apprentice.

He was

apprenticed for three years, during which he learned to carve


different style,
is

that of Osi. His work during

in a

this apprenticeship

often very difficult to distinguish from that of his master, espe-

cially in

door panels, though

and houseposts)

One

is

his sculpture in the

round (masks

usually distinguishable.

of the most popular subjects of Yoruba sculpture

mounted

warrior.

Ills.

233

to

236 show how the

is

the

subject was

we have just mentioned. The warrior is


represented alone when he is carved in a door panel,

treated by the sculptors

not usually
but
235. Detail from a panel carved
by Bandele, son of

Arowogun and

former apprentice of
National

Museum,

W. 67.3

cm

(26 l/2

is

surrounded by other figures

and reduce the open space to


of design which

falls

who complete

the design

minimum, producing

a richness

short of being overcrowded. Arowogun's

Oshamuko.

Lagos.
in.)

style

is

characterized

by

smoothed forms; the mouth

relatively
is

low

relief

with

well-

set low and the line of thejaw forms

211

236

Lam id

Panel from a door by

i,

son of Fakeye, former apprentice


of

Bandele. Idena gatehouse of

the Palace of the Ooni of

W. 73.7

cm

(29

approximately a right angle with the line of the profile of the

and nose;

this line

the eyes are carved very flatly and wide open.

Ife.

apprentice

in.)

Oshamuko

is

much

less

The

the

Ogoga

for

of Ikere,

Captain Ambrose

the profile of the face

in

litter

with

beaded crown

his

and flanked by

his attendants
to

and

broken figure
British

is

indicated by the

at the

(Note the prisoner

it

has

was moved

to

bottom

right.

a greater vertically to the design;

is

less regular

than Arowogun's, and

in shaf>e, their

form

He

ized as bold.

is

more bulging.

tied to the warrior's reins but represented

floating over the horse's head.) Bandele's style

which

Olowe's figures are carved free of


the background

is

though the eyes are similar

by the

Ogoga wearing

The degree

narrower doorway, there

the Palace of

showing

his retinue being received

wives.

it

carved about

Pair of doors

1910 by Olowe

panel by his

smooth and although

been cut away and remounted, presumably when


237.

lips

sweeps smoothly back to form the forehead;

has a remarkable motor

is

best character-

skill in

carving which

Oshamuko also possessed: he is completely ambidextrous, a skill


which saves considerable time and movement. Father Carroll

Museum, London.

Htapprox. 1.8

(6

ft.)

remarks that

'it is

quite

uncanny

cate curve of an eyelid with one


to his left

hand

firmness'.

carver,

197

to

watch Bandele cut the

deli-

hand and then change the knife

to cut the opposite curve with equal precision

and

Clearly this ability makes him a very confident

whose work

in relief is often

marked by great depth of

cutting so that the figures sometimes are almost carved

round, as in this example.

///.

236 shows

a detail of

in the

one of

Lamidi's doors, part of a commission executed during his


apprenticeship.

the Palace in

212

Ife.

It is

one of a

set carved for the rear

gatehouse of

23*

i5

'2

V
Ki

life5?!

r>

l>t:

"^Ul%I

238. Part

of a

door carved by the

virtuoso Yoruba sculptor, Olowe,

representing Captain
tour,
is

Ambrose on

about 1897. His companion

said to be Reeve Tucker.

Nigerian

W. 56

Museum,

cm

(22

Lagos.

in.)

It is

very

difficult to tell

which doors are by Bandele and

which by Lamidi, apart from the slightly greater depth of

The ridge over the forehead, often continuing

Bandele's carving.

round the eye socket,

is

found

in both,

and the facial profiles and

ear forms are also similar. In this particular example the prisoner

appears to be standing on the horse's head.

Another carver of great individuality


1938),

who

is

is

Olowe of

Ise (died

probably the greatest Yoruba virtuoso sculptor.

His figures lean out from the door, the upper part being carved
fully in the

round. His horsemen

officer, said locally to

Travelling Commissioner for the


his assistant.

Reeve Tucker.

was commissioned
of Yoruba kings.

to carve

One

the Palace in Ilesha,

in this

example are

represent Captain Ambrose,

Ondo Province

Olowe had

doors and

miles

in 1897,

a great reputation.

and

He

pillars for several palaces

door, thought to be by him.

fifty

a district

who was

away from

his

still

stands in

home town. The

top panel of this shows palm-wine tappers climbing trees which

almost grow out of the background. His fame was even more

u idespread, for

214

it

was

a pair

of doors carved by him about 1910

237

239. The end


stage,

ona

a kneeling

of

in

the carving of

woman

offering bowl

Fakeye

of the blocking-out

Hie, in

made

1973.

In

Empire Exhibition

holding an

by Lamidi
the collection

Northwestern University

Program

King of Ikere which were sent

for the

Museum

British

Wembley

at

in

London. In

for display at the British

now

1924 and are

in

the

in

his usual high-relief style

portrays the same British administrator,

he

Mr Ambrose, in a litter,

being received by the King of Ikere. Another tour deforce by

of African Studies.

Olowe

is

shown

in

///.

supporting figures

monly found

is

240, for the head between the legs of the

more com-

cut completely free, a device

Chinese or Indian sculpture. All his known

in

works have been brought together

in a catalogue raisonne

by

Roslyn A. Walker, 1998.

When

ter himself

first

met Lamidi early

in 1960,

he had become a mas-

and already had four apprentices working with him,


big exhibition to be held in Ibadan in

March and

preparing for

they were

busy making small carvings for which he could be

all

assured of a ready

sale.

was interested

twin figure as

had made

model

for

them

or sixty of them.

fifty

to copy,
I

his.

and between them they

asked them to sort out those

which each of them had carved and they did


I

how closely
He had carved

to discover

work resembled

the style of his apprentices'

this quite easily.

then began to examine each group to see whether

any consistency of individual style


inexperienced

artists.

One

in

the

of them, a

chiefly

employed

in

could detect
relatively

nephew of Lamidi

Buraima Akinlabi Adewuvi had only just begun


still

work of these

completing the

final

to carve

called

and was

stages of Lamidi's

He had not carved any twin figures. Another, Amusa


Akande, had come to work with Lamidi only three or four
work.

months

earlier

and had not yet developed

his

own

style.

The

other two, however, had developed fairly marked styles, and

was quickly able

to spot the

other apprentices which were

were amazed that I could do


if they

one or two figures carved by the


in the

this

wrong groups. The carvers

when they had

failed to,

though

had taken more time no doubt they could have avoided the

confusion.

///.

243 shows the piece which Lamidi carved

as a

model and one piece by each of the three apprentices which

seemed most

typical of their work. All four pieces

on the chin running from the lower

lip to

show the facet

merge

into the flat

undersurface of the chin, which, at the time, was characteristic of


Lamidi's figure sculpture. All have the ridge round the eyes and
across the forehead, though this has been rounded off on

Lamidi's and Joseph Fakeye's work.

The ears

are alike in

all.

All

of them, however, have broader and shorter faces than their master's piece

and none of them has the near-vertical

lip

surface

which characterized Lamidi's sculpture. The piece on the right

215

of

///.

243

is

by Ganiyu Fakeye, a half brother of Lamidi.

The

breasts on his female figures are conical and less bulbous than

Lamidi

s;

the pubic hair on the female figures

and angular and extends

to the hips; his

is

very prominent

male figures have

pointed penis; none of his figures have tribal scarification.

second figure from the

younger

full

left in

///.

243

is

The

by Joseph Fakeve, next

brother of Lamidi. This carver stays close to his

master's style, though the breasts of his figures are less bulbous

and are truncated

abdominal

Akande; although
Joseph's, he

240. An elaborate bowl carved


about 1925 by Olowe. The head

between the supporting


is

figures

completely separate from the

rest of the sculpture. National

Museum

of African Art,

Washington. D.C. Ht 63.5

(25

cm

in.)

216

at

the

scarifications.

He is the only carver to represent


The third figure in ///. 243 is bv Amusa
tip.

his style

was more variable than Ganiyu's or

was the only one

to retain the

charms round the

neck; the form of the breasts

closest to Lamidi's, yet he has

is

treated the hair in a totally different way.

required to copy his master's

work

It is

evident that even

young sculptor

within an apprenticeship system the

not

is

slavishly (although the

Guro

carver Bassi Abigan was taught by his master simply to copy

what he did, cut


to be, but this

for cut,

seems

without any idea what the sculpture was

to be an exceptional procedure.

Father Carroll has described


in Ekiti

in detail the stages

'

9
)

of sculpture

and the role of the apprentice. First comes ona

lile

blocking out the main forms w ith an axe or adze, then comes

- working over the main forms and breaking them

tunle

smaller precise masses

hands and eyes;

this

is

hair, eyelids

and

finally ^t/zh- cutting

edes ona

says, the

In this stage the figure

lile.

proportions should be clearly

apprentice

in

sharp detail

and pattern work.

However, Lamidi now recognizes


I

ale-

into

w ith adze or chisel, e.g. the forms of ears,


followed by didon smoothing the forms,

chiefly with knife or chisel;

such as

a stage, sisa,
is

which pre-

outlined. In ona

these stages seems to vary a

lile,

he

The share of the

visible.
little.

Lamidi writes of

two of his apprentices "they can

finish the

have clone the rough work".'

Banclele's apprentices, however,

share

in

the rough work,

work

perfectly

when

presumably removing the bark and

only carving out the surplus wood after the master carver has
indicated

where

to

whole of the second


it is

this

cut The-

The smoothing

entirely to the apprentices,

best

the responsibility of the master, for

which determines the overall form and proportions of

the sculpture.

is

stages of blocking out and the

final

stage- are

done by the master

by helping with the more or

and as their

skill

increases

of

final

left

almost

sharp cutt\ng,Jifin

It

appears that apprentices begin

less

mechanical aspects of the work,

more and more

This, of course, applies to large

when he has acquired

may be

the forms

whereas the

is

entrusted to them.

masks, doors and houseposts;

sufficient skill the apprentice will

small pieces (like the twin figures in

///.

make

243) entirely by himself.

Indeed, in other Yoruba groups, such as Ijebu, where no largescale sculptures are

making spoons and

made nowadays,

the apprentice learns by

similar small objects entirely by himself.

comparing the features of the large sculptures from


ever,

Ekiti,

with a view to identifying the hand that made them,

205

In

how-

we can

establish a hierarchy of importance, for the basic forms of the

sculpture, being set by the master carver during ona


tunle are likely to be

which are often

more consistent than

left to

apprentices.

lile

and

ale-

the details of finish

Thanks

to this principle

241,242.
end
in

Willett and Picton were able to resolve conflicts

by

in attributions

informants of ancestor shrine sculptures

local

in

Owo.

It is

the carving of a kneeling

woman
bowl
in

The

(opposite)

of the final stage, finfin,

holding a lidded offering

made by Lamidi Fakeye

1973.

In

the collection of

Northwestern University

Program

of African Studies.

important

to be able to

do

this, for

not infrequently the work of

an inferior carver will be attributed by

more famous
more

its

owner

to the

hand of a

sculptor, either deliberately to impress with the

prestigious

name or more probably because

the

name

of

the lesser carver has been forgotten


243. {above)
of twins.

On

Ibeji,

the

single figures

left is

the example

carved by Lamidi, with copies by


his apprentices

Joseph Fakeye,

Amusa Akande and Ganiyu


in.),

30 cm

(ir/8 in.),29cm(ll 3/8 ),

28.3cm(ll /8
1

be able

in

the case of a well-documented carver to trace

the development of individual assistants through to their inde-

pendence as masters. African art

Fakeye. Coll. F Willett.

Hts32cm(12 3/4

As work on these problems of connoisseurship progresses

we may

is,

in short, susceptible to

the analytical techniques employed in the study of the


familiar traditions, for

it

too

is art,

no

less

than

is

more

Western and

in.)

Oriental

art.

219

Chapter 7

Contemporary African Art

When

writing about traditional African art and society

tomary

to

write in

the present

indicating that only one point in time

known

is

as 'the

is

cus-

it is

without repeatedly

tense

being described. This

ethnographic present',

kind of fictional,

unchanging world. This idea was encouraged particularly by the


structural anthropologists
in

who sought

which the various institutions

to

demonstrate the

in a society

other and maintained a social equilibrium.

It

\\

ay

supported each

even led

at

times to

the total failure to report on aspects of the society that gave evi-

dence of change. In consequence, the idea has arisen that African


societies

and the art that they produced were unchanging

until

the relatively recent impact of outside influences such as Islam

and the European traders and missionaries. In Chapter Three


it

was shown

that African art has always been subject to change,

but our knowledge

is still

too sketchy for us to

assessments of rate of change. Nevertheless,

it

make

reliable

does appear that

the rate accelerated during the twentieth century, due to the

ever-increasing influx of Western ideas and technology.

am

very conscious of the fact that some of the statements made


this

book use the present tense where

it

nowadays, but it was impractical to put

may not be

in

appropriate

warning with almost

this

every use of the present tense, especially where recent studies of


a

people or their art have not been made.

many

Conspicuously, Islam and Christianity have in

undermined the indigenous

belief

casts

system among the younger

generations, while the attractions of

life in

the towns and cities

have often taken the young people away from the villages. They

would normally be candidates

for initiation, the practice that

is

one of the mainsprings of so much African sculpture (though

in

many

societies

Where

young emigrants

traditional

still

return for the ceremony).

forms continue to be employed

in festivals, the

made nowadays with a view to selling


been well documented among the Central

identical objects are often


to tourists.

This has

BaPendeby Z.S
tions,

and 20th centuries. Her


later times, hut she

220

who also traces, through the oral

St rother

some of the changes

tradi-

that occurred in the course of the 19th

detail, naturally,

is

more complete

demonstrates the creation of

for

number of

masks of wholly new forms -

life-size

animals such as the buffalo, the

lion, the leopard, the

representations of fierce

elephant and

the crocodile, as well as wriggling snakes and whirling barrels,

made over basketry frames. These forms were short lived because
they were a reaction to colonialism, and had almost died out by
the time of independence in 1960.

the masquerades have

Among

the Central

become secularized

BaPende

unlike the Eastern

BaPende where their use in a ritual context continues, so one cannot easily generalize even about a single group of African people.

Ruth
the

Phillips has

demonstrated a comparable change among

Mende, where masks are becoming more

secular, acquiring

emphasis on entertainment and undergoing

a greater

sponding reduction

in their religious significance.

the old practices continue,

a corre-

Even where

masks are often bought from

itiner-

ant traders instead of being commissioned. Moreover, this has

been the case since the 1950s and had become widespread by
the 1970s.'"" Phillips tells us too that new masks are constantly
244. Islam has not completely

being introduced, especially

eliminated the representation


of

animals and

human

groups.""

in

areas bordering on other ethnic

beings.

declaration of the British Protectorate in

These pottery sculptures were


bought

in

She also traces back the mask names to before the

the market at Mbour,

replaced the same

name

is

896.

When masks are

given to the replacement, since

it

south of Dakar, Senegal. Coll.

Htsl0.8cm(4
13.6cm(5 3/8 in.)

F.Willett.

/4

is
in.)

conceived as being the same mask, so

it

is

very

difficult to

>

establish

how many replacements there may have been.

221

245.

Detail of a door carved

by

Sakiwa the Younger of Lapai, in a


house in the Nupe town of Lapai.

Over the

last half

century traditional masquerades and

dances have been recognized as an important cultural heritage

and several countries have established national dance troupes


that have travelled widely

not only

the world. Another stimulus to

in their

own

land but round

many masquerade

societies has

been regional agricultural shows where dance competitions are


often featured. This has not necessarily replaced the traditional
practices.

The

Gelede society

community against
perform

at

his students

performs to protect the Yoruba

the loss of income generated by Griaule and

has been more than adequately compensated by reg-

ular performances for tourists while


at

same dancers and masks

shows and other demonstrations.'"

agricultural

Among the Dogon

still

witchcraft, but the

still

continuing to perform

funerals and other ritual occasions."'"

strengths of the book by Visona et

many

al.,

2000,

One

of the great

that

is

it

describes

of the changes that have occurred and discusses the con-

temporary art scene following the account of the older forms

each geographical area.

The

passing of the old African ways of life have been

regretted by Western writers (though hardly at

and the decline

in

still

going on

much

by Africans)

the production of traditional art in particular

has been greatly bemoaned. Yet there


tion

all

in Africa, in

is

so

much

artistic

produc-

greater variety than before, that

it

seems likely that posterity will judge the second half of the twencentury to have been

tieth

period of artistic renaissance for

Africa as a whole.

External influences have been affecting Africa for a long


time.

One

of the best documented of these

been so long established


246. Mask collected
by Frobenius
still

in

at

Mokwa

1910. Islam has

savanna,

in

in

North

is

Islam which has

Africa, across the

Sudan

Horn and along the east coast that it must be


traditional way of life in these areas, which at the

the

regarded as a

not driven out the traditional

Nupe masquerades though they


nowadays on the

only perform

Prophet's Birthday. British

Museum, London. Ht 64 cm
(25 3/4

in.)

same time belong


eral this

is

also to the

Muslim world

as a whole. In gen-

true also of their art, since Islam discourages the

representation of living creatures and encourages instead elaborate


in

ornamental designs. Yet we can find many Muslim peoples

Africa

Nupe

whose

art

is

not entirely non-representational.

of northern Nigeria are best

chased brasswork, which


representational designs.

is

210

known nowadays

The

for their

covered with intricate but non-

Their doors, although essentially

ornamental, often include animals, while masked dancers are


still

among other Islamized peoshown how the Islamic


African 212 while Roy Sieber has

active in Nupeland, as they are

ples in

West Africa.

mosque was made

21
'

Labelle Prussin has

distinctively

223

247. Bronze kuduo, Ashanti.

The

relief lines

round

it

are

skeuomorphic decorations derived


from a prototype which consisted
of separate vessels fitted together.

Museum, London.
28 cm (11 in.)

British

Ht

shown

that the Ashanti kuduo, a bronze vessel used to hold offer-

ings at funerals and other rituals, has been developed from

canteens of separate vessels fitting together, imported from the

Arab world. 211 Previously


Ashanti.

istically

as

had been regarded

Thus not only

representational art, but

Even where,

it

it

led in

did

as character-

Islam not obliterate

some respects

to

new creativity.

on the East African coast, Islamic ornament did

not encounter a pre-existing representational tradition,


duction deserves serious study. Figure sculpture

may

its

pro-

be absent

from most of East Africa, but ornamental sculpture of great


beauty

is

found."

Christianity has existed in Africa even longer than Islam, for

Coptic Christianity
to the

in

Egypt and Ethiopia goes back almost

time of Christ himself, while Nubia was Christian from

the sixth century, being Islamized only in the early seventeenth

What

century.

mitted

to

ideas and artistic motifs

the rest of

know. Elsewhere sporadic attempts

made by European missionaries on


fifteenth

224

may have been

trans-

contemporary Africa we do not yet

century onwards.

The most

at

proselytization

were

the west coast from the


substantial result

was the

248. (below) Ancestor figure


in

the form of a squatting mother

holding a child. BaKongo.


Coll. Pierre

Arman. Musee

de I'Homme,

Paris.

Ht 31

cm

(12y4

in.)

249.

(right) Christian influence

on African sculpture has shown


itself in

a variety of

ways as

in

these angels, the male one being

conceived as a government

messenger with

his pith-helmet,

wristwatch and despatch-bag

secured by his

belt.

Manchester

Museum. Hts42.5cm (16 3/4

41.5cm(16 3/8

in.),

in.)

establishment of the Portuguese-speaking Christian


of Kongo, which reached
after a

war with Portugal

period, however, has left


crucifixes

and

in the

in
its

1665 Christianity faded away.

mark

European

leagues

in a

influence, but

The

number of locally made

rock paintings at Mbafu.

that the emphatic naturalism of


to

Kingdom

height in the sixteenth century, but

its

BaKongo

cannot go so

It is

possible too

sculpture
far as

may be due

one of my col-

who believed that the typical mother and child figure is a

copy of the Madonna of the Humility, and that the

nail fetish is

derived from the crucified Christ. 215

225

37

250. Statue

of

Our Lady

in

the

centre of the fishing village of


Fadioute, Senegal, carved by

Laurent Ndonc.

226

r**.

251. Nail

fetish called

mangaka

from Loango, BaVili subdivision


of the

BaKongo, collected about

1898. Nails or metal blades are


driven into such figures to activate
their
aid.

power

to obtain supernatural

Manchester Museum.

Htll8cm(46 /2
1

in.)

252. One

of the

Three Wise

Men

from a crib scene, conceived as


a Yoruba king with his beaded

crown. Danford Collection,

Birmingham
Ht

University.

56 cm (22

in.)

In general, Christian missionaries,

even up to the present

day,

have been culpably ignorant of indigenous African religions

and

in

attempting to undermine them have often attacked the

sculptures which gave expression to their ideas,


belief

that

the mistaken

they were idols and the object of worship.

indeed seem
Fortunately,

s<

arcely ever to be represented

ecumenism

tional African religions

is

beginning

to

in

how the

Gods

African sculpture.

embrace even

and attempts are being made

traditional art forms for Christian worship.


see

in

It is

tradi-

to utilize

interesting to

attitude of the secular administration has been

reflected even in this unlikely context.

attempted to make

its

French administration

African subjects into Frenchmen, and this

European standards represent the pinnacle

attitude, that

which Africans should

aspire,

is

to

reflected in five or six statues in

They

the fishing village of Fadioute on the coast of Senegal.

were carved by Laurent Ndonc during the 1950s,

all

clearly in

imitation of European plaster images of saints.

Lord Lugard's policy of indirect rule

forwarding British

policy through the existing traditional chiefs and institutions

could well have been the unconscious model for the


project of a

group of S.M.A. fathers

in Nigeria.

Oye

Ekiti

Father Kevin

Carroll has described the sculptural aspects of the scheme.*" The


idea

was

to establish a centre of artists

who would employ

the traditional forms of sculpture, weaving, embroidery, leather-

and beadwork to help

in

the worship of the Christian God.

scheme was closed down

after a

The

few experimental years, but

O'Mahoney continued to encourage a numwho had been involved, particularly George

Fathers Carroll and


ber of sculptors

Handeleand Lamidi Fakeye.

typical product of the centre

for a set of crib figures, carved by

craftsmen.

No

attempt was

is

shown

in

///.

252: a

magus

Lamidi and completed by other

made

to convert the artists to

253. Drum from an Ogboni

house carved

in

the style of Osi

Horin possibly by Ajijola-Ogun to

whom Oshamuko

(see
234)
may have been apprenticed
(Picton 1994a, 57 and plate 25).
///.

Collected in the nineteenth


century. Marischal

Museum,

University of Aberdeen.

Ht 117

cm

(46

in.)

229

254,255. Twoepa masks


Bamgboye of Odo Owa.

carved by

Traditional carvers achieved

perfection by repeatedly carving

the

same

subject.

The

older

example, above, collected

in

was called Omoboni


and represents someone who has
Oyate

village,

ee his

grandchildren.

own

ht, is
I

great-great-

The younger
at

said to have

Odo Owa,

but

j'.umented.

National

Museum,

Htsl08cm(42
1 18 cm (46
!

/2

Lagos.
in.),

Christianity and indeed the missionaries were even prepared to

allow the carvers to undertake commissions for traditional cults.


I

well

remember

Carroll in

Ogboni house

visiting an

in Ekiti

Bandele while he was working with the scheme.

round the head


than here, as

is

traditional

in the

The mandorla

on these drums and usually wider

nineteenth-century example, and

turned to good account

which Bandele carved

in Christian

Among

Ekiti carvers.

has been

253

carvings such as on the font

257

it

in 1965.

His former apprentice Lamidi

Oye

with Father

959 and seeing two drums which had been carved by

is

now

the best

known of the
many

other works he has carved

doors for public buildings which often portray scenes both from
traditional

Yoruba

life

and from the

University College Hospital


sented also scenes

in

in

Bible.

On

Ibadan, carved

modern

the doors for the


in

1960, he repre-

hospital. All three types of

subject harmonize well.'"

With

new themes

these

subject for the

first time,

the artist

is

often attempting the

whereas he has repeatedly carved the

traditional motifs and has already solved his

lems. Lamidi

is

uniqueness

is

often asked to produce

main

value by which Westerners set

consequence he and

his apprentices

artistic

prob-

something new, since

much

store. In

do not get the opportunity

to perfect their ideas and designs by repeating

them

at

frequent

256. Two drums carved by


Bandele
in Ekiti.

for

an Ogboni house

Htc. 91.4

cm (36

in.)

231

257. Baptismal
Bandele

in

font carved by

1965. The

traditional

mandorla seen on the preceding

drums

is

here entirely

in

harmony

with the figure of the risen Christ.

intervals. It

was

this repetition

with slight variations which

ensured the certainty of touch of the old African masters, for as

we have mentioned,
practise

The

in:

the African sculptor uses no sketch-book to

his practice

is

in the finished sculpture.

visual presentation of the Biblical stories in Christian

churches, which was the primary aim of the

corresponds very closely to the way


ings,

and stained glass

Ages served both

in the

258. (opposite) Door

I i

Enwonwu was

wu

in

The Oye

members of

the congregation

who

Ekiti scheme, however, attempted to

go further and instituted ceremonies which employed these


Christian images

gos carved

which sculptures, paint-

European churches of the Middle

of

the Apostolic

'

Kkiti scheme,

to inspire Christian sentiments in the worship-

pers and to instruct those

could not read.

in

Oye

1965.

probably the

Western-trained African

win international fame.

ways which resembled the pagan

in

Christmas-time children carried Christian images

in

ones. At

procession,

first

artist to

an idea copied from

traditional festival in

paraded round the town

232

in

which the images are

celebrating a general benediction

233

259. Untitled beadwork picture

on cloth by Jimoh Buraimoh

of

S3

260. 'Leopard

in

a Cornfield',

siikscreen print by Bruce

Onobrakpeya, 1965.
F.Willett.

Coll.

Ht60cm(23 3/4

in.)

235

on the community.'" This

is

quite distinct from the cults

which use masks.


Hut the

Oye

Ekiti carvers with their traditional training are

who are trying to supply a new religious basis


Many of the artists who have received Western-

not the only ones


>r

African art.

type training in the art departments of both African and

European colleges and universities arc committed Christians.

Then

raining has opened their horizons to

all

the art traditions

of the world, so that they can be as eclectic as they wish, though


they often show

Crucifixion, which
plaque.

In

Delegation

preference tor African models, as


is

Ewonwu's doors for the Apostolic


perhaps more Western than African in

contrast Ben

Lagos are

conception. There are

236

in Osito's

organized after the example of a Benin

great

many Western-trained

artists

258

261,262. Panel representing


the Crucifixion carved by Osagie
Osifo, in

1961

for

the Catholic

Chapel of the University of


Ibadan. Osifo, born

employs a
and a
to

trefoil

those

in

in

Benin,

design

frontality of

background, similar

the ancient bronze

which Benin

plaques

for

famous.

Left: Catholic

University of Ibadan. Ht

(32

in.)

Right: British

London. Ht

is

Chapel,

81.3 cm

Museum,

48 cm (19

in.)

practising in Africa,'
either for a

''

but until recently they have had to work

Western public or on commissions from

tutions, largely because they ask prices for their


in

keeping with the international art market, rather

to the average African income, a practice

Cyprian Ekwensi has

criticized.

Bruce Onobrakpeya, has

enough

their

However,

set the prices of

ii<

h are

geared

which the novelist


oi

tist at least,

some of his work low

to attract African buyers, for if Western-trained artists

are to remain truly African they

own

subject,

1220

public insti-

work w

society.

is

must satisfy the artistic needs of

Onobrakpeya's work, though often African

not particularly African

in style.

in

Western-trained

African artists are going through a stage of very varied experi-

mentation,

stimulated

continents, rather as

by the

European

art

traditions

artists

of the other

were stimulated by

237

African and Oceanic art at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Their art

is in

consequence extremely individual, and often

no more clearly African than

some

is

Picasso's work.

of, say,

African artists are thus at present being absorbed into the cos-

mopolitan world of modern

art,

which owes

to the stimulus of traditional African art.


full circle.

its

character mainly

The wheel

has

come

Perhaps with the increasingly rapid communication of

visual images, the Western-trained artists will continue to be


eclectic

and to play

this role

on the twentieth-century

where regional distinctions seem no longer


Globalization

operating here as

is

are witnessing the birth of 'world


a

name invented only

however,

in time,

it

art',

is

in

art scene,

to be important.

music. Perhaps

we

parallel to 'world music',

1987 but rapidly accepted. Perhaps,

in

they will turn more and more to the artistic

traditions of their ancestors and perhaps begin to look increas-

own

ingly to their

people for patronage.

If

we may

they do,

expect new African forms of art to emerge.

New

forms of distinctively African art are

already

in fact

emerging in several parts of Africa, where experimental centres


have been established

in

which people, usually with no

training, can have the materials

themselves.

now

The

first

artistic

and opportunity to express

was established about 1957

in Salisbury,

Zimbabwe by Frank McEwen, then Director

Harare, in

of the National Art Gallery. There was no living tradition of


sculpture or painting in the area

when he began by supplying


From this

painting materials to the art gallery attendants.


there rapidly developed a

workshop from which

over

artists all

Zimbabwe have drawn encouragement. McEwen claimed


to instruct these artists but to

draw

of art'" by sympathy and encouragement.

Most

method was not

that his

out their

'spirit

of these artists have taken to sculpture in hard stone which


is

well

smoothed and then

oiled.

The

use of such intractable

material discourages the mass-production which has led to


'airport art' (a

wherever

in

production

term which

McEwen

is

not necessarily a virtue

similar qualities. Airport art

with

coined) which

European

is

if

furniture

a similar surface

sciously patronizing purchasers.

and

Some
were

harmonize
the

some of the uncon-

of the work, however,

of very high quality - one could not expect


insisted that the artists

to

some of

coupled with a naivety of

vision which passes as 'truly African' with

McEwen

identical

the end-product has

smooth and shiny

sitting-room

Zimbabwe work has

is

is

Africa - or outside - one buys it. Yet this slowness of

all

of

it

to be.

free to express their

own

uninfluenced

ideas,

by him. They do, however, influence

each other and different carvers have produced very similar


works. 2 "

they did not influence each other, they could

If

hardly have become a 'school'. Nevertheless, there

of variety in their work, most apparent


soft stone.

The Zimbabwe

almost half a century, but


be white.

The

good deal

when they work

school-'" has
its

is

in

been operating for

only customers

seem

still

artists exhibit frequently overseas,

to

were repre-

sented at the 1990 Venice Biennale and have become a regular


feature of the British and
to

see

American

art scenes.

We

must wait

whether they can develop an African patronage.

McEwen's

enterprise in 'trying to create

new

cultural desert of Rhodesia', as Beier described

it,

artists in the

-* deserves

to

be successful.

younger experiment inspired by

itself a certain

summer

series of
in

Ulli Beier has

won

amount of African patronage. This began


schools, the first

two of which, held

in

for

as a

Ibadan

1961 and 1962, were primarily for practising artists and art

teachers,

and aimed

at

freeing

them from the

inhibitions

acquired during their Western type of training. Later in 1962


a similar
in

open

263. 'Entwined
in

Figure',

school was organized at Mbari Mbayo, the artists' club

Oshogbo, and others were held


to

anybody who cared

to

in

drop

1963 and 1964.


in.

The

They were

participants were

carved

soapstone by Nicholas

Mukomberanwa of the
Zimbabwe school.

239

i-i

icon raged to experiment with a variety of media, and

many

continued to practise on their own, often relying on Beier and

Susanne Wenger

The
Olaniyi,

for support.

who

is

also a

dancer) under the


spirit

Taiwo
night-club entertainer (drummer and

pictures produced by

figures

theOshogbo artists such

name of Twins Seven

Amos

from

as

Seven, often illustrate

This literary

Tutuola's novels.

approach, a tendency to represent figures from traditional folktales,

is

characteristic of present-day African art.

conspicuous for example


also in

work made by

Another

artist

modern MaKonde

in

It

is

very

sculpture,*" but

traditional artists for sale to Europeans.

whose

Oshogbo summer school

creativity
is

was sparked

off by the

Jimoh Buraimoh. He developed

technique of picture-making by sewing threaded beads onto


cloth - a traditional Yoruba practice for objects
king. Later he used

epoxy resin adhesives

to

to be used by the

mount

boards and went on to make mosaic murals for

1
1

bird Ghost, a

wing on

gro<

/.()

his

beads on

many Nigerian

259

265,266.

an unknown

is

16

Obo made by

artist for

egbe imole. The


pipe

Bronze

(right)

castings from Old

cm

(6V4

horseman 18.4

the cult of

man smoking
in.) tall,

cm {7Vt

his

the

in.)

267. (below) Mother with


children cast in the

Yemi

Bisiri of llobu.

Obo style by
was cast
It

upside down. The pouring cup,


normally removed after casting,

has been

was

to

left in

be sold

Coll. Ulli Beier.

place since this

to a

European.

Ht

38 cm (15

buildings.**

le

makes very effective use of bold masses of strong

colour. His engravings, in contrast, are

composed of very

fine

in.)

lines

and

illustrate mythical creatures.

The Oshogbo
other untrained
ents in the

school of artists consists not only of these and

artists,

summer

encouraged by

who

discovered their undeveloped

school, but of a

Ulli Beier

and Susanne Wenger to develop them-

selves artistically long before the

The

first

of these to

brass-smith trained

make
in
1

he remained

faithful.**

larger than

is

usual

summer

name

schools were started.

for himself

was Yemi

His originality lay

nowadays

are larger. Bisiri continued to

which

is

Bisiri, a

the tradition of Obo-Ekiti, to which style

in

in

making his

the style, for hr

commonly 38 cm (fifteen inches) high, twice as hi


being made in Obo, though there are old'
society,

tal-

number of others who were

work

mgs

ires are

those
pieces

also for the local

now

which

Ogboni

one of the principal traditional patrons of the

brass-smith.

Another professional craftsman


having a hard time making
rings,

Ashiru Olatunde

who was

a living out of sheet-copper ear-

which could not compete with cheap imports. Soon he

was making small


Beier's

is

table

ornaments

few inches high. Under

encouragement he gradually increased the

size of his

241

1966 he
onnnassioned to

make doors for a church

subseque

headquar

ted
:

for the boa-

in

Oshogbo and

Airwj
f

Lagos

the Unilever

^rx> for

some time

ber

-eek out local talent. Susanne

g
-

her silk-screen prints ami res


:iyrh>

ano

leg

*t-

tin her

269. Part

of the

Oshun

shrine at

Oshogbo refurbished by Susanne

Wenger and

lines are intended

echo the movement

River

Expressionist

style.

She had become an Obatala

priestess and had undertaken the decoration of a

number of

local craftsmen.

The undulating
to

own angular

of the

Oshogbo with

shrines

in

design.

Still later

ture, at

which point

Oshun.

pierced

wooden screens of her own

she began to experiment with cement sculplocal people

began to get involved. One of

her projects was the refurbishing of the grove for Oshun, the
great river goddess of

Oshogbo

She designed the attractive

free-form sculptured building whose undulating lines

rendered with cement, echo the movement of the

in

river,

mud,

but she

got local masons to decorate the walls which surround


sacred area.
the

The entrance gate was decorated by Adel

most talented of them, who was already

known

as a result of Beier's

large-scale

well

dertaken

encouragement and

work already in cement sculpture.

Adebisi was commissioned to decorate the Esso petrol sta-

Mbari Mbayo Club

tion opposite the

in

Oshogbo. His cement

screens hide the standard glass hut found

in all

these filling sta-

tions behind lively representations not only of cars being filled


(the driver of one of which

is

said to represent

Susanne Wenger),

but also of palm-wine drinkers, dancers, drummers, an egungun

masquerade and

dog being

days the patron of drivers."'

sacrificed to

He was

later

Ogun, who

is

nowa-

commissioned by the

243

sfe&y?
270. (opposite) Pierced cement
screen round the Esso petrol
station in

present Ooni of
shrines

Ife to

protect

some of the major

build walls to enclose

them from encroachment.

Oshogbo by Adebisi

Most of the

Palm-wine drinkers,

Akanji.

in Ife to

>.-^-. W*,

dancers and drummers are

expression

in

shown.

batik

artistic talent

of the Oshogbo school has found

two dimensions. Their

clothes

wall-hangings

and

efforts in wax-resist

have been

Even the Western-trained

artists

dyed

outstandingly

have for the most

271. (above) Detail

of the

successful.

encircling wall of the

Oshun

part concentrated on painting and graphics rather than sculp-

shrine

in

sacrificial
relief

Oshogbo, showing a

cow carved

in

by Adebisi Akanji.

low

ture,

though [dubor, Osifo and

Enwonwu

are outstanding

exceptions

What then

is

with the times as


artist

drew on

munity

in

happening to art in Africa today?


it

It is

which he

lived

- and

this still continues

is

only beginning to find an adequaf-

Africa. Yet

groups of quite untrained

never having been separated from

it is

to

areas

ly

which to

ronage within

who,

ommunities during

formal training, are able to serve the needs of their

Perhaps

com-

artists are arising

theii

al

'

traditional forms to serve the needs of the

the Western-trained artist has the whole woi

draw; and

changing

always has done, but whereas the tradi

own

areas.

them that we should look for the future of specifi-

cally African art, while the

Western-trained artists

remain part of the cosmopolitan world of art.

bemoaned the sorry

state

may

well

Many writers have

and impending death of African

art.

Happily they are mistaken.

245

Recent Research: An

or lantana) in florin

beads {okun
in

Guide

stone

Drilling red

272. (betow)

Illustrated

1957 The

material

imported

is

When

this

book was

published African art was generally

first

from Niger as pieces of red jasper,


drilled,

then ground and

interpreted as sculpture from Africa south of the Sahara.

finally

polished using the drillings as polish.

The technique
ing,

is

very time consum-

become

so these beads have

valuable heirlooms

among the

made by the Fon

(Dahomey), showing an elephant


hunt.

commemorate events

in

is

it

field.

was intended

The number

to be only an introduc-

of arts that might have

long: weaving, dying, embroidery, calabash

carving; basketry, pottery making; leather working, iron working,

which

the commissioner of the piece had


participated. Herskovits Collection.

L 1 78 cm
(41

immense

Such banners were

made, among other purposes,


to

contempo-

made no more than passing mention of the many

been discussed

Benin

of

It

other arts of Africa since


tion to an

273. {opposite, top) Applique


cloth

prehistoric art, architecture and an overview of the

rary scene.

Yoruba as they are no longer made.

It

broadened the scope of earlier books on the subject by including

(70

in.).

W. 104

bronze casting, sheet-brass working, gold and

smithing, bead making, hair dressing, costume, body decoration,


narration, drama, music and dance,
art forms, as well as such

cm

in.).

silver

making.

It

among

the

more

traditional

modern media as photography and

has drawn largely on Nigeria because that

is

film

the part

274. (opposite, middle) Cloth,

of Africa that the author knows best and his aim was, and remains,

woven with

in

a floating weft in

the style of Akwete, in Igboland,

southeastern Nigeria. The Akwete

weavers are famous throughout


Nigeria for their

weaving

skill in

colourful patterns

This piece

bs

was maae

by

an

purchased

in

Ibadan

The sheen

is

woman and

Igbira
in

1989.

produced by lurex

Two pieces

threads.

have been loosely tacked together


so that the purchaser

them separately
desired.
in.)

may use

or join

Each piece

is

tr e

58.5

wide. In a private colle

275. (opposite, bottom) Batik


wall-hanging

made by Nike
Twins Seven Seven.

Olaniyi, wife of

The technique

of wax-resist

dying

ated in South-East

*'oduced to the

artists

by Susanne

has become one


?e
:

techniques.

It

is

East Africa. W. c.

43cm(17in.).
In

a private collection

of plates have been added

and

it is

possible to indicate

information for those


literature

who wish

to

in this edition to hint at

some sources of further

know more about them. The

on pottery and on metal working (especially

archaeological dimension) and on textiles

is

in their

immense. Only a few

references can be given here, but their bibliographies should

introduced between the black

warp

A number
this richness

which are now

copied y

cotton

large measure to demonstrate principles.

indicate further reading.

regarded as

'crafts',

lent, well-illustrated

Museum

Many

of these art forms, formerly

have been presented


catalogues

in exhibitions

with excel-

the exhibitions at the National

of Natural History in Washington, D.C. (Arnoldi et

2001) and

at the British

Museum

in

London (Mack,

al.,

n.d.) reflect

the wide scope of the current conception of African art, even

including examples of the

work of contemporary artists.

General Sources

An

excellent, well-illustrated account of examples of iron smelt-

ing, smithing, casting in silver

and brass, bead and pottery

making, wood carving, calabash and leather decorating, the making of camel saddles, of skin bowls (tandu), of stone bracelets,
spinning, weaving, dying, applique and drawing on cloth in vari-

ous parts of Africa will be found


Like William Fagg,

in

Gardi,

969.

Roy Sieber expressed

his scholarship

largely through catalogues of exhibitions he organized, such as


Sieber, 1972,

and hair

which

styles,

and

especially concerned with costume, jewelry,

is

Sieber, 1980,

which covers a variety of wooden

objects, baskets, pottery, calabashes

brecht, and
textiles

1975,

Gardi, eds,

(
l

>S9,

is

and leather containers. Engel-

an anthology of essays mainly about

and costume, but includes essays on other art forms.


a

is

modest account of several

crafts

tographs of the tools and work of I sola referred to


Trowell, 1960,

is

an

in

Textiles

///.

159, while

excursus into the

early, well-illustrated

whole field. More narrowly focused on Benin City

One

Price,

which includes pho-

is

Dark, 1973.

and Costume

of the best, well-illustrated sources on textiles from the

whole continent
Picton, 1995,

is

is

Picton and Mack, 1979 and 1989, while

a profusely illustrated exhibition catalogue

with

short contributions by others. In 1980 a whole volume of the

journal Textile History was devoted to Africa (Pont

and

Idiens, 1980) while African Arts, 15 (3),

are special issues devoted to

West

1982

the

a particularly well-illustrated

a<

(3),

xtiles.

1992,

Boser-

established her

West

reputation as an authority on the textile


is

25

Afric;:

Sarivaxevanis' books of 1972, 1973 and

1975,

hapman

Africa.

Lamb,

count of textiles from

same region.

There are many studies of more


that are

worth attention such

specific areas

as Eicher,

and techniques

1976, on Nigeria;

Barbour and Simmonds, 1971, on adire dying,


a well-illustrated exhibition catalogue of

1987,

280

men's narrow-loom

279

Gilfoy,

247

276. Calabash bowl carved

in

Oyo. Yorubaland. about 1958,


with a deeply carved openwork
pattern representing the so-called

Hausa

knot,

which

is

very popular

as a motif embroidered on men's


gowns. Diam 47 cm (18'/2 in.).
In a private collection.

Mud

277.

made

women
cloth

l ! AUAUi> Mil

cloth (bogolanfini)

by Bambara (Bamana)
in

Mali

and dye

it

who weave

the

using a very

complex system involving the


application of

mud, whence the

name. An export trade

in

smaller

pieces of this material with


simplified patterns

has developed,

using a less complex technique


that leaves the pattern

on an

undyed, white background.

These

in

turn have been copied

by fabric designers
I.e.

(39

152 cm (60
in.). In

in

the West.

in.).

W. 99

cm

a private collection.

WM

MjMLi

m w+igmiitq

278. Fulani (Peul) blanket woven


on a narrow loom producing
c.

19 cm (8V2

in.)

strips

wide. The

designs are woven into the

woollen fabric by finger-weaving.

The thickness

of

these blankets

not only keeps the

owner warm

the cold harmattan nights, but


too

much

for

mosquitoes

is

to bite

through. They are sold widely

West

in

it

in

Africa by itinerant traders.

was bought in Kumasi,


1959. L. 256.5 cm
(105 in.). W. 128 cm (50y2 in.).

This one

Ghana,

in

In a private collection.

weaving. Imperato, 1970, and Rovine, 1997, describe a very complex method of dying with mud, while Imperato, 1973, discusses
blankets that are traded widely over

West Africa.

Beads are an important item of costume and ha\<


last

thousand years.

The

number of authors, most


cently illustrated

its

still

being

the

the Ife

type of bead represer

bronze and terracotta figures was


dle of the last century and

til

the mid-

manufacture ha been described by a

recently by

OH<

Drewal and Mason,

y>86.
.

is

The magnifi-

more concerned

with the uses and meaning than the manufacture of beads

among

the Yoruba and their descendants across the Atlantic.

249

272

-**-

JsfiSSOSiliEfi

279. (opposite, above) Kente

cloth,

woven by Ashanti men on narrow


looms,

is

thread.

cm

made from

The

strips are

A to 4

(3

by the

imported

in.)

9.5

wide. Collected

late Professor

Jack Berry.

280. (opposite, below)

/Ad/re cloth

Yoruba. The pattern has been

made

of imported cloth.

on two widths

Alternate squares of the design in

both directions have been

sewn

or

tied to resist the effect of the indigo

dye. Formerly

raffia fibre

indigo

it,

was

just as locally prepared

replaced by

where else

in

the world.

It

Africa for longer than any-

has been dated to the tenth and eighth

millennia BC in the central Sahara and

demonstrating

a real

Drost, 1967, discusses

is

described as already

mastery of pottery-making techniques.

how

illustrations. StoBel, 1984,

the pots are made, but has very few


is

a fully illustrated exhibition cata-

logue with the main text supplemented by short essays on


individual topics by
1

970,

is

acknowledged experts. Fagg and Picton,

a useful catalogue of an exhibition at the British

Museum,

was used

but imported sewing cotton has

replaced

made in

Pottery appears to have been

silk

10.2

to

Pottery

its

imported

London, while Barley, 1993,

is

a lavishly illustrated catalogue of

a larger exhibition there. Picton,

984, the record of a conference,

includes papers on Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Sudan and Namibia.

aniline equivalent in the mid-

twentieth century. Purchased

in

The whole
woman's wrapper -

Ibadan, about 1970.


cloth

-a

measures 198

170 cm (78

x 67in.). In a private collection.

Interesting
a

monographs on

specific areas are Leith-Ross, 1970,

very well-illustrated catalogue of the collection she made for

the Jos

Museum,

Nigeria; Fatunsin,

Wandibba, 1989. African


ceramic arts

Arts,

22

(2),

1992; and Barbour and


1989,

is

a special issue

on

in Africa.

281. {above) A newly completed


pot

the pottery-making village of

in

Use, near Benin,

is left

sun before

Photograph taken

in

firing.

to dry in the

January 1957.

282.

(right)

by the

about 1958
of the

Waterpot

woman
in

of northern

and

Nigeria but glazed

up

the

in

Abuja. The motifs are


traditional

fired in

1951 by the
Michael Cardew at

kiln set

English potter

by hand

Kwale

the traditional style

Gwari people

modern

made

potter Ladi

way by

made

incision

in

the

and

reletting. In a private collection.

251

Iron

Working

The

bulk of the literature on iron working such as Grebenart,


is

art

or

concerned with the technique and

ha\c to be sought
in

in

catalogues of weapons. Cline, 1937,

of the whole topic, including gold,


as iron. Kense, L98S,

is

a short,

1991,

is

in

Chad, but

Works of

silver,

is

the pioneering study

copper and

tin as well

is

very well-illustrated book

both French and German. Monino,

a collection of papers in
in

history.

wide-ranging survey illustrated

with line drawings. Celis, 1991,

which has the entire text

working

its

catalogues of exhibitions of wider scope

French and English about iron

the basin of Lake Chad, on the border of Nigeria and

it is

almost devoid of illustrations.

Gold Smithing

Gold was, and

still is,

worked

in

many

parts of Africa, chiefly for

prestigious jewelry and items associated


taincy.

Very

little

survives from

some

w ith kingship and chief-

areas, but Garrard, 1989,

discusses and beautifully illustrates items from Ghana, the Ivory

Coast, Mali and Senegal.

Calabash Decoration

Adepegba, 986, and Chappel, 977, can be recommended on


1

topic.

There are

this

also articles in African Art such as Berns, 1985,

and Kay, 1978, which must be read with Burns, 1974, Perani,
1986, and Rubin, 1970.

g of a dancing

m 1983
'

together to

make

by

gl

a large figure.

276

284. Sunday Jack Akpan, an


Ibibio artist

from southeastern

Nigeria, has

mud

adapted

sculpture to the

medium

of

traditional

modern

cement and has

also developed an intensely


naturalistic style

first

described

by Nicklin and Salmons, 1977,


at

whose

instigation 'The

Uyo

Young Conservative Association'


had demonstrated

on

their

card

in

his naturalism

Christmas greetings

1974.

The

arts have in

many

cases adapted well to present-day

demands. Sheet-metal workers

Kano and Bida

in

northern

in

Nigeria took to making ash trays and cigarette boxes between the

two world wars. Brass-casters


historical skills

and now make

in

Benin have re-captured their

copies of ancient works that are

almost impossible to distinguish from their models. They have

begun

also

ble before

them

make castings on

to

by casting sculptures

larger scale than

in several

together, a technique that

ancestors. Cement w
rative

and even

as seized

was quite unknown

upon by Yoruba builders

a sculptural

medium, while

Nigeria Sunday Jack Akpan has specialized


size,

painted

human

was ever possi-

parts and then welding

in

as a deco-

in

south-eastern

the

making of life-

figures of astonishing naturalism

now being made on

to their

the Ivory Coast as well. (See

which are

Magnin and

Soulillou, 1999, pp. 21 to SO.) Leather workers, too, have found


l

new

applications for their

pouffes, footwear

Europeans

skills,

and satchels

while

for the

still

making

traditional

Koran which they

sell to

as handbags.

nand
Not all changes are the result of Western influence
- some derived from African creativity. Burns, 197
portsthat

Kane Kwei,

Ga

cabinet

maker from Teshi

by his dying uncle to make a coffin for him

in

in the

ma, was asked

shape of a boat

because he wanted to continue to be a fisherman in the next

life.

(Subsequently other versions have become current of who gave


the

first

commission.) This was well received

at his funeral

and

others commissioned coffins to accompany them in the next

world.

Most related

to their present

life

- farmers commissioned

cocoa-pods, onions and peppers, hunters ordered elephants,

leopards and antelopes, fishermen ordered fishes, crabs and


boats,

wealthy

men ordered Mercedes

cars,

which are especially

253

285

285. Brass-workers in the Nupe


have been making

capital. Bida,

ashtrays and cigarette boxes to


sell to

Europeans since early

in

the twentieth century. This lidded

bowl, with repousse ribs and

punched, non-representational
patterns,

was bought

in

Bida

about 1959. H. anddiam.

18.5

cm

(7 /.

a private

in.). In

collection.

286. Early

in

the twentieth

century leather-workers applied


their traditional skills to objects

that

European colonists wanted

to buy, particularly pouffes

also less

commonly

bindings of books as

example
Arts of

of

Michael

West

Africa,

but

III

to the

HI

in this

E. Sadler's

London,

1935, probably bound

11

**

^a MWiP*

^1 ^C
1

in

vLiY^fc

~$WtHfmi'2m

flXyBHLW

*jImH^

'

northern Nigeria soon after

26 cm
W. 20 cm (7%

publication. H.

(10 l/4
In

in.).

in.).

a private collection.

<?4

'jfefc.

<

'^|>^

ill

= j

254

287. Coffin

the shape of a

in

mother hen and her chickens


intended for the funeral of a

woman who
children.

has borne

Ornamental

of this type

many

coffins

were invented by

Kane Kwei, a Ga cabinet-maker

Ghana and continue to be


made by his son Samuel Kane
in

Kwei.

Initially

produced

use, they have

'Mammy wagons'. Chiefs ordered eagles to reflect their high status. One woman who had always wanted to fly is reported to have
ordered an aeroplane!

him

to give

up

his

The

idea took

job and set up his

and the demand allowed


own workshop and take on

oft'

apprentices. In the 1970s his fame spread to the United States

where a dealer organized an exhibition and

sale of his

work which

for local

now become

collectors' items.

prestigious items in Africa as elsewhere, lorry drivers wanted

soon became collectors' items. His son, Samuel Kane Kwei, continues to

make these coffins and has widened

a Bible for a Christian

church!),

in

and

the range to include

preacher (though this was frowned on by his

a training shoe,

another prestigious item

in Africa.

The reader who

wishes to pursue the main subject of this book

greater detail

referred to the very valuable articles by Paula

is

Ben-Amos, 1989, and Monni Adams, 1989, which survey the


available literature over the previous quarter of a century

provide more comprehensive bibliographies than


in this

book. For continuing reading on

all

the arts of the conti-

recommended. Not

nent, the quarterly journal African Arts can be


infrequently,

whole issues are devoted to a particular then

the result of a
1

workshop on

a topic

- for

instance, vol

978, discussed 'Crafts and the Concept of Art

valuable

CD-ROM

illustrated essays

reader should turn to

( 1 ),

istopher

Roy

art.

To experience

variety of Africa r sculptural styles the

more wide-ranging surveys such

and Delange, 1967 or 1968, Kerchache


ed.,

'

film clips to well-

by field-workers on African

more extensively the

often

in A

has been prepared by

and others which adds music and short

and

space will allow

et al,

as Leiris

1988, Phillips,

1995,orBacquart, 1998, but the most informative is A History

ofArt in Africa by Monica B. Visona and others, 2000. Even these

much

larger books are

still

only an introduction to parts of a

subject of boundless interest.

255

k|

ATCC

Population figures for Africa are

(i

the text

The figures used in


have been made up purely for

purpose

of illustration

highly unreliable.

When

the

more advanced we

are

in

Holy, 1967, in which one group, the


is

represented bv twetitv-

seven pieces, w hue the next largest

group

comparable way.

See for example the pieces illustrated

MaKonde,

shall

perhaps have figures about the art


expressed

DOS

statistical

studies o| the type referred to below


(p.

Information from Professor Alan

.lac

of plates

seven or eight

is

from the Zulu

The

pit

es

MaKonde appear

to

2 This term applies to the whole belt

have migrated from the Southern Zaire

of savanna which stretches right across

(Congo) basin and are agriculturists

Africa from East to West, just south of


the Sahara.

It

eastern end (the former Anglo-

Egyptian Sudan) nor with the former

cassava and do not keep

whereas the Zulu have an

cattle,

name which

with the country of the same


lies at its

who grow

should not be confused

economy evenly balanced between


the cultivation of maize and animal

husbandry

(Ills.

13, 14).

French Sudan (now called Mali) towards

The word comes from

western end.

its

is

the

measurement

an

Arabic phrase which means 'the country


of the black people'. See

The median

which represents the mid-point


distribution of sizes,

in the

half the examples

i.e.

25.

///.

are larger and half are smaller. For the

For purposes of identification

it is

radiocarbon date without

number, which

parentheses, and

which

is

is

laboratory

is

placed in

its statistical

probability,

two

a likelihood of

the Standard Deviation

probability

one; while

to

is

997 to

3,

is

one that the

doubled the

usually regarded

is

as practical certainty: there are

however three chances


the true date
limits

lies

in a

still

thousand that

between these extended

and the present day or the

p.

91.

This

suggestion appears to be borne out

trebled, the probability

which

size.

i.e.

increased to nineteen to

is

if it is

too

of unusually large

9 Kevin Carroll, 1967,

real date lies within the limits expressed;


if

simple

Standard Deviation

an integral part of the date,

expressing
there

its

its

book

in this

made in the text a


mean (average) would give far
much weight to the isolated pieces

kind of comparison

standardized practice never to quote a

by the Zimbabwe School where Frank

McEwen encouraged potential


in

tradition, but where, within a few

years,

some works were being produced

which were clearly better than the

rest

See pp. 238ff.


10 Paraphrased from Griaule, 1950,
pp. 31-33.

infinite

Colin

past. Isolated radiocarbon dates therefore

artists

an area with no recent sculptural

M. Turnbull, The Forest People.

London, 1961.

need to be viewed with caution and


archaeologists nowadays attempt to

12 Griaule, 1950,

obtain several dates from each period to

13

By George W.

14

Some

ensure

On

conspectus.

the technique

itself see Libby, 19.r)<2,and

pp.

however

See for example:

Clark Howell, Early

F.

Man,Twae Inc.,NewYork,i965,pp.
See \'h holas England,

168-91.

Bushman

Counterpoint, Journalof the International

<

?H>7) pp. 58-66;


Musk ( 'oanc/l,
Hukwe Bushmen, Ethrtomusicology,8,

Folk

1 .<)

223-77, and also his

64) pp.

fsof Bushman Music, Nos. 1433


\

'

ill-

Pygmy

in

Bushmen

lomme

I'eabody

music: Musi* of

Folkways Records

dsoG

II

Tiirnbull has published

People,

No
V

Musee de
!olin

Rougel and

on the Mini, of the


<

;<>

thai of the

Babinga

Musee de
i'Homme/Peabody Museum.
Pygmies, Phoi odiw

I.I ><.

38.

social anthropologists

Aitken, 1990,

56-1 19.

in
I

p.

Harley. 1941 and 1950.

still

retain the

term

'primitive'

reference to the kind of small scale

'pre-literate' societies

on the study of

which

was originally

their discipline

constructed. These societies are


essentially self-sufficient, producing

goods

own consumption, not


The art of such societies is

for their

for export.

similarly produced tor

consumption

within the societies, and hence can be

considered the art of primitive societies,


but

it

is

the societies, not the art. which

are primitive' in this special

m-iw

Similarly William Fagg's term tribal

^rt'

transfers the epithet from the society to


the art. William

Webster

I'lass

Fagg

told

me

that

pointed out that one

meanings given by Samuel Johnson


'primitive'

is

'underived', and in this

of the
fol

lljalmar Stolpe, translated by H. C.

[The Masks and Secret

applied to these forms of art. In general

March, Stockholm, 1927.

Africa [, Abhandlungen der Kaiserlichen

usage however this meaning does not

particular sense

seem

might broadly be

it

to survive.

For an interesting

term

critique of the

'traditional', see

writer

pre sent

to see

fails

why

should be found

'traditional'

word

has been abused by people

who simply

do not welcome change.

A. Atanda,

Yoruba society up

to

c.

of the Historical Society of Nigeria,

& 4),

(3

1988-83,

following T.

58,

p.

Fhot's essay on 'Tradition

S.

and the Individual Talent' as writing that


tradition

much "air

'not so

is

33 See also Jean Laude, 1966, pp. 34-40,

abiding,

way which
that

is felt

them

relates

being

as

at

these in a

of

to an experience

once continuous

and originally new.'

was not very well translated

London, 1893.

Sculptures, Paris, 1949.

24 Abstraktion und Emfuhlung, Munich,

series

Worringer
by

of essays rather than

history while Visona et

al

and Empathy,

New

York, 1953.

were summarized

ideas

transl.

T E. Hulme in a lecture given in

19 14 but not published

till

1986:

Herbert Read, London,

1986, pp. 75-109.

its title, is a

connected

ed

it is

26'

1953 ed^p 54

27 Bulletin of

not of a continuous nature.

the

Amern an Museum
9, pp.

Art from Christie

28 Cambridge,

William

in

7,

1991,

pp.

31-53.

:i7

Gerbrands has since followed up


study with field-work of his

New Guinea, described

the Art

own

Uou-ipits,

in

New Guinea

Asmat wood carvers of

B.

Catalogues

1974-1990, Quaderni Poro,

123-76.

Semper, DerStil mden

ttchmschen undtektonisehen KUtuten, oder

found

One Hundred Notes on Nigerian

(The Hague, 1967) and

of Natural History,
18 Gottfried

Fagg.

in

supplies sonic information about the


past,

his writings will be

this

13.

p.

which

as Sudanese

A comprehensive bibliography of

36

eight

2000,

led to the publication

Sculptures Soudanaises, Paris, 1948,

23 The Evolution of Decorative Art.

Speculations, ed.

15 Gillon, 1984, despite

L.

Myres, Oxford, 1906.

Michael Bullock,

the constant

French translation: Les

Arts Plasttques du Congo Beige, Brussels

35 This eventually

J.

J.

Modern

York, 1938.

ailable in

and Amsterdam, 1959.

and symbols, but.

refinement and extension

London (Taunton

New

Painting,

34 A\

of Culture and Other Essays, ed.

19()8; Abstraction

and other

Primitivism in

Castle, Somerset), 1887-1903; Evolution

permanent, immutable stock of beliefs


.

Goldw ater,

Abiola Irele

ites

vol.

898),

and 1968; and the older study of R.

printed privately,

Journal

9CX)' in

( 1

pp. 1-278.

m Art: as illustrated by the Life-Histories

Contributions to learned Societies up to 1884,

Leopoldmisch-CarolinischenDeutschen

Akademie der Saturforscher, 74

of Designs, London, 1895.

Anthropological, Archaeological

historical perspective of intellectual life


in

Dublin, \H94; Evolution

10,

22 Papers by General Pitt-Rivers,

objectionable simply because the

J.

New Guinea,

Academy Cunningham

Memoirs No.

Picton, 1992, pp. 35-44.

The

Decorative Art of British

Royal Irish

Societies of

Symbolism

in

in

of Amanamkai, Asmat Southern

tunea (Leiden,

Mededeelingen

van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde,

19.32.

15, 1962).

praktische Aesthetik, Frankfurt

and

29 Leipzig, 1915. Translated into Italian

and published

Stuttgart, 1861, 1889

17

bibliography of 1 lolmes's w ntings

Anno

II,

(up to his seventieth birthday in 1916)

SO This uas

was published

Hottot

Volume,

Holmes Anniversary

in

Washington, 1916,

pp.

401-99.

His most important papers for our

purpose appear

883), 3

13 (1896),

884), 4

886), 6

888),

890), 5

( 1

1985

often helpful in understanding

own.

which

lere

we may

Shakespeare's play

lamlet orders Horatio and

n.s.

Advancement of

"Never to speak of this that

you have seen.

Swear by

my

(i. v.)

Here the sword being cruciform

Indianerstudien in Zentralbrasilien,
died,

and

it is

upon the cross

that they

Berlin, 1905.

is

in the

have

Anne-Mane

1969,

hweeger-Hefel,
...

an effort to

i960,

some 930

t<

museums

stical basis

[)r

for thedefinit

ornamental art

statist

\\<-r

aintings provided the

basis for

method

79 (1896), pp. 329-40, 593-606;


Die bildende Kunst der Afrikaner

described in The

on the Tassili art are Henri Lhote,

The

1959;

and the Sahara

Gesellschafl in JVien,

27

( 1

897), pp. 1-17;

Die Masken und Geheimbiinde Afrikas

p. 1.

44 The most useful general sources

Mitteilungen der anthropologischen

Ornamental Art by

Lewis- Williams'
is

No. 88, 1967, pp. 129-41.

43 Willcox, 1984,

Rochdale Literary and Scientific Society,

1891 (translated from Tmer, 1890);

art styles,

combe's 1976 study

while Patrn

of Bushma*:

[Representational art of the Africans^,

Collected Essays in

1,

African sculptures h

of savage peoples, Transactions of the

3,

Sc

llolzplastik in Afrika,\\v\.:

(4),

Peoples j, Westermanns Monatshefle

in the

Current Anthropology, 10,

Naturvolker [The Art of Native

preparation

of this chapter.

20 Evolution

pp. 3-44.

32 Frobenius, Die Kunst der


I

Griaule, 1938 and 1950,

South African Archaeological Bulletin, 22

This

an invaluable study on which

drawn extensively

in

40 SeeHorton, 1966.

work

are being asked to swear.


33.

39 Described

in

sword."

symbolizes the cross on which Christ

p.

African Sculpture, London,

Science,

Massachusetts, 1894).

19 A. Gerbrands, 1957,

'lassu al

analyses the stylistic

1892 (Salem, 1892), 1893 (Salem,

1954 and 1964.

or Brain, 1980, pp. 187-96.

p. 150.

Marcel his

892),

(1901) and Proceedings of the American


Association for the

1908. See

in

j,

observed by Robert

compare the scene

20 (1903); American

Anthropologist, 3

It is

first

parallels in our

of the Bureau of Ethnology (Washington),


2

Critna d' Arte afrnana.

other cultures to look for appropriate

the Annual Report

in

in

seconcla seric. tasc

38

pp.

rock art of the

99-152;

J.

in

Bandi

Maghreb

etal.,

1961,

D. Lajoux, 1963; and

Willcox, 1984.

257

Other dates from

Nos

rasaili are

th<

[nitincn

9g, 93,

and J.

hbbara

96,

:ji,

among

and rock gongs

65 Allison,

LSI, 30, 51;

!-',

Vaughan, Rock paintings

II

Marghi

the

53

66

ofNigeria, Man, 62, 196, No. 83.

Initinenll

ibban n
\:

tl

Muhuggiagin

.in

ofthe

ua the Libyan extension

\, .

2, 1976, pp. r>-l

54

From Jabbaren

than this date

m ulptureoi

a l>\ ul

A tn

seems

thousand years

about two

Cf.

J.

58

round-headed figures

of

an Telocat

the Acacus have been

in

290 BC

reported to he older than 4804

(,\
18

38

Africa:

)ates

forwards and both rear legs backwards,

968),

we may

show

the

natural gait of all the animals with the


forelegs out of Step with the rear.
V9

Bandi etal, 1961,


I

ofthe Geji rock

showed

d (.

Peoples

pp.

were

contemporary

in

use.

See

Man, 60 (i960), No.

59 Willcox, 1956,

p.

On Bushman and

P.

Ife,

and
related cave art

Vinnicombe

1972 and 1976; Masao, 1979; Lewis-

73

Cape

other discoveries
.is,,

\\

ill,

be found
(il

trchaeolo

ngi of
\

Sowunmi, A

See

I).

et a!.,

works

will

Fagg, The cave paintui

mgs
Nig
Ijri

Birnin

() f

Kudu

an

'-.

>,

<"i

and M. Posnansky, Prelude

todaj and

ilqf

//,.

i|

120 (1-2008);

multiple

al Society
l!i,

>

gongs

in

London, L966,

writers

(.

Mat..

18.

75

The history of Nigerian sculpture

discussed more fully

1980; and Shaw, 1978.

in Willett,

Other important

of sculpture are

[gbo-Ukwu, described
1968s and b

llison,
u

n ird

The Stone

the original sites

Nok

Connah,

the

inaidered to belong to

an eaih

mii, .n

i,

r,

The Nok Culture


,,i

BStl

i
I

II

.;n

the Iron Age,

the

Shaw. 1970

and 1977; Damia. described by Graham

Fagg, 1977.

rom

n<>t

I)

No.

is

Mortelmans and H Monteyne,

Bernard Fagg. 1962; and

sites in the history

now

21

1967 and 1986; Kvo and Willett.

rock

prehistoi

in

19
di

History,

Prehistory,

The

t-

on Efik-lbibio masks.

Proceedings j the

1..

S.50

(1966), No. 3,

PP 51
1

see also C. K. Cooke,

Rock paintings and engravings of

ifirican

AD

Simmonds, The depiction of gangoea

>;<;,

W. Phillipson, 1972, and

!77, pp. <2(;h-82;

oloi unso, [badan,

145 (1-1784); AD 840

Willcox's books.

in

Africa, larikh,
,

and

it

and E. Goodall

date;

959. References to older

teol the disciplim

VD 840

10 (Hv-1515);

AD875 130(Hv-1514);AD850
BM 21 VS BR \d6jk> 3io(BM
ARV \D 1010 370 (BM-21 f.'H

Roubet, African art and trchaeology;

.-//,

Orun Oba Ado,

where the heads of

anil

from North AfiK

Vudah,

site is called

the place

Pit XI AD 560 130(BM-265);Pit III


AD 800 120(M-21 14); Pit V AD 800
120(M-21 15); Pit VI A940 150
(M-2116)andAD990 130 (BM-

is

the kings of Benin were sent for burial:

For these

West African Journal of

70.

Willcox, 1956; 1963; and 1984;

Town, no
i

1974),

Garlake, Exca\ ations at Obalara's

61.

Society, Rock Paintings in Africa,

York. 1959,

Odo Ogbe

at

Archaeology, 4 (1974), pp. 111-48.

ultun

<

130(BM

99-109.

Land,

and Dowson 1989 and Garlake, 1995;


The South African Archaeological

Mum.

P.

.'/'..

have been

960 130

70 E. Eyo, Excavations

Williams 1983a, 1983b; Lewis- Williams


63, pp. 7,

to

Street and Lafogido. West African

that several

Phillipson 1972 and 1977;

The Languages

lay. \l>

Journal of Archaeology,

60

10601 130

00 M-2119).

the dates from below

styles overlapped each other but not in a

see:

133.

rreentx rg,

p.

1150

consistent way. Apparently the different

Nigeria,

W Inch

infer a twelfth-century date tor

72 This
hereas the earlier paintings

\\

\l)

H\l 261) and AD 1160

discovered near Bauchi, Northern

both forelegs are extended

Kvo

the deposit.

An examination

styles

from the layer

these sculptures

some considerations, South


(

contemporary with the one beside w hich

H. Sassoon. Cave paintings recently

In this

Taken with

R. Harding, Interpreting the

shelter in Nigeria

Paintings

less fully

pavements which appear

heen abandoned.
17

966),

pp. 31-34.

toi\p.-i tations and appears to have

at I

( 1

'White Lady' rock-paintings of South-

West

and

these sculptures lay are \d

African Archaeological Bulletin, 23

up

not lived

lias

It

Willetl, 1986,

69

Williams and Dowson, 1989.

57

The technique

paintings

to be limited to

m
1

and Willett. 1980, pp 6-

56 Journal of African History, 7

the paint has been applied

in

Bushman

id

96

pp. 501-2.

hniqlie of dating by the

amino-acids

et al,

(BM-262)and

has been dated to

BC (Sa-66).

100
m.

stone

II

Bandi

55 Lewis-Williams, 1983a; Lewis-

must be older

the painting

in

V,

68 These are illustrated and dinrUBBfd

pp. 167-84.

2770 t S10BC

posit dated

Holm

by

3641;

and Tagliaferri, 1989.

Nos

1 ,

1.

e.g.

:i

pp

Hammacher, 197

Tagliaferri and

works of art, South

AJru an Archaeological Bulletin,

dstone block bearing pari


ddle Cattle Period painting lay

Fagg, 1959; Bassani and

B.

Allison, 1968a,

Cave, South West Africa:

Africa's oldest dated

Ul

and

V.

Wendt, Art mobilier' from

E.

the Apollo

30

-1

Fagg, 1988.
<;7

tail

968a, pp. 1

Stevens, 1978.

I.

ate

Stone

is

;s

and other

sites

around

Lake Chad described by Lebeufand


Detourbet, I960; and Lebeuf, 1951

and 1962

The Ilesha site has been

dest ribed by Willett, Recent

archaeological discoveries

Odu. B (1961),

pp 4-20.

in Ilesha.

1.;

76

xiavations have been conducted

in

from Benin

at the

time of the Expedition.

some items which

the caves from which these figures come.

This

summary see R. M. A. Bedaux.


Tellem and Dogon material culture,

utilitarian rather than artistic

For

African Arts, 21

and 9

Aug. 1988,

(4),

he illustrates

Munich, 1923 are described


been excavated

77 See W. B. Fagg, 1963, Pis 54b,

part of

55a and

b;

Bassani and Fagg, 1988,

239-47. Ezio Bassani has

prepared a corpus of pieces collected

in

Manny.

dusted over with

powdered wood or

flour

pattern of 'marks

made

is

winch

hand.

single short stroke

two nuts remain,


Tins procedure

is

is

made

of strokes

a pair

in

if

The

in

repeated tour times,

mer

in

body

which the answer

diviner,
client's

who

kept

is

is

200

p.

divided.

The

ignorance of the

problem, recites the verses thus

calls

thvm gnots. which

from Ibn Battuta Travels

and Africa, translated

his need.

See William

Bascom, 1969, and Bernard Maupoil,

La GSomancie a Vancienne
Esclaves,
l'lnstitut

Travaux

et

'8te

des

M6moires de

in

Islannzation see Bravmann,

15)7

105 1964, pp. 51, 52, 53, 62 and 83. Note

The iconography

of the tray

is

is

is

known,

Leuzinger, i960,

PI. 30a,

Pis 8Ca-d; the latter in

and 1963,

William Fagg,

Orbis. Bissau, 1966,

p.

90

p.

134.

5)1

p.

136.

92

p.

76.

111.

84 VonLuschan, 1919, tabulates 2400


pieces, the bulk

of which were brought

so far as

area she writes on

the locality and

in

Hi'.'

Presumably she

Andoni Creeks

the

94 1919,

illustrated in

which

61,

15)45), PI.

is

Lower Niger Bronze

Industries,

which there

for the date of

Underwood.

clearly a product of

is

as yet

and

no

Two pieces from the


m the same style as

at all.

Cross River area

Graz, 1962,

*55.

Most of the

fig

to have subsequently been dated by

///.

thermoluminescence
century: see

this book.

An

Nicklin,

J.

to the nineteenth

Fleming and

analysis of

K.

W.

two bronzes from

Nigerian Asunaja shrine,

515

S.

MASC

Journal. 2, Pt 2 (1982), pp. 53-57.

The French

95

edition of 1686 has

been reissued by the Fondation Dapper

C.

96 1903,

p.

f.

eg

P.

A. Talbot, The Peoples of

Southern Nigeria, London, 1926, passim;

Objets hiterdits. Paris. 1989.


161.

K Meek, A Sudanese Kingdom, London,

1931; E. L. R.

5)7

(Quoted from Ling Roth.

98

A bronze snake head

15)03, p. 160.

Kingship

in

Meyen"

'.vine

Ghana an

London, 1960. Rob.

and other

has published

itrong

>ms

development

17 k
p.

162,

on The
Negro

icle

in

the Historical Society

of Nigi

(I960), pp. 27-39.

following William Bosnian's Description


107

of Guinea, London, 1705.

ind Africans,

.'

I.,

the

Garden City,

pp. 81-82.

The late Commander (Hugh)


I

Expedition into the Interior of Africafrom

Bight of Benin

1829,
101

fig.

in

seems probable from specimens

It

132.

p.

to Soccatoo,

London,

F.

Willett, Investigations at

he figure faces foursquare

to the front in a

symmetrical pose.

109 This statement

is

modified from

Cyril Aldred, Old Kingdom Art in Ancient

48.

1951, PI. 26.

83 Fagg, 1963, caption to

Roman

view of the

be actually derived'

Of the same

67).

49:

p.

may

it

River BDOUt 500

89 ed. H. Mauny. Esmereldo de Situ

100
illustrated in

in

ancient history of this region,

Clapperton, Journal of a Second

he former

whom,

divinity Janus, from

bases this inference on the piece from the

al.,

1994, pp. 78-89.


'1

54) that the two-faced mask' (of

Africa, Jou

discussed by Bassani in Abiodun et

82

p.

V.

99 Quoted from Ling Roth, 1903,


centre.

Elliot

London, 1929.

established a trading post on the Cross

continuing practices despite

Man, 63 (1963), No.

Illustrated in Trowell, 1960, PI. 58

History,

other indications that Carthaginians

1943 (reprinted 1988).


8

London, 1924; and G.

Human

of bronze work found

byH.A.R
On

recent finds in the old palace at Benin,

d'Ethnologie, 42, Paris,

the

also that she quotes Michael Sadler's

it

329.

1925), p.

The Children of

Perry,

Civilization,

Smith.

(p.

Qw 'ted

.1.

Inevitably recalls the two-fated

indicated while the client listens for one

which answers

104

the Cross River area of southern Nigeria)

laut-Senegal-S'iger,

section will be found

one of the sixteen subsections into

which each major odu

the sculptures

illustrations referred to in this

to he found.

Repeating the procedure refers him


to

On

99 Walter Hirschberg, Sckwarzafrika,

of oral literature
is

28.

p.

to

the appropriate odu or section of


the associated

Forman and

Sun, London, 1923, and The Growth of

evidence

the dust on the tray.

pattern refers the di\

to 53. See also

assertion [Arts of West Africa, London,

given.

one.

if

producing one of sixteen possible


patterns

Gibb, London.

up sixteen nuts with his righl

935,

ML Delafosse,

Asia

band when the diviner attempts

to pick

88

to indicate

whether one or two palm nuts remain


left

from Yoruba temples'; two are said

is

grave near

minstrel.

neighbouring peoples use related


is

Modakeke,

corresponds roughly to the English

Yoruba of Benin and Nigeria, and

systems The tray

priest, Oyo'; 'from a

Paris 1912,

used by the

is still

left

from these areas see Jones, 198


sT

This system

';

is

'from the grave of a

as:

London,

.,

6 and facing plate.

Dark, 1960.

1935,

Bissau, 1956.

the

Shango

86
id. R.

soon after he

ritten

two eases no provenance

Journal of African History, 6

79 Esmereldo de Situ Orbis.

having

to be 'from the ruins of Old Oyo', while in

(1964), pp. 363-65.

so

2,

Offa

note on the Afro-Portuguese

ivories,

p.

109 William Fagg, 1963, pp. 30-39

Modakeke', which

in

840,

and Pis

In i'nd Afrika Sprach, Berlin,

Ife.

they are described

Africa at an early date: Bassani, 2000.

78

5)

as

102 William Allen, R. N., Picturesque


Views on the Hirer Xiger
1

Das unbekannte Afrika,

in

Dal, 1977.

pp. 179-86,

are

85 For example, seven pieces which

38^5

pp.

and R. Bedaux, Tellem, Bergen

total includes

Old

Oyo, 1956-57, an interim report, Journal


of the Historical Society of Nigeria.
2 (1961), pp. 59-77.

Egypt, London, 1949,

draws

a parallel

p. 1,

where he

with Polynesian

practices.

110

Ibid., pp. 1-3.

259

There

example an Egyptian

iafoi

found

si.itui -ttt-

in

published bj R Grauwet,

1966, p 97.

Shaba, aouthern Zaire

18
to

clue

Yoruba Ogboni

referring

Drewal ctai, i9K9.

dan antiquities

186 For

rtich b)

Segy,The

I.

and the Egyptian Ankh:

morphologk

in different

See

I'

Robertahaw

The

in

28 See J. D. Clark, The Prehistory

example the attempl by

Archdeacon

Liu

89 Margaret Trowell, 1964,

130

Ibid., p. 15.

the people themselves, areol Egyptian

131

P. S.

origin Roger Weatcotl re\ iewed this

its

Ybruba language and

and hence

religion,

length together with E.

.it

I.

Meyerowitz'a The Divine Km^slup


(,/unj and hu

1965,

1961

readings

1-21.

dis<

uasing the relations

History,

I'ls

SeeM

Art,

Arts Council, London, 1967,

W Smith,
\

:,-

Bronze Age Technology

ed., 1961,

how

Dmochowski,

135

1990, vol.

ski.

II,

title

North*

ol

it

it is

Ham

less refined

from which Meek

;i

is

41.

or

Girard. 1967.

lilding of these houai

Do Images
Shown

1966

969, pp

166 Olbrechts. 1959,

Really Talk?'

in Berlin

and Paris (Fagg,

condensed paperback version.

is

1965 of which Fagg,

as Fagg,

p.

p.

Gerbrands, 1957. pp. 89-90

January 1967. See Pu ton. 1974. p H.

HortOl

Frobenius's interpretation

1966, p. 81.

mentioned on
I

81.

169 Letter to the author. 18

to

4-7.

168 Olbrechts, 1959. pp. 47- ts

170 Vandenhoute, 1948, pp 18-19.


Boston. I960, p

171

33.

p.

Hottot. 1956.

he.iutilully llhlsii

72

Pu

Private communication hut

ton.

JT

t.

173
i

rakovita, 1938,

hnot howaki,

voL

II.

pp.

s tt

II.

nandez, 1966, p $9

IL

26.

67 Reported and illustrated

and

21.

n roll, 1967, p. 94.

and

p. 11.

165 See Biebuyck.

and Pis

IX

J.

164 Fagg, 1965,

examples

bl

more

for a

of an unpublished paper by John

nong

i.

taken from the

in

is

accessible

paper of 1964. See also Fischer

1964) and later published with additional

I'l

his

163
is

rowell, I960, PI

///,/.

derived from Gerbrands, 1957.

is

Himmelhebers most

recent account.

Koto
]

117

p.

42.

138 Paulme, 1962,

u.i

shows

r.

This account of Vandenhoute a

of

jram

p,

whii h suggests that

pp

Ibid., p. 14.

161

II.

-ion

suggests

160

account for English-speaking readers

39 and 64.

13,

Ibid., p.

137
51

of the

Western

in

Picton 'The Art Critic as Ventriloquist

Tribal Studies in

than that

Ibid., p. 12.

PP 74

this t\

Ibid., p. 12.

159

p. 15.

and Himmelheber, 1984,

ughtin, 1988,

pp

Nos

134 Underwood, 1947,

136 This vivid image

Iiikii

to

158

162

Asia and Northern Europe, Man, 58

Cliffs,

(1958),

XIII- and (/.and

pp

p. vii.

West Africa: Court and Tribal

work

7-55.

168, p|>.

157 Horton. 1966.

133 See for example his articles

will be

Knglewood

Dance, Prague, 1962, pp. 7

and Styles, Cleveland,

by William Fagg.

Robert O. Collins, Problems

in

23.

catalogue of an exhibition organized

collection of

il

between Africa and Egypt


found

p.

Ct Dominique Darboia, African

l.'.o'

History,

pp

95.

1, p.

155 Paulme, 1962. PI VI and

57.

38

Egypt, London,

lent

The Journal of African

in

p.

Wingert, Primitive Art,

Traditions

in
1

1900,

195

Lagos, 1948, to show that the

the for;//'./.

l>o<>k

p. 13.

M. W. Smith,

154 Starkweather, 1968, no. 94. p'_\:'_

1959, Fig. 64.

Ihe Religion of

as,

In

1965, pp. 850-51.

qf Southern Africa, Harmondsvvorth,


it

Horton, 1966,

158

153 African Writers Series. Ixindon,

These

pp. i36ff

parts of Vorubaland.

l.'.l

(4),

1984, pp. 384-85.

theory of

assumptions. Anthropos,

al

.it)

and

150 Hottot, 1956. p

Journal of African History, 25

ba statues aa archetype,

Africa,

probably due to their having worked

general

a well-illustrated

.mount aeeGarlake, 1973.

Oyo.

authors offer different interpretations,

Bradbury See also Akenzua, 1965

than aboul 800

Information from Dr R. E.

182

got there ia quite

cult in

I960), pp. 968-74, Drewal. 1989.

lay bricka'.

See R Morton-Wilhams.The

IB

mistaken

is

Himmelheber, 1935. pp

174 Gerbrands, 1957, Pla t-7.


!

nmelheber,

p|

dleChitti.k.Kilua,

19<

W Smith.

175
1961.

p.

Dan sub-group.

96.

176 Another
.

177
lis
d

ii

dish'

has been

much

also

'

iiiisus.

show china
'.'..ills

nd

magu
b.

ibout African art

should

<

ivi.

al

ilj

p0W<

ontaining

in

maun

to

obj

their
al

Dan sub-group.

pp. 111-21.

lubstat

>

n tenon which Picton found

among

the Igbira.

It

which have

ts

own

its

10.

Fischer,

and more

right or by
I

ind'Azevedo,

i?*ts. pp.

i^-6i.

fully

80 Thompson's approach has however

200 Carroll, 1967,

been criticized by Barry Hallen, 2000, pp.


124ff.,

not on the grounds of methodology

but on his interpretation of the Yoruba

words, though by

p.

132,

Willett and

F.

2,

220 High price of Nigerian

94. See also

p.

Restea,

J.

An

20 1 Fakeye

et

al.,

996, pp. 60-6 1

he finds that he does 'not find any explicit


contradictions' between them.

(p.

d' Azevedo,

Ibid., pp.

to as the

pp. 31-32.

disc usm-s

206

Phillips, 1995, p.

207

Ibid., p. 70.

208

On

182 Thompson, 1973.


183 Biebuyck, 1969,
follows Biebuyck's

book and
eds.,

p. 17.

This account

comments

M.

D. Fraser and H.

in

African Art

in this

21

Bwami Society had been outlawed by

the

Government

the Belgian

in

i9.'3.'S,

Nigeria Magazine,

Mokwa

at

the festival, called

now performed

then

1953-54, 1955 and 1958 so

in

some of his data may not

truly reflect

child and Siroto, 1965.

Religion,

pp.

London,

arc-

Gugu, illustrated

The

1!C>

214-16 and PL

masquerades

an earlier time.
is

28.

t,

espo

ially.

On

i75 77

the

sun

mann,

i;7

ival

Studies Association,

in

an African society,

Smith, 1961, pp. 85-94.

189 K. C. Murray,
tribal society: a

pp.

in

Nigerian

Smith.

96

190 Murray, heat.,


1

in

Akan

Ross and

p.

100.

nformation from Professor

No.

Wood

3, pp.

93

pp.

Ibid., p.

2;

de Grunne, 200 1

A tool which resembles an

217
et

same

Fakeye
197

now

15.

Lamidi

written his autobiography,

etal., 1996.

Ibid., pp.

art

scene

in

Nigeria,

sec-

Eckhardt, 1979,

as

ritten as a

companion volume

this one.

pp. 10-29.
V.

L. Grottanelli,

F.
( 1

Arts,

R. Barton,

924),

n.d.

Douglas Fraser, Primitive Art,

93-94.

Ibid.,

al.,

218

plane.

Fayeke has

artists.

pp.

56-59.

axe

angles to the handle instead of being in

196 Carroll, 1967, pp. 79-1

of the

216 Carroll, 1967.

but which has the cutting edge at right

the

many

233 For an indigenous view of the

Form and

8-13, 72-73;

London, 1962,

194 Fischer, 1963.


195

215

1968, Pis 77-79.

Pis 86-90. See also Beier,

York,

Engraving, African

No. 63; and Allen,

260-65.

Ibid.,

Souhllou, 1996, and Kasfir, 1999, which

New

Zanzibar doors, Man, 24


192 Sieber, 1961.

Sec- Beier,

232

T F Garrard,

See for example

Somali
1

Jan Vansina.

See Beier, 1976, pp 6 1-79.

'Transformations,

Los Angeles, 1983,

95-101.

191

Function,
ed. D. H.

I 10

231

Yogcl and F.bong, 1991, Magnin and

October 1967. See also K A


Silverman, Akan Kuduo:

The artist

comment,

and Wahlman, 197 K

of the continent,

In a lecture- to the African

187 Loccit

(l 969),

75.

see Lawal, 1977. For a general overview

218 Seepp 120 27

188 Artist and critic

p.

and 1990.

Beier, 1968, Pis 3-4.

contemporary

55.

219

Beier, 1991,

n.d.

No. 3

1991, which includes accounts of their

societies see Bra*

Ibid., p.

and

34;

2,

experiences by

Nigeria Magazine,

185 Fernandez, 1966, p. 66.


8(>

Mohl,

NdakogboyaxnA

of masquerades within [slamtzed

p.

89.

and conducted

the field by Siroto.

p.

pp 16-66.

Other Nupc

60 (1966),

pp.

all

Pis 52-54.

pp. 57-61;

elo, ia

experiment was designed by Child


in

only cm the Prophet's

and Other Cults sec S K Nadel, Nupe

1948. Biebuyck conducted his

as not

See Beier, 1968, Pis 92-99; 1991,

birthday. For an earlier account of this

that

See African Arts.

43, reports that

p.

tolerated for a time, before again being

field-work

827

228 See

Stevens, 1973,

outlawed

in

Beier, 1968,
Ibid.,

Stout, 1966;

(1962), pp. 57-60.

should be pointed out that

by

sometimes referred

225

and Drewal, 1990, and Lawal, 1996.

in

is

Shona school, but

224

Cole,

Madison/Milwaukee/London, 1972,
pp. 7-20. It

Drewal

the gelede society see

210 Illustrated

22)

name Zimbabwe.

99

209 Docquet, 1999.

and leadership,

p.

(illustrated

Yoruba viewpoint.

Abiodun, 1983,

aesthetics from a

88.

of then are BaShona, they prefer the

970,

p.

by McEwen, 1968,

223 The group

94-95.

132)

966, pp. 63-64 or

1968,

heads by Boira Mteki

Beier, 1968, PI. 41).

94.

p.

205 Cordwell, 1956.


1

e.g.

and by Richard Mteki

203 Carroll, 1967,

204

McEwen,

222

(illustrated

202 Carroll, 1961.

Rowland Abiodun and Babatunde Lawal

22 1

978, pp. 28-33 and 96.

aesthetics

with those of the Yoruba art historians

Nigeria

art,

Magazine, 88 (1966), pp. 36-4 1

African

sculptor at work, African Arts,

No.

having compared

Thompson's view of Yoruba

, .

Pis 90-94. See also Fakeye

1996, pis 68 and 69.

Compare

Beier,

960, Pis

7 with Carroll, 1967, Pis 52

219 Articles on
appear regularly

do

in

their

199 Himmelheber, 1935, pp. 17-18.

to

they

still

Nigeria Magazine. See also Mount,

1973; and Kasfir, 1999. Bernice

198 Allison, 1944.

53.

work used

in African Arts;

4 and

3,

and

M.

Kelly,

1993, gives details of 353 artists from

Nigeria alone.

261

to

BIBLIOGRAPHY

tbiodun, Rowland

1989

Identity and the artistic process in the

and Ideas,
\l.i..(lun.H

and

..

Femberton

Drewal

Adepegl

\kcn/u.i.

Allen.

Jamea

Vere

Yoruba aesthetic concept oflwa, Journal of

New Theoretical Perspectives on African Arts, London

1989

African visual art from an art historical perspective. The African Stud

l'oruba Artist:

Cultures

pp. 13-30.

'l/ie

and Washington, DC.

Anon

No

-'.

55-103.

1986

Decorative Arts of the Fulani Nomads, Ibadan.

1990

lid.

London and New York.


The Oba's Palace in Benin, Nigeria Magazine, 87, pp. 244-5 1.
Lamu, The Kenya Museum Society, Nairobi.

1944

A Yoruba carver,

1968a

African Stone Sculpture, London.

1965

Allison, R

I,

1994

pp.

No.

III

tdama, Monni

Aitkcn.

I,

Science-based Dating in Archaeology,

Nigeria Magazine, 11, pp. 4950.

1968b

Cross River Monoliths, Lagos.

1988

History, Design

and Craft in West African Strip-woven

Symposium organized by

at a

the National

Cloth,

Papers presented

Museum of African

Art,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.


Arnold), Mary-Jo, C.

M.

African Arts, 34

1998

The Tribal Arts of

Balm. Paul

1996

Archaeology:

Bandi. H-(., ILBrueil,

1961

The Art of

the Stone Age,

Simmonds, eds 1971

Adire Cloth

in Nigeria,

Africa,

London and New York.

A Very Short Introduction, Oxford and New

York.

London and New York.

Berger-Kirchner,

H. Lhote, E.
\

of Natural Historv.

16-35, 94.

(2), pp.

Eta quart, J.-B.

Museum

Reflections on 'African Voices' at the Smithsonian's National

Kreamer ;md M.A. Mason

Holm and

Lommel

Barbour,

and

I)

Barle) N

BaSCOtn, V\

in:

Kenya Pots and Potters, Nairobi.

1993
1969

Smashing Pots: Feats of Clay, London.


Ifa Divination: Communication between Gods and Men

\'.i~:i

African Art in Cultural Perspective,

Baaaani, Ezio
Baaaani,

ag

Bastin, Marie-Louis.

WB

1988

Africa

1961

lit \),\ urat

La

Beier.H

and the Renaissance: Art


if

in

Africa.

Bloomington, Indiana.

Collections,

in Ivory,

1400-1800, London.

New York and

Munich.

Meudun.

Nigeria 7960, Cambridge.

'on temporary

'est

Tshokwe, Lisbon, 2 vols.

Sculpture Tshokwe,

Art

in If

New York

and Artefacts in European

African Art

and

Ibadan.

1989

Art

in Africa,

he Return of the Gods.

London and New York.

The Sacred Art of Susanne

II

eager.

Cambridge

thirty Tears of OshogboArt, Bayreuth.

moa, Paula

Maria
k

isual art

[91

I ).

.-

/(

1987

a SCH lal

perspective, The African Studies Review, 32,


;

No

1-53.

2, pp.

1. pp 28

nativity in Tribal Art, Berkeley


Initiation

//.'.

I986fl

from

rourdsoi Northeastern Nigeria, African Arts. 19

'is.

1 he

ii 'i,

and Moral Philosop/n. Berkeley and London

Berkeley.

ture:

Ontology and Metaphor

in

Batammaliba Architectural

K.i:

Cambi
evani

197S
1978

<>

tentale,

'leitilh.n

Basel.

ii

,,

/. ;.',,-. I-'uhrer

durch das

Museum

fur

Volkerkunde,
It" hen hex tut

Some Noi
I't

i.

th.

raditunmeb

ml

isqu<

tdes,

tisses et feints

de VAfrique Occidentals Basel

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institut

pp

1984

Art of the Taka and Suku, Meudun.

Brain, Robert

1980

Art and Society

Bravmann, Rene A.

1974

Islam

R and

Bourgeois, A.

Burns,

F.

Chaffin

'J'

London.

in Africa,

and Tribal Art

West Africa, London and

in

Travel to Heaven: Fantasy Coffins, African

Bush, Eugene

1979

On

Carroll, K. C.

1961

Three generations of Yoruba

1967

Toruba Religious Carving, London.

1992

Architectures of Nigeria,

1991

Eisenhiittern mAfrika, Frankfurt

1977

Decorated Ciourds

(Clis,

Oeorges

Chappel, T.
Child,

I.

H.

J.

L and Siroto, L.

1965

Walter

M. and

Cole, Herbert

York.

24-25.

(3), p. 6.

carvers, Ibadan,

pp. 2 1-24.

2.

London.

am

Main.

North-Eastern Sigeria, Lagos and London.

in

BaKwele and American


pp.

Cline,

Peter Nkuzi, African Arts,

New

Arts, 7 (2), pp.

esthetic evaluations

compared, Ethnology, K No.

4,

349-60.

1987

Mining and Metallurgy

1994

Igbo Arts:

m Negro Africa. Menasha, Wisconsin.

Community and Cosmos, Los Angeles

ChikeG Aniakor
Connah,

K.

(j.

Corduell,

J.

1981

Three Thousand Tears in Africa, Cambridge.

1956

The problem

Cornet, Joseph

Dark, Philip J.

197

d'Azevedo, Warren

of process and form in Yoruba

of the Third International

art. Proceedings

African Conference 1946, Lagos, pp. .".3-60.

If rst

Art of Africa: Treasuresfrom the Congo, London and N'eu York.

1973

An

1996

The

Introduction to lienin Art

and Tethnolog\.

)xford.

Artist Archetype in (tola Culture

Paper presented

the Conference on the Traditional Artist in African Society

at

l965,Tahoe Alumni Center. LakeTahoe, California; Preprint No.

lay

Desert Research Institute. University of Nevada, Reno. Reprinted 1970


d'Azevedo, Warren

1973

The Traditional Artist

deGtunne, Bernard

2(H)]

SLuterhands

Delange, Jacqueline

l!*fi7

Arts

(ed.)

1978

African Traditional .In

Dmochowaki, X H

1990

An

Docquet, Anne

1999

Drewal, Henry John

1989

and

Mason

J.

J.J Pemberton

11

irtn\

Bloomington and London.

Translated as The

Paris

.lit

and Peoples

<>f

Black Africa.

London.

hitet ture.

London.

Introduction to Nigerian Traditional Architecture, 3 vols,


lias

Dogon

The meaning

tthntiltigit

ante

*.;;

of Oshugbo art

and B. Gardi, eds, BaseL pp.


Drewal,

.So.

York. 1974

Denyer, Susan

Drewal, H.

an

in Afrit

de maitre\ Brussels

Peuflet dt VAJrique Notre,

t-t

New

mams

et

ethnologic authochtone. Paris.

a reappraisal,

Man

does not go naked. B.

Engelbrecht

1998

Bead* Body and Soul Art and Light

1989

Toruba: Sine Centuries if Afrit an Art

1990

Geledc Art and Female Power among

in the

Toruba

'inverse.

Los Angeles

and Thought. New York.

and R. Abiodun
Drewal, Henry John and

the I'oruha.

Bloomington

Margaret Thompson Drewal


Drost, Dietrich

1987

Topferei mAfrika: Technologic. Berlin.

Eckhardt, Ulrich

1979

Moderne Kunsl aus

Ku

\u~ii

Sigerian Haiidcrafletl

her,

Joanne

B.

Engelbrecht,

B.

Textiles, Ile-Ifc.

W.

B.

Fagg

1958

'The Sculpture

and

B.

Gardi

1989

Man does

Willett

1980

Treasures of Ancient Nigeria. N'eu York.

1962

The Nok

Elisofon, E., and

Eyo,

Afrika. Berlin.

Ekpo and Frank

Fagg, Bernard

not

of Africa. London and N'eu York.

go naked, Basler Beitrage zur Ethnologie,

terracottas in
III,

Lagos and London.

1977

Nok

Fagg, Catherine

1997

Rock Music, Oxford.

Fagg, William

1951

B.

West African

Terracottas,

art history, Actes

De

l'art

On

the nature of African art, Memoirs and Proceedings of

to the continent,

96 1

The study of African

pp.

93-

pp.

04. (Reprinted in

Congres Pan,.

art,

and Societies of

de Prehistoire,

-35.

ter Literary
.

<

.:

Africa, a

handbook

4 1 4-24.)
Bulletinof the Allen

Memo-mi Art Museum,

Africa,

12,

1955-56, pp. 44-61.

Reprinted in Ottenberg,

Bulletin of Oberlin College, 14, No. 3, pp. 44-61. 19

Cultures

4'

des Yoruba, L' Art Negre, Presence Africaine, 10-11

and Philosophical Society, 94,

1959

du

445-50.

Tervuren, Sect

pp.

SO, Basel

S.

and

P.:

960, pp. 45 -

Afro-Portuguese Ivories, London.

1963

Nigerian Images, London.

1964

Afrika:

1965

Tribes

1966

African Tribal Sculptures:! The Niger Basin Tribes;


Petit

lOOStdmme- 1 00 Meisterwerke,

and Forms

in

Berlin.

African Art, London.

Encyclopedic de

l'Art, Paris

and

II.

The Congo Basin

Tribes,

Nos. 82 and 83,

New York.

263

/-,

William

\\

mi

illi.

I98S

.mil

New

York

Nig

ttl'. L'24),

ThtArtof

Central Africa (MQ77S.U2S),

Mentor

Fontana Unesco, London.

arid

Cleveland, Ohio.

tfrican Tribal Images,

1968
i!i7<>

//, >/i7 //.////,,/(

trtq

Unesc (>.

DC. n.d.
New York.

African Sculpture, Waahington,

Toruba Sculpture of West-Africa,

John r
i!)7o
i

996

The Potter's Art in Africa, London; 2nd ed., 1978.


Lamidi Olonade Fakeye- A

Retrospective "Exhibition

and Biography,

lolland. Michigan.

H Curl
Fatunsin, Anthonia K.

1992

Toruba Pottery, Lagos.

1966

Principles of opposition and vitality in

Fang

aesthetics, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism,

25, pp. 53-64.


1

Kiinstler der

Dan, die Bildhauer Tame,

Baessler Archiv,

Neue

The Arts of

Dan

the

Si,

Tompieme, und Son -

ihr

Wesen und

Werk.

ihr

Folge, 10, pp. 161-263.

West Africa, Zurich.

in

lliinmelheber

II
1

1984

E and

im her,

963

E and

her,

Fleming, S

Homberger

I.

and K Nicklin

Fondation Dapper

Fonnan, Werner and

B.

1985

Die Kunst der Guro, FAfenbeinkuste, Zurich.

1977

Analysis of two bronzes from

1989

Objets interdits, Paris.

1960

Benin Art, London.

1988

Die Kunst derSenufo, Zurich.

Nigerian asunaja shrine,

MASCA Journal,

J),

_'

pp.

53-57.

and lMnlip Dark


Forater.Till

Douglas

Fraaer,
I

i\.

Philip

Rene

i.inli.

Planning in

the Primitive World,

Village

1970

Essai sur

1969

Unter afrikanischen Handwerkern, Bern (English translation, African Crafts and Craftsmen,

la

statuaire

mumuye,

London and New York,


Garlake, Peter

1973

S.

The Prehistoric Art of Zimbabwe, London and


and Ornamentsfrom Ghana, Munich.

The Hunter's

P.

1965

A Bibliography of African Art, London.

(rcrbra.ids, A.

1957

Art as an element of

Vision:

Gillon,

Peggy S.
Wi ner
.

(iirard.I

Seattle.

Africa: Jewellery

culture, especially in

voor Volkenkunde, Leiden,


Gilfoy,

pp. 3-28.

1969).

Gold of

(i.iskm L.J.

I,

Great Zimbabwe, London.

1989

Timothy

rarrard,

York.

Objets et Mondes, 10, No.

1995
(

New

1968

Negro Africa, Mededeelingen van het Rijksmuseum

12.

1987

Patterns of Life: West African Strip-weaving Traditions, Washington, D.C.

1984

A Short History of

1967

Dynamique de

African Art,

la Societe

Ouobe,

Harmondsworth.

Memoires de

l'lnstitut

Fondamental d'Afrique Noire.

78, Dakar.

CHOck,

1957

Afrikanische Architektur, Tubus, N.F.

The Many Faces of Primitive Art: A


Goldwati

1964
I').',!)

Prehistoric Rock

I960

I)

1956, pp. 65-82. Translated in Douglas Fraser.

New York.
Bambara Sculpturefrom the Western Sudan, New
Senufo Sculpturefrom West Africa, New York.

1938

Goodall,E.,C K. Cooke,

6,

Critical Anthology,

Clark and

Primitivism in

Modern

Englewood

Cliffs.

New

Jersey, 1966.

Painting,

Art of

the Federation

York.

of Rhodesia and

Nyasaland, Salisbury, Rhodesia.

Roger Summer?
aburn, Nelson

.1

hi

in. mil

ed

Ethnic and Tourist Arts: Cultural Expressionsfrom the Fourth World. Berkeley,

Los Angeles and London.


lnii.il

I.

>;

1 <

>

Ot'-/gines de

19 10

in

Hallen, Bai
1

ii

|i

Ii

s.lk

gi
I

its.

Herafan

its,

1979

BO00

r,

VY

Hei

)llll\

Herakm

264

n oi gi

Haaelbei
1

ii

M
M

194

ta

.1

and

et

Paris.

Memoires de l'lnstitut d'Ethnologie, Pans.

33,

Entretiem avec Ogotemmili, Pans; English translation: 1965 Conversations with

Metallurgy en Afrique Occidental. Abidjan and

1963.

'I

(nudum,

la

Masques Dogon, Travaux

an Introduction
rican Native,

I'rimi
Tht Got

Notes,,,,

to

Dogon

M Arts of Black
London.

lecture,

Religious Ideas.

London.

London. (Les Arts de I'Afrique Noire, Paris 1947,


Africa,

New

York, 1950.)

Bad and The Beautiful, Bloomington and Indianapolis


iberia, Peabod) Museum Papers. 19, N
control in Northeast Liberia. Peabod\ Museum Papen
|

1950

Masks as ag

1964

Bautraditionen

1986

Songye Masks ana

19 ;s

New York
The art oj Dahpmey

,.il

xtafrikanischen Negerkulturen, Vienna.

Sculpture,

London.

Dahomey,

imerican Magazine of

Art,t%pp.6T

76, IS

Himmelheber, Hans

1935

Negerkunstler, Stuttgart.

1960

Negerkunst und Negerkunstler, Brunswick.

1964

Sculptors and Sculptures of the Dan,

of

the First International Congress

of

in L.

Bown and M. Crowder,

Proceedings

243-55.

Africanists, I>ondon, pp.

Masks and Figuresfrom Eastern and Southern

Holy, Ladislav

1967

The Art of

Horton, R.

1966

Kalahari Sculpture, Lagos.

Hottot, R.

1956

Teke

Imperato, RJ.

1970

Bokolanfini:

1973

Wool Blankets of the

Jacques-Meunie, D.

1961

Cites anciennes de

Jones, G.

1984
1988

The Art of Eastern Xigeria, Cambridge.


U est African Masks and Cultural Systems, Tervuren.

1999

Contemporary African Art, London and

1978

Peter Nkuzi, Calabash Carver of Kenya. African Arts. 12(1), pp. 40-41, 108.

I.

Kasfir, Sidney, ed.

Kay, Stafford
Keay, R.

J.

Bernice M.

Kelly,

Vegetation

1993

Nigerian

Nat

Africa,

London

Fetishes, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 86, pp. 25-36.

1959

1992

Kennedy, Jean

Africa:

Mud Cloth of the Bamana of Mali, African Arts.


Peul of Mali, African Arts, 6

Mauritame,

Map of Africa,

Artists:

3 (4), pp.

32-41, 80.

32-4"

(3), pp.

Paris.

New

York.

London.

A Who's Who and Bibliography. Washington, DC

Currents, Ancient Rivers: Conternporan African Artists in a (generation of Change.

Washington, DC.
Kense, Francois

Kerchache,

and

L.

J.,

J.

J.-L.

Paudrat

1983

Traditional African Iron (forking, Calgary.

1988

I.'

1935

Centres de style de la sculpture negre africame. Pans. Reprinted

Art africam, Paris.

Stephan

Kjersmeier, Carl

New York

1967.

-1938
Laburthe-Tolra, Ph. and

1991

Ch. Falgayrettea-Leveau

Lajoux,

D.

J.

Lamb, Venice
Laude, Jean

Lawal, Babatunde

London.

1963

The Rock Paintings of

1975

West African Weaving. London

1966

LesArts de I'Afrique Noire, Pans

1968

La

1977

lassili.

Petnture Fran(aise (1905-1914)

du fauvisme

et

The search

for identity

du cubisme

et

Tart negre

^Contribution i

etude des sources

Pans

contemporary Nigerian

art.

Studio International. 1<,

no. 986, pp. 14

Gender, and Social

1996

The

Leakey Mary

1983

Africa's 1'anishmg Art

Lebeuf,

1951

L'Art ancien du Tchad,

1961

I.

[868

L'Art Ancien du Tchad: bronzes

1950

La

Lebeuf,

J. P.

J.

P.

and

(ielede Spectai

le:

Art,

Harmony

in

The Rink Paintings of Tanzania,


(

a/uers J'Art,

96

an African Culture.

New

London and

Seattle.

York.

Habitation des Fall, montagnards du Cameroun septentrional. Paris.

Civilisation

et

ceramiques.

Grand

Palais, Paris.

du Tchad. Pans

A. Masson-Detourbet

Lecoq, R.
Leiris,

Michel and

1953

Les Ramileke. Pans

1967

Afrnjue Xo/re.

La

Creation Plastufite, Paris

Jacqueline Delange

London (English

1968

African Art.

Leith-Ross, Sylvia

1970

Nigerian Pottery. Ibadan.

Lem,

1949

Sudanese Sculptures, Paris.

1960

Africa,

1963

African Sculpture,

F.

H.

Leuzinger, E.

1970

The Art of

translation of the preceding).

the Negro Peoples, London and New York, n.d.


A Descriptive Catalogue, Museum Rietberg, Ziii

Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, Zurich. (Translated as The Art of Black Africa,

Greenwich, Conn., 1972.)

Lew

David

1983a

The Rock Art of Southern Africa, Cambridge.

Lewis- Williams, David, ed.

1983b

New Approaches to Southern African Rock Art, Goodwin

Lewis-Williams, David and

1989

Images of Power: Understanding Bushman Rock Art, Johannesburg.

is- Williams,

s<

ies, 4.

Cape Town.

Thomas Dowson
Lhote. Henri
Libby, Willard

Lutz,

F.

K andG.

1959

The Searchfor the

1952

Radiocarbon Dating, Chicago,

1996

The Bubalus Rock


in the

Messak

Tassili Frescoes,

of Wadi Elobu.

Sattafet

Mack, John,

n.d.

ed.

McEwen, Frank

A chronological

indicator of early rock art

and Messak Mellet, Fezzan and Libya, The Prehistory

of Africa, G. Aumassip,

Mack, John

London.

Illinois.

J.

D. Clark and

Emile Torday and the Art of

the

Mori, eds, Forli, pp. 137-50.

Congo 1900-1909, London.

2000

Africa: Arts

1968

Return to origins: new directions

and Cultures, London.


for African Arts, African Arts,

1,

No.

2, pp.

18-25, and 88.

265

4m D

mdon.
The

ml

Mande

Blacksmiths, Bio. 'inmgton, Indiana.

Congo au Muttt Ro\al du Congo

mbangii. Art du

Qmk

Beige.

Tervuren.

New York and London.

Age and the Rock Paintings of Central Tanzania. Wiesbaden

Kunst utiJ Religion derLobi. Zurich.


iecesqf

n.d.

and

1991

1962

'

UuMaJhmd*

I vols, Heidelta

'/

Forgerons, Paris

La grotte peinte de Mbatu, temoignage iconographique de


evangelisation du

B..

1985

irshall

Ward

Architecture,

III. pp.

London.
Dmochouski: Sigerian Traditional Architecture, London.

1988

The (fork of

1973

African Art: The Tears since 1920, Bloomington and London.

1986

Muzzoli

Hausa

premiere

la

Pan-africam

de Prehistoire. Tervuren, Sect


.J

rLr

990

Z. R.

BAR

Art rupestre prehistorique des Massifs centralis sahanens.

I.'

International S

3 18, Oxford.

I)

>n. A and
Hammond-Tooke

Salmons

1989

African Art

m Southern Africa: From

Akpan of Nigeria.

Tradition to Township, Johannesburg.

1977

S.

Ann

1986

Ilonn Lantana Beads. African Arts, 19

1966

Yoruba Palaces, London.

Nickhn. Keith, and

Jill

J.

African Arts, 11

pp. 30-36.

l),

(4). pp.

36-39, 87-88.

1959

Let Arts Plastiques du Congo Beige, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Oh\er. Paul.ed.

1971

Shelter in Africa,

1975

Masked Rituals of

1962

African Sculpture, London.

OftrechtS,

iion

Palme, D

London.
Afikpo, Seattle

and London.

Perani. Judith

1986

Hausa Calabash Decoration. African

Louis

1985

Ancestral Art of Gabon, Geneva.

Phillips.

Ruth

1995

Representing

Phillips,

Tom. ed.

1995

Africa:

Philhpson. Da\

id

lohn

the

Mende of

The Art of a Continent, London. Munich and

Sierra Leone,

New

Later Prehistory of Eastern and Southern Africa, London.

1974

Masks and

1992

Tradition, technology and lurex, in Histon. Design and Crafi

the Igbirra. African Arts.

National

Earthenware

Museum of African

7.

No.

2. pp.

38-41.
in

West African Strip-uoven

Art. Washington. D.C.. pp. 1352.

Asia and Africa. Colloquies on Art and Archaeolog\

in

Los Angeles.

York.

and Rock Engravings of Zambia. Livingstone.

Prehistoric Rock Paintings

1977

1984

ed.

Woman: Sande Masquerades of

4.'

1972

Cloth.
:n.

Arts. 19 (3), pp.

in Asia. no.

2.

London.
1994a

Sculptors of Opin, African Arts. 27(3) pp. 46-59 and 101-102.

A commentary on

Art. identity and identification:


in

Abiodun

et

al..

The Art of African


:

>hn,

andJolr

Ponting. K Gl,S

istine

LabeDe

Dl

Textile History.

art historical studies,

Textiles: Technology, Tradition

and Lurex, London.

London, 2nd edn, 1989.

African Textiles,

1980

Yoruba

1994.

Made in West Africa, New York.


The architecture of Islam in West
ese architecture and the
Traditional Architecture

Africa. African Arts.

Manding, African

m Xorthern Ghana.
B

tfirka,

1.

No

and Gender, Washington

m Collections: Survey

1989, Washington.

Vim \ftxm: A Centun of Tabua Art,

Halifax. York* [and

Bogolanl
p|>

H>-.'.

Art of

the Biography

ofaMalian Textile,

DC

Arbor. Michigan.

tj

].Ur

th.

'

''

the Stanley Collection ,<

'

/,).

(iavle.

and L

DC

Ann

"

H-67.

Berkeley. California.

Berkeley

Irchitecture. Space, Place,

Si

2. pp.

D-ROM

Schwerdefeger,

W.

F.

Shaw, C. Thurstan

1982

Traditional Housing in African

1970

Igbo-l'kwu: An account of archaeological discoveries in eastern Nigeria,

and Evanston,

London

Illinois.

1977

Unearthing Igbo-Ukzvu, Ibadan.

i%te

Nigeria:

1961

Its

Chichester

Cities,

Archaeology and Early History, London.

1980

Museum of Primitive Art, New York.


New York.
African Furniture and Household Objects, Bloomington, New York and London.

1961

The Artist

Starkweather, Frank

1968

Stevens, Phillips

1973

Ann Arbor, Michigan.


The Nupe elo masquerade, African Arts, 6, No. 4, pp. 40-43 and

Sicbt-r,

Roy

1972

W,

Smith, M.

Stolid,

Stout,

ed.

Arnulf

J.

A.

Sculpture of Northern Nigeria,

and D,

Africa) Textiles

in

rat)-

Arts.

<

Tribal Society, London.

Traditional Igbo Art: 1966,

94.

1978

The Stone Images of

1984

Afrikanische Keramik: Traditionelle Handuerkkunst siidlich der Sahara. Munich.

1966

Modern Makonde Sculpture, Nairobi.

Esie, Niger/a. Ibadan.

Stow, George William

1905

The Native Races of South Africa, London.

Stow, George William and

1930

Rock Paintings of South Africa, London.

1998

Inventing Masks: Agency and History in the Art of the Central Pende, Chicago and London.

Dorothea F Bleek
Strother, Z.

Summers,

S.

R., K. R.

Robinson

[961

and A. Whitty

Zimbabwe Excavations 1958,


Southern Rhodesia,

Sw ithenbank, Michael

3,

>c

asionaJ Papers of the National

Museums

of

No. 23 A.

1969

Ashanti Fetish Houses. Accra.

Tagliaferri,

Aldo

1989

Still del Potere,

Tagliaferri,

Aldo and

1974

Fabulous Ancestors: Carvingsfrom Sierra Leone and (iuinea. Milan.

Milan.

Arno Hammacher
Tempels,

P.

Thompson,
Tributsch,

R.

II.

1969

Bantu Philosophy

1968

Esthetics

1978

An

2000

Does mirage-derived mythology give access

Paris.

aesthetic of the cool, African Arts,

Archaeological Bulletin. 55 (171

Trowell,

Underwood,

van Beek, Walter

Art News, 86, No.

in traditional Africa,

1960

African Design, London.

1964

Classical African Sadfture.

1947

Figures in

).

No

7.

1.

9, pp.

pp. K>

to

*4-*5, 63-66.

ki.

67 and 89-91.

San rock art? South African

70-76.

London. 2nd edn.

Wood of West Africa, London.

1949

Bronzes of Rest Africa. London.

1991

Dogon

rest udied:

field

evaluation of the work of Marcel Griaule, Current Anthropolog

32(2). pp. IS9

Vandenhoute.

P.J. L.

lassi/icat/on stx/istKjuc

du niasuue Dan

(iuere dc la

ft

van het Rijksmuseiim voor Volkenkunde, Leiden,

1984

Art History

Vinnicombe, Patricia

197S

Myth, motive and selection

1976

People of the Eland. Pietcnnarit/.hurg.

2000

A History

Visona, M.

H.

B.,

R. Poynor,

of Art

in Africa,

in

Southern African rock

d'lvonr occidentale.

Meded

.eelm^er

art, Africa.

1-2.

No

9,

'

Jp,

192-204.

New York and London

M.Cole and M.D. Harris

New

Vogel, Susan, ed.

1981

For Spirits and Kings.

Vogel, Susan and

1991

Africa Explores: '20th Century African Art.

von Luschan, Felix

1919

Die Alterthumer von Benin. 8

von Sydow, Eckart

1930

Handbuch der afnkanischen

1954

Afrikanische Plastik, ed. G. Kutscher, Berlin.

'die

London and New York.

Vansina, Jan

in Africa.

v.

York.

New York and Muni.

ma Ebong, eds
vols, Berlin

Plaslik, I

Wahlman, Ma"de

1974

Contemporary African Arts, Chicago.

Walker, N.

1987

The dating of Zimbabwean Rock

Walker, R.

1998

Olowe of

Walker Art Center

1967

Art of

1972

House Decoration

1956

Rock Paintings of

1963

The Rock Art of South Africa, London.

Wen*;el,

Marian

Wiilcox, Alex R.

Willett,

Frank

The Rock Art of

1967

Ife in the

J.

Picton

Toruba Sculptor

the Congo,

On

Washington, D.C.

Minneapolis, Minnesota.
in

Nubia, London.

the Drakensberg,

Africa,

London.

Beckenham.

missing millennium?
pp.

Art, Rock Art Resear ch, 4(2), 137-48.

to Kings,

History of West African Sculpture,

Modena,
Frank and

1984

1986
Willett,

Ise:

and Leipzig.

Die westafrikanische Plastik

From Nok

to Ife

London and New York.

and beyond, Arte

in Africa, ed.

Ezio Bassani,

87-100.

the identification of individual carvers: a study of ancestor shrine carvings

from Owo, Nigeria, Man, N.S.

2,

No.

1,

pp. 62-70.

267

ACKNOV

c r--'c

It is

NT s

great pleasure to acknowledge

the help

have received, directly and

indirectly, in the preparation

book

doing so

for in

many

of the

Art Institute of Chicago,

am

219; Ulli Beier, 259, 270, 271; the late

art.

Bohannan, James D. Breckenridge

and William Fagg,

who

kindly read the

of the manuscript and

first draft

most helpful suggestions;

to

made

Susannah

Stevens and Luann Walther and several


of her friends

typed the

who

who

at

great inconvenience

first draft; to

helped

prepare the

Esther Greene

multitude of ways to

in a

final version; to

John Picton,

Wachsmann and Richard Wilson,


whom I have had many hours of

Dr R. K Bradbury. 89; The British


Museum, London, 3-5. 12-14, 17-19,50,
62,64,83,94,99, 103, 110, 118, 136, 137,
139, 156-58, 160, 162, 165, 183-88, 189,
190, 193, 209, 210,21

222, 225-27, 229,

I,

262; Kevin Carroll.

237, 246.

_'

258, 26

Daily Times, Lagos, jit.

VI,

Dominique Darbois,

172, 194, 197; Philip

Zimbabwe.

124: Ethnological Collections

of the University of Zurich,

with

Hamlyn Group,

stimulating discussions; to

Roy Sieber

quote unpublished

Dark, 121; Director of Museums of

Klaus

for permission to

David

Attenborough, 123; Daniel Biebuyck.

indebted to Robert Plant Armstrong,


J.

n-;

have formed

through the study of African

Paul

following for photographs and drawings

of this

am reminded

friendships

of the pieces illustrated, and to the

7;

The

Publishers, 266;

Hans

Himmelheber, 215; Photo Hoa-Qui, 107;

Bayo Iribhogbe,

13-15;

Low le Museum

D Lajoux. 28,

J.

work; to William Bascom, Ulli Beier,

30-32;

Daniel Biebuyck, Fred Bosley, John

University of California. Berkeley, 100,

of Anthropology.

Boston, the late R. E. Bradbury Kevin

102, 152;

Desmond Clark, Justine


Cordwell, Dan Crawley, Philip Dark,

The Metropolitan Museum

Oliver Davies, Jacqueline Delange,

Georges Mortelmans,

Edet Essang, Ekpo Eyo, Brian Fagan,

l'Homme, Pans,

154. 196, 197

Bernard Fagg, James Fernandez,

Musee Royal de

I'Afrique Centrale.

Eberhardt Fischer, James Forde-

Tervuren, 20, 95,

Johnston, Douglas Fraser, Philip Fry.

Yolkerkunde, Berlin. 170; Keith Nicklin,

Carroll,

York,

6;

Helen Maetzler-Prohaska.

Stephen Moreton-Pnchar

1.53.

Nigerian

Marilyn Hammersley, Hans

Himrnelheber. Kathleen Hunt, Alan

213; Luigi Pigorini

Jacobs, Kurt Krieger, Elizabeth Little,

Merrick Posnansky.

Richard Long, Malcolm McLeod,

Brigitte

Men a

1.

Georges Mortelmans,

Peter Morton-Williams, Vicki


Castle,

Mundy-

Kenneth Murray. Keith Nicklin,


Peter Olagunju,

Hans

Si

'.-

P.

Leon

on Siroto, Edward Soja,

Ian

Wai

hi

Paul

reasons
i]

,K

63;

labelle Prussin.

Rietberg Museu

rich,

\'olkenkunde. Leaden, 16
Ritzenthaler. 106;

i.

Arnold

K<
ibin. 3t>.

'

s,

mm on.

Is.

Anns du M IS
220; Edward Soja, 1

l'Homme,

22.

Phillips S<

IDF. La

Phototheque 228; University Museum.


;

Raymond Widgus,

175;

R WiTJoox,

Yale University Art Gallerj

ai

publishers

knowledgment

2,

Philadelphia, i9<> Photo S. Volta. 95;

Vansina,

The author and

17;

149, 150, 191; Rijksmusei

Michelle Ijeiman, 216;

Wingert and

w tde variety

I.

Museum. Rome,
K")l;

fur

68, 22 1,284;

A. Ojo, 122; John Pictrn. 5

Frank Speed, 262;

C.

mpson, Margaret Trowell,

Allen

Museum

268; Societe des

Labelle Pruaain, H. Rhotert,

sky,

16,

Musee de

208;

EmilSchultl

Zbyazek Plocki, Merrick


'Femi Rk hards, Arnold Rubin,

37;

Museum. Lagos.

Adrian Gerbrands, Robert Goldwater,

7;

New

of Art.

make

to the owners

All other illustrations are bv the author.

INDEX

Abeokuta

P-Kota

83, lb, 171

Abigan, Bassi 2

190, 191

", la,

188, la,

'

Abiodun, Rowland 206


aborigines, Australian 15,29

Chmua

Achebe,

Adesida

.\doOdo

.abi215

Afenmai

lb,

Afo

133

lb,

A fori so

BaMbole

74

BaMileke

Afro-Portuguese nones 68, 76,84, 55, 57

Agbonbiofe 119

Ahinsan 108,

Akamba
Akan

21

105

25,

Akande, Amusa 815

/s.

122

123, lb,

I')

Bardai 8
Bargery, Rev. G.

Barotseland 189

Commander William
2

K 815, 837,

Hums Corporation

Ankh 107
A VI la. 21

BaKo/wi

189, la,

187,

Basa

Nge

149, la, 151,

BaSotho57
BaSuku la. ISO

Apomu
An hmic

lb. If if)

BaTeke

Period i^

Battuta, Ihn hh

Ardra. Benin 7s.

Arowogun

;.s.

//..

59, 81

Bauchi

BaYih

ft

art for art's sake

804-19

Ashanti 108, la
architecture

181-88, lis

10,

130,

BaYanzi

la.

Bena Lulua

Askia

Mohammed

1!*

Ata of Igala 98, 99

148-50

198

172, la, 189

Benin art 32, 42

236,253,
207,

Australia 15

123, 126, lb,

Awka

King of 78,

72

183-85

104, 165,

174, 176-78,

Benin

la,

>8,

7(

//

Atutu 193

lb,

68

221

lb,

Aterian complex 48

Azande

83,

239, 24 1-4

I'lli

Bende

214

164

Beecioft, Consul John

247, 27')

Olatunde

la, 139, 160. 163,

154-1

BaYaka

Beier.

see

197

861

la.

art 107, ISO, 884, 108-05, 188, 211.

Ashiru

134

//>

58,

n.

BaWoyo

artist, the inth\ idual

60,

153,208

150, 157, 158, la, 156-58,

Baule 1S6, 154,

212

188, \UO, lb,

Apollo lOCavt

Annan, Put

124

Baacom, William R. 35, 73,

BaSongye

II

37

P.

Barth, Heinrich 18

f_-

Ambrose. Captain
icnt

198

I.

172, la. 191

Algeria 53

Am

17,54,

ISO, 172, 177, 880, 221. la,

IBS,

BaPunu

k i

Ja<

15,

189

Akwete 27 I
Allen.

212, 214, 217,

1,

39

lb,

BaPende

Akanji, Adebisi 848, 270. 271

Altamira 89,

277

no

Bantu-speaking peoples
.'.7,

Akure Palace

168

Iloffa

lb, 107,

Bandele 148, 209, 21

Bantaji

Akpan. Sunday

12, 25, la, 3, 4,

231, 235, 236, 256, 257

10

la.

225-29

20

la,

Bamgboye of

61

>/,
'

>

94, 210
Bambara (Bamana)
Bambaraland 88

125

lb, 21,

It

la,

17i:, la,

BaMbala

192-203

Afikpo

z.

BaLumbo

Adugbologe 171
aesthetics

eni^

jLuba

70

lb,

220

19,

alfbu

Buiaima

94, 95,

22

la,

1,

160

123

-\Miyi,

8, 9,

262
I

26, 77, 92, 97, 98, 104,

85

97, 98, 84,

93

King's Palace 99, 124, 126, 176

Benin Punitive Expedition (1897) 84, 97,

BaBembe

172, la,

BaFumu

la,

Bafut

108

Baga

lb,

165

161,

BaKete

177, la, 62,

la,

LaKongo

Bini 77, 92,

64

152

61, 225, la, 36, 63,

155, 167, 248, 251

60, 61,

214

Biebuyck, Daniel 35, 198, 219

25, la, 17, 18

Bahn, Paul 55

BaJokwe

100, 88, 91

Benin (Dahomey) 35, 78, 153, 23,

156-58

Bisiri,

85

Yemi241, 267

Boas, Franz 31, 33, 35

Bobo

la,

Bobo Diulasso

19,

25

269

Gerbrands, Adrian 29, 38, 154, 193

Dmochowski, Zbigniew 186


Docquet,

Am

Ghana
18,

la,

19,

95,

SO, 113, ill.

Girard, Jean

',.

Duala

cu

lb,

T<

Governor John H.

199

brats

'>/

Ghana, ancient 23

18,

91

33

jlius

Gola

Bl,

67

ui

10,

198, lu

gold smithing 252

Goodwin, John 99

89, lb

lb
Efon A lave

la

7,

Griaule. Marcel

egungun 73, 161, 54, 170, 171, 173

Burainmh. Jimoh 240, 259

Bushn

10, la, ?

paint-

Gor society 169


119

//.

Egypt

(iris.

105, 106-07, 108,

10, 38, 51, 64,

224, 102, 100

Ekoi

2,

:htkhI

Cameroun

'//.

976

/.'

10, 52,

29,

Cattle Period

//o

15, 85, f07,

Carroll. Father Kevin 18,

16,

209-1

231
26,

32

16

Chad. I-ake

heul

hi -j.ara 12,

complex

18
j.5,

25

5
.

i58,

Miss

Ahaiwah

25,

ioo

Haddon, A.

83

30

Ham

Engaruka

Harare 238, 25

129,

25

68, 112, 118, lb

Ennedi Plateau 47, 25

Haselberger. Herta

Enwonwu, Ben 236, 245, 258


Envong Division lb, 40

Hassi Meniet 50

Eshure48,

Henrique,

lb,

Hausa

29

10

117, lb. 109

Don

61.

37

Esie 68, lb

Herodotus

Ethiopia 17,224

Herskovits. Melville 35, 161

Fagg, Bernard 38, 72

Hirschberg, Walter 95-97

Hoggar

47, 50, 51,

Fagg, William

Holmes.

W H. 29

Horn of Africa

5,

Fang

see

5,

Horseman Sub-Period 47
Horton, Robin 150, 158, 161, 162, 165

150, 201, la, 22. 154

Hottentot 97. la
Hottot. Robert 150. 157. 158, 156-58

Fernandez, James 35, 150, 201, 202


fetish

n.

220, 25

Horse Period 47

236, 243

Lamidi

Fanti 202-03, 104

rivtf H

10,

Horse and Camel Sub-Period 47

243

Fakeye. Joseph 209, 2

25

Holy, Ladislav 17

11.

176

Fakeye, Ganiyu 2

Fakeye, Lamidi

io

17, 38, 83, 100, 104,

182-85,205,247.

144, 171,

42, 86, 115,

102

.69,

193, 760

Fagg, Catherine 53

225, 231,

mmander Hugh

Congo

C.

Elisofon, Eliot 38

261

-ociety 81

Conakr
i

68, 94, 193, la,

Himmelheber. Hai>

Christianity 105, 220

Chun

1,

El

Fadioute, Senegal 229, 25, 250

Chifubua stream shelter

Guro

140

lb.

Chariot Sub-Period vt
-

Gulotne 193

Ekwensi, Cyprian 237

Cabind.i

Chamba

256

71

lb, 68,

176

10, 25. 76, 161,

Guinea Bissau 76

Ekiti 142, 217. 281, lb, 29. 253,

990

101, 919,

U4

growth curves
Guinea

Einstein, Carl 33

MS,

Juan 54, 190

Huns Mountains 53

148

Fezzan 42, 52, 25


Fischer. E. 36,

Fon

195,206,209

35, 153, lb, 161, 214,

Ibadan 215, 231. 239,

273

ibejiSS, 135.

Fouta Toro 52, 25


Benin

900, 202,

Franco-Cantabrian rock art 68


'

;s

lity
-

106
I

94, 82,

185,201

83

18,

946

Idoma

fa

lb,

126. 127. ISO,

lb.

[dubor, Feh\
I

909

203-05

Idah. Ata of 104.


170,

201.

243

Ibibio72. 85, 181, 182,

France 30

lb.

divination 78
_

23.

He,

15, lb.

'>3.

65. 92. 166.

lb,

212. 213

Oon

Igala

[gbira

78-81, 98,

lb,
-

2,

[gbo 165, 262-03,

180, 906, 211

Oariak
Gauguin, Pa

[gbo-Ukwu 68
\modu

190,

tjebu 25, 78, 217. lb


fl. 171.

175

236

Le Corbusier

ikenga 76-7

[kere215,
Ikot
Ila

837

lb,

Ekpene

91

Ilaje 154, lb,

Ilesha 72, 214,


'

A,

217

216,

lb, 173,

211,

203

181, 182, lb, 200, 202,

lb, 15, 16,

121, 122, 123, 126,

.men 50
Inyanga Mountains 128, 25

wood

iroko

7,

working

240

18

.am 25,

89, 105,

18-2

1,

220. 224,

euis-Willian

I) tj ' id 54,

Namibia 54

55

Native Americans

Lhote, Henri 47, 52

NDengese

Liberia 25, 176, 195, 197, 206,

Ndonc, Laurent

Libyans 51

Ngbula play 165

Limpopo

Ngere

129, 2.5

165-66, 176.

19,

96,

lebba

Nigeria
1

38

//-,

47,

Nok

von 98

F.

Maesen

Nupe

240,

12, 56,

1(),

Mama

96

Kilwa Island

King Solonu

Kjersmeier,

lii

$6,

87, 71. 76, 7'/ 81, 33, 91, 189,

130,

11.

930

38, 946, 254, 25

Mines 127

r,

Mauritania

25

Modakeke

Mokwa
258

Amedeo

lb,

Lamidi 211,212,214,215,217,229,

Mopti

236, 239, 241,212, 243,

Lander. Richard 104

Lapai

lb,

245

Laudt, Jean 34
Lawal, Babatunde 170
leather

Lebeuf.

working 229, 253, 286


J.

P.

35, 37

252

121,

256

207

130

A 122-23
Taiwo 240, 264

F M.

35,

204

/'

OldObo lb,2(
OldOyo 102 S, lb, 96, 97
Old Somonka lb, 125
Olow ol [se 214, 215, 237, 238, 240

24

136

(yMahoney, Father 229


Ona, Thomas 134

Ondo Province 214


115

Onitsha

179

lb,

Onobrakpeya, Bruce 237, 260

Mozambique

Op Art

42, 129

la,

Orisha Iko cult 158, 166

140

Kenneth

149

Opobo lb, 126, 127


Oran 42, 52, 25

191

Mugabe 129
Mukomberanwa, Nicholas 263
lb,

169, 253,

126, 127, 129,

river

Old Calabar

Morocco 53

Mumuye

lb,

Olbrechts,

127

19, 25,

Mpongwe

954, 256
//'.

Ogboni 157, 231, 241,


Ogluamien, Chief 126,

Olaniyi,

246

Monomotapa
Montol 205

37

section of Ife 73,

Lajoux, '-D. 28

'46

'

Olatunde, Ashiru 2

Modigliani,

L'Abri Lancusi 50

OJO, G.J,

61, 225, 25,

-> 1

25, la

//',

Ogowe

25

Mbour 96,
McEwen, Frank 238, n,
Meko lb, 45
Mende94, 221, la, 56

66, lb

u.l

241

Odo Owa
Ogbomosho

Ogoni

1-7,

Mauss, Marcel to

35,85, 113

38, 83, 182, 205, 236, lb,

Matisse. Henri

la

Kroeber, A. L. 3

23

160,

91

Kran 165 66

Lagos

>.

96

Mbari Ml.

Kurumba

160-63, 16

to,

17,

Kongo, Kingdom of 225

Kuchamfa

88, 191, 197, 900, 911, 918,

Kong

9,

17.

179

Mbafu

172.

Kolb, Pete. 91
1

Obo-Kkm

16,

25

n's

Kissi 94, 161

Obatala 243,

129,
I

King of Benin

Ockiya, King 83, 69

to,

93

II,

Obalufon t6

19

masks

/ /

25

Khami Hums

25, 101

Obaloran, Chief 158, 166

Kawara

lb,

Oba Akenzua

131

lb,

Masai

Ketu

Nvero

19

Kane Kwei, Samuel 255


2.5,

55

76. 94,

Nyendael, David van 99. 102, 104

13

Mareea, Pieter de 97,

121,

fis.

22

17.
"

Nvani

in,

Kane Kwei 253-55, 987

16, 60,

10,

13-15. 162
figures

Mangbetu /./.
Mansa Miis;i

/77, 176

Kenya

229, 245, 252. lb,

Malh 88

State 64

Kalahari Desert

22().

64-65, 66, 68-72, 112, 152,

19, 38,

Nubia

106

MaKonde

Kalahari [jo W, 160, 161, 162, 166,


//>,

205,

1.

nomoh

lb,

Mali Empire 88,

Kaduna

18, 150, 158,

19. 28. 35. 38, t8, 64, 69,

Madagascar 10

Maillol. Anstidr 3

132

lb, 39,

114

lb, 25,

Magbwe, Uwi 196

25

106

Ins 158, lb,

Jukun

73, 83, 89,

1,

17. 12

lb.

Ham

Uweinat

Niger river
163. 18

12

Luschan,

Mada

Jebel

161, 165-66, 170, 176, la, 172,

Niger
4/, 12

253, /S/, 7S2

5^

250

2.2'j,

Lugard, Lord

tun forest 25, 96

Jaba,

15,31

Nguni 129

193

la,

14-

la, .15

195

19

la,

Lowie, R.H. 31

Lozi

>.

Loyer, Godefroy 95

940

Yemoo69, 45

Ivory Coast 25,

Naletale 129, 25, 124

Lower Niger Bronze Industries

///, //2, 115-17, 120, 24/.


Ita

Leonardo da Vinci 26

Los, Isles of 94

201-203

lb,

1,

102

25,

Nakapapula 56, 25

Lome

252

64,

H. 35

Lemaire 95-97

Lobi

48

257, 23<5,

4,

Nag'ed Deir

121

.,

Nachikufu 25

Lem,

F.

Nachikufan complex 55-56

12

Leins, Michel 34, 40

Ix'vallois-Mousterian compl<

49

lb, 120, :-7i

um

Oro 2
Oshamuko
1

38, 154, 160

205

209, 212, 234,

235

271

Si

Othogbo

van Beek, Walter 37

206

Hoy 205, 223 24,247

Sieber,

Oahun

On

.rin j

II.

1.

961

Owerri

Leone

Siroto,

Leon

s\i

fathers

Smith,

ISO

lb,

Sierra

56

229

12,

135,

96, 97,

lb,

105-06

236

Son 206, 209

976

Songhay

I'.

!.

ir.

Perry

I'.i.

i.

\\

Stow, G.

Pitt-Rivers,

Pleistot ene,

25

10,

105 06

881

PktMO, Pablo 3
IV ton. John 73,

186, 238, 83,

l.

190,206,219, 70

182,

Lane-Fox

II

220

30,

84

M.

B. 41,

Volta riser lis,

Wadi pjeral

15

Strother, Z. S. 220-21

Walker, Roslyn 215

Wamba

171-90

162,

Sumerians 57

169

//'.

Welsh, Janus

36, 117, 220, 25

77

Wenger, Susanne 2 40-43, 269

White Lady of the Brandenberg

Swithenbank 122

Whitty, Anthony 127

Rro society 23, 176, 181, 1x2

Switzerland 83

Wieckmann

Portugal 76, 225

Sydow, Eckart von 35

Willcox, A. R. 57

collection 77. ',7-59, 61

Willett, Frank 219

Portuguese 61, 76-77, 177


Taforalt 53

Windhoek

Tamar Hat 52-53

Wingert, Paul

primitive arl 26 28

Tame

Wissler, Clark 3

proportions S3, 150-52

Tanzania

proverb pot-lids 154-56, 164

Taruga 6465,

pottery 29, 32, 51, 56, 122, 127, 251,

988

944, 881,

I'nissm, Labelle

pygmies

12,

Read,C

II

Ling

Rubin,

Rubin,

223,

US

1,

i.

206-09, 230, 231

98

73,

Temne

77, la

Tenere

nold 89

Thompson, Robert
Timbuktu

i-..

106

12,

Sakiwa

hi

is

Tributsc

19,

116

Tripoli

de Sautuola it
I

Schmidt

280

19, 25,

h,

116

lb,

223,

mil S3, 70

JJ7,

an

s.

gongt
!

Sherbn

ven 2

Si

'him. u

fnderwi

Ipper

Irhobo

13.

(6,

n.i

K),

J<

15. 146,

1.

58-61,

147. 169,

959

i,i 13-38, 940,

'<-.

967,

280

1(>.

155, 17 J

.///,/

//>.

in

l<>,

964

Congo

Li

Zambia

Zulu

Zimbabwe. Great 127

12.

Zana 64, //'. ///. 112


Zimbabwe 56, 129, 258,

ulpture

170. 171.

Zambesi 9-10,

unisia

16,

70. 94. 96. 97. 119.


1

-' 1

IS, 16. 4.5. 53, 49.

//>.

Zaire

95

rurnbull, Colin 25

224

\ in. is

83, 103,

182, 195, 197, 198, 203, 209,

943,

Tucker, Reeve 21
I

18, 40, 48, 68

134, 135.

ISO, 162

Ms

Yoruba

65-67,

49-50

Trowell, Margaret 32,40, 106,

ii

39

206-09, SIS, 232

195,

!'_',

lb,

121, 122. 148, 154, 156, 161, 170,

73, 195, 197

202, 203,

1(),

Togo 10
Tompieme

/.

Ti\ 68,

Zimbabwe

Salisbury,

42,

Wolfe, Alvin

223, 253,

Titerast-n'-Elias

1.

35

Vituwo 193

Tibesti 47, 25

10,

25,

Yacuba 170

89

259, 273, 275, 279,

8, 9,
i

9,

25

11,

131

S. 35,

165-66, 170, la

Wukari

50

Tellem

25

Worringer, Wilhelm 30

textiles 229, 240, 24-2-43, 245, 247-1-9,

Ryder, Alai

Sahara

Wobe

30-32

25, 28,

55,

Witteberge

lb

Tempels, Fr Placide
42-55, 225

it;,

25

16, 60, 129,

Tassili 42, 47-48, 49-50, 52, 66, 138,

10, ia

K. H. 127

rock, painting
II

is,

kobinson,

Hoth,

10,

15, 19,

i-

t.">

-'-'

19

Walker. N

1,

anil Jan

:'

30

W 54

Sudan 10-1

Frans

Strabo 5

style

283

Vollard, Ambr>

Summers, Roger 127

Ipper 56

Vlaminck, Maurice

25

19,

Stolpe, Hjalniar

Phillips, Kuth

Vissers, Fathers

23,

heco 76, B9, 93

Phillipp Cav<

wmdo u

Visona,

Starkweather, Frank 160-61

>enis<

Lake

Victoria,

25

Stanley Falls
r.iuliiii

34-35

Vinnicombe, Patricia

(it),

165-66, 169,

L. 35,

P. J.

TO, 17(i. lsT. 193, 195

Victoria Falla <>-io, 25

Soku 158
Somalia

Vatter, K.

/.>u

198,

Elliot

(i.

Vandenhoute,

68, 76, 176, 55,

->f>,

lb.

13

n. 9.

25,

263

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

lllllllllllllll
3 9999 04710 794 9
1

Mninw

iTHE PROPERTY

ft&

PUBLIC LIBRAE-

BAKER & TAYLOR

world of art

Frank Willett

and

il

African Art

al art

"Transcends the discipline of

modern and

art history to

indispensable part of the history of the


world

art

mankind."
design

Scientific

become an

skills

and ideas

"An exemplary study." - Journal of Asian and

graf.

of

American
.

If

man

Iff airs

photography

"The

decorative arts

finest general introduction to African art."

- The Times Literary Supplement

performing arts
^nce

Frank Willett's

classic study reveals the astonishing variety

and expressive power of the art of a continent that contains

more

distinct peoples

and cultures than any other. This new

edition has been updated throughout, incorporating the latest

discoveries and additional illustrations, plus an illustrated

guide to recent research and an extended bibliographv.

It

remains an invaluable resource for students and for anyone


interested in African art.

Third edition

On

the covet

Maiden

spurt

mask,

Mmwo Ogbegu
Nigerian

(detail)

Museum,

Lagos

Printed in Singapore

695

^
LP

-r

ID

n
o

^^

in

imes & Hudson World of art

cc

en

O
=
co

CD

You might also like