AFRICA BEFORE 1800 GARDner chapter 15-1 pp. 393-399

AFRICAN ART BEFORE 1800 - BACKGROUND Core beliefs and practices Africans believe that ancestors never die and can be addressed Sense of family and respect for elders Worshipping nature deities Elevating rulers to sacred status Many African sculptures are representations of ancestors -> carved to venerate their spirits Fertility of the individual and the land is highly regarded Great ancient civilizations in Nubia, Egypt, and Carthage dominated North Africa African kingdoms came and went with regularity

PREHISTORY – ROCK ART Thousands of rock engravings and paintings found at hundreds of site across the African continent Painted animals from the Apollo 11 Cave in southwestern Africa -> perhaps 25,000 years old Greatest concentrations of rock art Sahara Desert to the north The Horn of Africa in the east Kalahari Desert to the south Caves and rock outcroppings in the southern Africa Depictions of animals and humans in many different positions and activities

TASSILI N’AJER Running horned woman, rock painting from Tassilin’Ajjer, Algeria, 6000-4000 BCE One of the finest and earliest examples of rock art -> thousands of years older than the first African sculptures Depicts a running woman with body paint, raffia skirt, and horned headgear Ceremonial attire -> apparently in a ritual context

ART AND LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA Relationships between leaders and art forms -> strong, complex, and universal in Africa Leaders have the power and wealth to command artists and material Adornment Home furnishing Projection of power Dispensing of art Exclusive prerogative of use Durable and costly materials Draw attention to superior status Handheld objects extend reach and magnify gestures Regalia and implements Arts that leaders control create pageantry, mystery, and spectacle

(167-1) Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe, CONICAL TOWER, southeastern Zimbabwe, Shona peoples, c. 1000-1400 C.E., coursed granite blocks Zimbabwe derives from a Shona term meaning “venerated houses” or “houses of stone” Prosperous trading center and royal complex Stone enclosure, probably a royal residence Conical tower modeled on traditional shapes of grain silos -> control over food symbolized wealth, power, and royal largesse

The most famous southern African site -> The Great Zimbabwe empire had a wide trade network -> gold, ivory, skins exchanged for porcelain, beads, and manufactured goods

GREAT ZIMBABWE – CIRCULAR WALL (167-2) Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe, CIRCULAR WALL, southeastern Zimbabwe, Shona peoples, c. 1000-1400 C.E., coursed granite blocks Walls – 800 feet long, 32 feet tall, 17 feet thick at base Walls slope inward toward the top Internal and external passageways are tightly bounded, narrow, and long Watch the Khan Academy video

11th to 18th CENTURIES – DEJENNE TERRACOTTAS Archer, from Djenne, Mali, 13th to 15th century, terracotta Djenne terracottas present a striking contrast from the Ile-Ife sculpture from Nigeria This archer is thin with tubular limbs and an elongated head with a prominent chin, bulging eyes, and large nose Read handout on Great Mosque, Djenne

(168-1)Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, founded 1200 C. E (168-1)Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, founded 1200 C.E.; rebuilt 1906-1907 C.E., adobe Located in present day Mali, on the inland floodplain of the Niger River Largest mud-brick mosque in the world First built in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1906-1907 after a fire Resembles a Middle Eastern mosque in plan (large courtyard next to a roofed prayer hall), but the construction materials – adobe and wood – are distinctly African Three tall towers, one in the center is the mihrab Crowning ornaments have ostrich eggs -> symbols of fertility and purity GREAT MOSQUE, DJENNE

MONDAY MARKET AT THE GREAT MOSQUE OF DJENNE (168-2)Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, founded 1200 C.E.; rebuilt 1906-1907 C.E., adobe Made of adobe = a baked mixture of clay and straw Torons = wooden beams projecting from walls Wooden beams act as permanent ladders for the maintenance of the building -> occurs in an annual festival Vertical fluting drains water off the surfaces quickly

AFRICA BEFORE 1800 GARDNER 15-2 pp. 399-405

BENIN – QUEEN MOTHER IVORY This ivory head probably portrays Idia, mother of a Benin king Oba Esigie, who wore it on his waist Above Idia’s head are alternating Portuguese heads and mudfish, symbols, respectively of trade and of Olokun, god of the sea

(169-1) Wall plaque, from Oba’s palace, Edo peoples, Benin (Nigeria), 16th century C.E., cast brass 900 brass plaques produced; between 16-18 inches Decorated walls of royal palace in Benin - > show aspects of court life Oba (king) believed to be direct descendant of Oranmiyan, the legendary founder of the dynasty Only the Oba was allowed to be shielded in the way depicted on the plaque Hierarchical proportions: largest figure was the greatest Symbols of high rank are emphasized; stepping on a fallen leader Lost wax process; high relief sculpture

(169-2) Wall plaque, from Oba’s palace, CONTEXTUAL PHOTOGRAPH: OBA OF BENIN, Edo peoples, Benin (Nigeria), 16th century C.E., cast brass Read handout on Wall plaque, from Oba’s palace

The Golden Stool is the royal and divine throne of the Ashanti people The Golden Stool is the royal and divine throne of the Ashanti people. According to legend, Okomfo Anokye, High Priest and one of the two chief founders of the Asante Confederacy, caused the stool to descend from the sky and land on the lap of the first Asante king, Osei Tutu. Such seats were traditionally symbolic of a chieftain's leadership, but the Golden Stool is believed to house the spirit of the Asante nation— living, dead and yet to be born.

(170-1) Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool), Ashanti peoples (south central Ghana), c. 1700 C.E., gold over wood and cast-gold attachments Symbol of the Ashanti nation -> held in Ghana Contains the soul of the nation Never actually used as a stool; never allowed to touch the ground New king is raised over the stool; he alone is allowed to touch it; carried to the the king on pillow Taken out on special occasions Entire surface inlaid with gold Bells hang from the side to warn the king of danger War of the Golden Stool, March-Sept. 1900 -> the British Governor of the Gold Coast demanded to be allowed to sit on the stool -> causes rebellion -> British annex the Ashanti

170-2. Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool), CONTEXTUAL PHOTOGRAPH, Ashanti peoples (south central Ghana), c. 1700 C.E., gold over wood and cast-gold attachments