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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.
In his article, Georges Meurant, collector, author of studies on African art and former professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium, discusses the mostly small-format sculptures made of wood or clay of the ethnic groups south of the Kenyan border in the north-eastern part of the country. [28]
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.
Based on evidence from the sites of Nok archaeological culture, such as considerable quantities of charcoal layered among Nok sculptures, goods (e.g., technically crafted ceramics, numerous stone-beaded necklaces) found in burial pits that support the view of them serving as grave sites, difference in soil coloring of burial pits and their ...
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.
The origins of African art lie long before the recorded history. The region's oldest known beads were made from Nassarius shells and worn as personal ornaments 72,000 years ago. [6] In Africa, evidence for the making of paints by a complex process exists from about 100,000 years ago [7] and of the use of pigments from around 320,000 years ago.
Whether the original statues were intended to be purely ornamental or also served a ritual function is also debated by anthropologists. [ 5 ] Among the notable artists who worked in the style was the Nigerian Thomas Ona Odulate ( fl. 1900-50) whose works are widely exhibited in museums in the United States and Europe.