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In contrast to sculptures from West Africa, which have been appreciated by European artists and collectors such as Picasso, Braque and Apollinaire since the beginning of the 20th century, there had been a prevailing judgement based on art exhibitions and ethnological literature that East Africa was poor in traditional African art. [10]
The Nubian Kingdom of Kush in modern Sudan was in close and often hostile contact with Egypt, and produced monumental sculpture mostly derivative of styles to the north. In West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the Nok culture which thrived between 500 BC and 500 AD in modern Nigeria, with clay figures typically with elongated bodies and angular shapes. [3]
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 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 ...
African art includes prehistoric and ancient art, the Islamic art of West Africa, the Christian art of East Africa, and the traditional artifacts of these, and other regions. Many African sculptures were historically made of wood and other natural materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago, although rare older ...
Makonde art is an integration of dated practices of woodwork met with a demand of woodcarving of the modernized world. After the introduction of road systems in the plateaus between Tanzania and Mozambique by Portuguese troops during World War I, the traditional sense of the practice began to shift to meet new social and economical demands. [3]
Like most West African "bronzes" the piece is actually made of copper alloyed with other metals, described by the British Museum as "heavily leaded zinc-brass".Modern practice in museums and archaeology is increasingly to avoid terms such as bronze or brass for historical objects in favour of the all-embracing "copper alloy". [4]
The Jordanian art historian, Wijdan Ali has argued that the traditional Islamic aesthetic evident in craft-based work was displaced by the arrival of colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East. [6] However, in the decolonised period of the 20th-century, a contemporary art form combining tradition and modern influences can be observed. [7]