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Mask from Gabon Two Chiwara c. late 19th early 20th centuries, Art Institute of Chicago.Female (left) and male, vertical styles. Most African sculpture from regions south of the Sahara was historically made of wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago, while older pottery figures are found from a number of areas.
Unlike earlier and more limited presentations of traditional art from Tanganyika, the exhibition and catalogue emphasized the exhibition's wide scope and artistic quality, countering the opinion of art critics that East African artworks were only few and of lower quality compared with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. [2]
The metal pieces were made using lost-wax casting and are considered among the best African sculptures made using this technique. [21] Benin began to trade ivory, pepper, and slaves [ 22 ] with the Portuguese in the late 15th century and incorporated the use of manillas (brass ingots in the form of bracelets, bought from the Portuguese) as a ...
Central Zimbabwe contains the "Great Dyke" – a source of serpentine rocks of many types including a hard variety locally called springstone.An early precolonial culture of Shona peoples settled the high plateau around 900 AD and “Great Zimbabwe”, which dates from about 1250–1450 AD, was a stone-walled town showing evidence in its archaeology of skilled stone working.
The Memorial Head or Nsodie is a type of ceramic portrait sculpture of the Akan peoples, believed to have been created in the 17th and 18th centuries by female artists to depict royal personages. Examples are held in major collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. [1] [2]
African art is produced using a wide range of materials and takes many distinct shapes. Because wood is a prevalent material, wood sculptures make up the majority of African art. Other materials used in creating African art include clay soil. Jewelry is a popular art form used to indicate rank, affiliation with a group, or purely aesthetics. [16]
In the period around 800CE the artists at Ife developed a refined and naturalistic sculptural tradition in terracotta, stone and copper alloy—copper, brass, and bronze— many of which appear to have been created under the patronage of King Obalufon II, the man who today is identified as the Yoruba patron deity of brass casting, weaving and regalia.
Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria Sculpture from the Ife state using a lost-wax casting technique, Nigeria, late 11th-14th century. Cast bronzes are known to have been produced in Africa by the 9th century AD in Igboland in Nigeria, the 12th century AD in Yorubaland and the 15th century AD in the kingdom of Benin. Some portrait heads remain. [16]