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AP Art History: Africa

memorize.ai (lvl 286)

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Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe

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Mar 1, 2020

Cards (14)

Section 1

(14 cards)

Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe

Front

Location: Southeastern Zimbabwe Artists: Shona peoples Time Period: 1000-1400 C.E Materials: Coursed granite blocks Facts: The ruins of Great Zimbabwe - the capital of the Queen of Sheba, according to an age-old legend - are a unique testimony to the Bantu civilization of the Shona between the 11th and 15th centuries. The city, which covers an area of nearly 80 ha, was an important trading center and was renowned from the Middle Ages onward.

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Wall plaque, from Oba's palace

Front

Location: Benin (Nigeria) Artist: Edo peoples Time Period: 16th Century C.E Material: Cast Brass Facts: This plaque shows an Oba surrounded by his attendants, two of whom are depicted holding up their shields in a formal protective stance. Only the Oba was allowed to be shaded in this way within the city.

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Female (Pwo) Mask

Front

Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo Artist: Chokwe peoples Time Period: late 19th to early 20th century C.E Materials: Wood, fiber, pigment, and metal Facts: his work is an outstanding example of Pwo, a classic Chokwe mask genre that honors founding female ancestors. Such representations are especially significant given that the Chokwe trace descent through their mothers' lines. Pwo's joint performance with her male counterpart, Cihongo, brings fertility and prosperity to a community. The cultural ideals of these two iconic representations developed during the precolonial period continue to inspire contemporary artists in the region.

Back

Ikenga (shrine figure)

Front

Location: Nigeria Artists: Igbo peoples Time Period: 19th to 20th century C.E Material: Wood Facts: This personal shrine reflects the great value the Igbo place on individual achievement. Personal shrines are created in the form of figures known as ikenga to honor the power and skills of a person's right hand, as the right hand holds the hoe, the sword, and the tools of craftsmanship. The basic form of an ikenga is a human figure with horns symbolizing power, sometimes reduced to only a head with horns on a base.

Back

Ndop (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul

Front

Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo Artist: Kongo people Time Period: 1760- 1780 C.E Material: Wood Facts: Ddop Mishe miShyaang maMbul records King Mishe's reign for posterity and solidified his accomplishments amongst the pantheon of his predecessors.

Back

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

Front

Location: Olowe of Ise Artists: Yoruba peoples Time Period: 1910- 1914 C.E Materials: Wood and Pigment Facts: Elaborate beaded crowns are worn by rulers throughout the Yoruba kingdom. This beautiful example was one of several that once belonged to the king of Idowa, a town in southwestern Nigeria. Crowns symbolize the inner head or spiritual essence of a Yoruba king, a notion suggested by the common motif of beaded faces that appear on either side of this crown. Faces may also imply a link between a ruler and past kings, who are influential ancestors. The veil of beads lends mystery to the king and guards others from his potent gaze. The flock of birds can be interpreted in many ways, all suggesting that no man can rule without cooperation and support.

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Portrait Mask (Mblo)

Front

Location: Cote d'Ivorie Artist: Baule peoples Time Period: Early 20th century C.E Materials: Wood and Pigment Facts: The mask is exceptional for its nuanced individuality, highly refined details, powerful presence, and considerable age. It is especially appealing for its unusual depth that affords strong three-quarter views. The broad forehead and downcast eyes are classic features associated with intellect and respect in Baule aesthetics. The departure from a rigidly symmetrical representation suggests an individual physiognomy. The expression is one of intense introspection. Its serenity is subtly animated by two opposing formal elements: the flourishes of the coiffure and beard at the summit and base.

Back

Power Figure (Nkisis n'kondi)

Front

Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo Artist: Kongo peoples Time Period: late 19th century Materials: Wood and metal Facts: Sacred medicines and divine protection are central to the belief of the BaKongo peoples (Democratic Republic of Congo). The BaKongo believe that the great god, Ne Kongo, brought the first sacred medicine (or nkisi) down from heaven in an earthenware vessel set upon three stones or termite mounds.

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Sika Dwa Kofi (Golden Stool)

Front

Location: South Central Ghana Artist: Ashanti peoples Time Period: 1700 C.E Materials: Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments Facts: The Golden Stool was said to have been delivered from the sky by the priest Okomfo Anokye to land on the knees of the first Asantehene, Opuku Ware I, in the late 17th century. This stool houses the soul of the Asante nation and is the supreme symbol of the kingdom. Attached to the stool are one gold and two brass bells (not seen in the image), which announce its presence, and four gold enemies (seen just below the stool) representing defeated enemies of the Asante

Back

Bundu Mask

Front

Location: West African Forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia Artists: Sande Society, Mende peoples Materials: Wood, Cloth, and Fiber Facts: The mask presents an ideal of feminine beauty admired by the Mende: elaborate hairstyle, full forehead and small facial features. The gleaming surface signifies healthy, glowing skin. The swelling fleshy rolls alternating with deep incised lines at the neck or back of the head are considered marks of beauty and a promise of fecundity. The neck is broad to fit over the head of the woman who will wear it.

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Great Mosque of Djenne

Front

Location: Mali Artist: Unknown Time Period: Founded c. 1200 C.E ~rebuilt in 1906-1907 Facts: It was a great center of commerce, learning, and Islam, which had been practiced from the beginning of the 13th century. As one of the wonders of Africa, and one of the most unique religious buildings in the world, the Great Mosque of Djenné, in present-day Mali, is also the greatest achievement of Sudano-Sahelian architecture (Sudano-Sahelian refers to the Sudanian and Sahel grassland of West Africa).

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Reliquary Figure (byeri)

Front

Location: South Cameroon Artists: Fang peoples Time Period: 19th to 20th century C.E Material: Wood Facts: The Fang figure, a masterpiece by a known artist or workshop, has primarily been reduced to a series of basic shapes—cylinders and circles. The legs and hips are conceived as the intersection of two perpendicular cylinders, echoing the cylindrical reliquary box on which the figure sat. The small Nsapo-Nsapo work and the Chamba figure take the abstraction of the human form even further by greatly exaggerating the proportions. The Nsapo-Nsapo example's stretched arms and the Chamba sculpture's outsized hands suggest different emotional states for these two protective figures—a tense anxiety, perhaps, in one and a lumbering aggression in the other.

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Aka Elephant Mask

Front

Location: Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region) Artists: Unknown Time Period: 19th and 20th century C.E Materials: Wood, woven raffia, cloth, and beads Facts: The mask's lavish use of colored beads and cowrie shells displayed the wealth of the members of the Kuosi society; and its colors and patterns expressed the society's cosmic and political functions. Cowrie shells are also symbols of wealth and power and were used in the some examples of these masks.

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Lukasa (Memory Board)

Front

Location: Democratic Republic of Congo Artist: Mbudye Society, Luba peoples Time Period: 19th to 20th century C.E Materials: Wood, beads, and metal Facts: Lukasa, or memory boards, are hand-held wooden objects that present a conceptual map of fundamental aspects of Luba culture. They are at once illustrations of the Luba political system, historical chronicles of the Luba state, and territorial diagrams of local chiefdoms. Each board's design is unique and represents the divine revelations of a spirit medium expressed in sculptural form. While many lukasa utilize a system of denotation based on masses of shells and beads affixed to their wooden surfaces, this example communicates its content through incised designs and images carved in relief.

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