Vintage Wooden Woman Tribal African Wood Carved Bust Head Statue Figure Signed For Sale

Vintage Wooden Woman Tribal African Wood Carved Bust Head Statue Figure
Signed Tony on the bottomHand CarvedSize7\" Tall x 4\" Deep x 3\" WideNice Condition - Item has some minor wear and age. Due to age there are some natural imperfections on wood. This is a amazing piece with lots of great details.Please review all the pictures to see the condition of the item being sold.Thanks for looking!

About African Art
African art, the visual arts of native Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, including such media as sculpture, painting, pottery, rock art, textiles, masks, personal decoration, and jewelry.For more general explorations of media, see individual media articles (e.g., painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile). For a discussion of the characteristics, functions, and forms of masks, see mask. The architecture of Africa is treated in a separate article; see African It is difficult to give a useful summary of the main characteristics of the art of sub-Saharan Africa. The variety of forms and practices is so great that the attempt to do so results in a series of statements that turn out to be just as true of, for example, Western art. Thus, some African art has value as entertainment; some has political or ideological significance; some is instrumental in a ritual context; and some has aesthetic value in itself. More often than not, a work of African art combines several or all of these elements. Similarly, there are full-time and part-time artists; there are artists who figure in the political establishment and those who are ostracized and despised; and some art forms can be made by anyone, while others demand the devotion of an expert. Claims of an underlying pan-African aesthetic must be viewed as highly contentious.Some further general points can be made, however, in regard to the status of precolonial sub-Saharan art. First, in any African language, a concept of art as meaning something other than skill would be the exception rather than the rule. This is not because of any inherent limitation of African culture but because of the historical conditions under which European cultures arrived at their concept of art. The Western separation of fine art from the lowlier craft (i.e., useful skill) came out of a sequence of social, economic, and intellectual changes in Europe that did not occur in Africa before the colonial period at the very earliest. This separation, therefore, cannot be applied without qualification to African traditions of precolonial origin. Philosophers of art in the West might agree that works of art are simply artifacts made with the intention of possessing aesthetic value, and in that sense art, which would include craftwork as well as works of fine art, would indeed be found in all parts of Africa (as indeed it is throughout human culture). But even in this case, African art must be understood through the investigation and understanding of local aesthetic values rather than through the imposition of categories of external origin. It may be a field of well-hoed yam heaps (as, for example, among the Tiv people of Nigeria) or a display ox castrated in order to enhance its visual effect (as among the Nuer and Dinka pastoralists of South Sudan) that constitutes the significant work of art in a given area of Africa.The popular notion of art in the West, however, is very different, for it is thought to comprise masks and very little else—except, perhaps, “local colour.” This misconception has been enhanced by the aforementioned European concept of fine art, but it may have originated in a dependence, during the first period of Western interest in African art, upon collectible artifacts—some of which (pieces of sculpture, for instance) fitted neatly into the category of fine art, while others (such as textiles and pottery) were dismissed as craftwork. Painting in Africa was long presumed not to exist to any significant extent, largely because it was to be found on the skins of human bodies, on the walls of houses, and on rock faces—none of which were collectible. Clearly, the aesthetic field in Africa is not so limited.Another misapprehension is that in the West art is created for art’s sake, while in precolonial Africa art was solely functional. The motive for the creation of any work of art is inevitably complex, in Africa as elsewhere, and the fact that most of the sculpted artifacts known from Africa were made with some practical use in mind (whether for ritual or other purposes) does not mean that they could not simultaneously be valued as sources of aesthetic pleasure.
Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!It is also often assumed that the African artist is constrained by tradition in a way contrasting with the freedom given to the Western artist. But, although there are traditions of art in which the expectations of patrons demand repetition of a set form in African art, there are also traditions of precolonial origin that demand a high level of inventive originality—for example, Asante silk weaving and Kuba raffia embroidery. There are other traditions in which a standard form can be embellished as elaborately as the artist or patron wishes. The important point is that particular traditions encourage creativity.That being said, some general characteristics of African art may be identified. Among these are innovation of form—i.e., the concern on the part of the African artist with innovation and creativity; visual abstraction and conventionalization; a visual combination of balanced composition and asymmetry; the primacy of sculpture; the transformation and adornment of the human body; and a general multiplicity of meaning. It should also be noted that a primary component of traditional African art is performance and assemblage. The combination of music, dance, dress, and bodily ornamentation—as well as sculpture and masks—is frequently what imparts both significance and dynamism to individual art objects.
Style, tribe, and ethnic identityA commonplace of African art criticism has been to identify particular styles according to supposedly tribal names—for example, Asante, Kuba, or Nuba. The concept of tribe is problematic, however, and has generally been discarded. “Tribal” names, in fact, sometimes refer to the language spoken, sometimes to political entities, and sometimes to other kinds of groupings, yet the boundaries between peoples speaking different languages or acknowledging different chiefs do not necessarily coincide with their respective tribal boundaries. Moreover, the very idea of tribe is an attempt to impose identity from the outside. That this happened is understandable, given the demands of colonial administration, but this historical contingency cannot help in understanding the dynamic of stylistic variation in Africa. The sense of identity that individuals and groups undoubtedly have with others, which was misunderstood as “tribe” but which is better referred to as “ethnic identity,” is something that derives from the relationship built up through many different networks: whom one can marry, one’s language and religious affiliations, the chief whose authority one acknowledges, who one’s ancestors are, the kind of work one does, and so forth. Sometimes African art plays a part in this, as when a religious cult or a chief or a guild employs distinctive artifacts as a mark of uniqueness. Sometimes boundaries are based on linguistic differences, but this may be coincidental.As to differences of style, regularities of form and tradition do occur such that it is possible to attribute particular African art objects to particular places, regions, or periods. Four distinct variables make this kind of stylistic identification possible. The first is geography, in that, all other things being equal, people in different places tend to make or do things in different ways. The second is technology, in that in some areas differences of style depend on the material employed. The third is individuality, in that an expert can identify the works of individual artists; inability to do so usually derives from a lack of familiarity. The fourth is institution, in that the creation of works of art takes place under the influence of the social and cultural institutions characteristic of any given location. But artifacts can be traded and then copied; artists themselves can travel; institutions, complete with associated artifacts, can move or spread from one area to another, sometimes because they are copied by a neighbouring people, sometimes because they are purchased, and sometimes as a result of conquest. The end result is a stylistic complexity in African art that defies easy classification. The names previously understood as referring to tribes can continue to be used, however, as convenient shorthand as long as it is realized that they do not all represent equivalent categories. One tribal name may refer to a group numbering no more than a few thousand; another may refer to the language spoken in a given area; yet another may describe an empire comprising peoples of distinct historical identities.
John Picton Janet B. Hess
Sculpture and associated artsAlthough wood is the best-known medium of African sculpture, many others are employed: copper alloys, iron, ivory, pottery, unfired clay, and, infrequently, stone. Unfired clay is—and probably always was—the most widely used medium in the whole continent, but, partly because it is so fragile and therefore difficult to collect, it has been largely ignored in the literature. Small figurines of fired clay were excavated in a mound at Daima near Lake Chad in levels dating from the 5th century bce or earlier, while others were found in Zimbabwe in deposits of the later part of the 1st millennium ce. Both of these discoveries imply an even earlier stage of unfired clay modeling. About the time of these lower levels at Daima (which represent a Neolithic, or New Stone Age, pastoral economy), there was flourishing farther to the west the fully Iron Age Nok culture, producing large, hollow sculptures in well-fired pottery, some of the stylistic features of which imply yet earlier prototypes in wood.Copper-alloy castings using the cire-perdue (“lost-wax”) technique afford evidence of great sculptural achievements from as early as the 9th century ce, when the smiths of Igbo Ukwu (in what is now Nigeria) were casting leaded bronze, which is highly ductile, and smithing copper, which is not. Some three or four centuries later, the smiths of Ife, seemingly unaware that unalloyed copper was not suitable for casting (or perhaps wishing to demonstrate their virtuosity), used it to produce masterpieces such as the seated figure in a shrine at Tada and the so-called Obalufon mask in the Ife Museum. In fact, zinc brasses were used more than unalloyed copper. The largest corpus of this work is from Benin, where zinc brasses were used almost exclusively. These copper-alloy castings, together with pottery sculptures (the traceable history of which goes back even farther), are the main evidence for the early history of sculpture in sub-Saharan Africa.Wrought-iron sculptures are found in a number of traditions, mostly in West Africa, including the Dogon, Bambara, Fon, and Yoruba peoples.Stone sculpture occurs in several separate centres, employing both hard and soft rock, but there is usually not much evidence of a development through time in a single place. Ivory is a highly prized medium in many parts of Africa. Its fine texture makes it suitable for delicate sculpture, while its rarity leads to its employment in many societies for items of great prestige.African wood sculptures are carved with similar tools throughout the continent. An ax may be used to fell the tree, but an adz, with its cutting edge at right angles to the shaft, is used for the substantive work of carving. The skill achieved with this tool is astonishing to the Western observer. Thin shavings can be removed with speed and accuracy, creating a surface (especially when the form is convex) that shows slight facets that catch the light and add to the visual interest. More-intricate work is done with knives. A pointed iron rod heated in the fire may be employed to bore holes in a mask for attachment to the costume and to permit the wearer to see. The surface of the sculpture is sometimes polished with the side of a knife or sanded down with rough leaves. Details are commonly picked out by a method involving charring with a red-hot knife (as among the Ibibio of Nigeria), or the carving is immersed in mud to darken its surface before oiling (as among the Dan people of Côte d’Ivoire).
West AfricaThis analysis divides the visual arts of West Africa into three broad areas: the western Sudan, the Guinea Coast, and Nigeria. This is done partly to enable the reader to comprehend the diversity of styles and traditions within the region, while recognizing that there are themes common to all of the areas.
Western SudanThis is the name conventionally given to the savanna region of West Africa. It is an area dominated by Islamic states, situated at the southern ends of the trans-Saharan trade routes. The sculpture here is characterized by schematic styles of representation. Some commentators have interpreted these styles as an accommodation to the Islamic domination of the area, but this is probably not an adequate explanation, since Islam in West Africa has either merely tolerated or actually destroyed such traditions while exerting other influences.Among the better-known sculptural traditions of the western Sudan are those of the following peoples.
Dogon and Tellem
Observe the Dogon dancers of Mali performing wearing Kanaga masks
Observe the Dogon dancers of Mali performing wearing Kanaga masks
Kanaga masks worn by Dogon dancers of Mali. These masks are traditionally associated with funerary rites to honour deceased relatives and to guide their spirits to the realm of the ancestors.
See all videos for this articleThe Dogon inhabit the Bandiagara escarpment in Mali. Dogon sculpture is intimately linked with spiritual beliefs related to ancestors, both real ancestors and mythic Nommo spirits (primordial ancestors created by the central god, Amma). Figures are made to house the spirits of deceased family members and are placed in family shrines, and masks are used to drive away the spirits of the deceased at the end of the mourning period. About 80 mask types have been developed, and the masks are worn by young adult members of Awa, the men’s masking association. One type of mask, called sirige, has a tall, flat projection above the face (a feature found also in the masks of the neighbouring Mossi and Bobo), which is said to represent a multistory house. The Great Mask, which is never worn and is made anew every 60 years, represents the primordial ancestor who met death while he was in the form of a serpent. Other important masks used in public ceremonies to ensure the passage of the deceased into the realm of the ancestors include the kanaga mask, whose architectonic form represents an array of concepts, animals, and the authority of God; and the satimbe mask, a rectangular face surmounted by the figure of a mythical and powerful woman. The structure of the satimbe mask—its projecting and receding forms—recalls the facades of the mosques of ancient Mali. The Dogon are known for their architecture, including the rounded, organic form of sanctuaries, lineage leaders’ houses adorned with grid patterns symbolizing civilization and order, and men’s meetinghouses (togu na, or “House of Words”).Also found in Dogon territory are what may be the oldest textile fragments in West Africa (dated to the 11th century), establishing a baseline date for the existence of the narrow-band loom in the region, and the oldest wood sculptures in existence (three have been traced by carbon-14 dating to the 15th–17th century ce). They were found in caves in the Bandiagara escarpment. The Dogon attribute them to an earlier population, the Tellem. These figures, usually of simplified and elongated form, often with hands raised, seem to be the prototype of the ancestor figures that the Dogon carve on the doors and locks of their houses and granaries; investigations have confirmed that the Tellem were ethnically a different people from the Dogon, though the art style appears to have been handed on from one people to the other.Bambara dance headdress of wood in the form of an antelope, representing the spirit Chiwara, who introduced agriculture; from Mali. These headdresses, attached to a wickerwork cap, are worn by farmers who, at the time of planting and harvest, dance in imitation of leaping antelope. In the National Museum, Copenhagen. Height 50 cm.The Bambara live in the region around Bamako, the capital of Mali. Their traditions include six male societies, each with its own type of mask. The society known as Ntomo is for young boys before circumcision. The masks associated with Ntomo have a line of vertical projections above the face, signifying beliefs related to human creations. The Tyiwara, an age grade that prepares young men to be husbands and fathers, focuses on agriculture. Its mask uses a headdress representing, in the form of an antelope, the mythical being who taught men how to farm. The Komo is the custodian of tradition and is concerned with all aspects of community life—agriculture, judicial processes, and passage rites. Its masks, which are considered to be enormously powerful, are shaped in an elongated animal form decorated with actual horns of antelope, quills of porcupine, bird skulls, and other objects. Masks of the Kono, which enforces civic morality, are also elongated and encrusted with sacrificial material. The Kore, which challenges immoral authority and hypocritical morality through sexually explicit gestures and buffoonery, once employed masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey, antelope, and horse but now is represented primarily through puppet performances. Ancestor figures of the Bambara clearly derive from the same artistic tradition as do many of those of the Dogon; so also do their sculptures in wrought iron. Such figures are made by blacksmiths, who—because of their skill in transforming material from the earth—are believed to control great amounts of power (nyama).Another art form significant to the Bambara is a textile known as bokolanfini. This cloth, embellished with designs painted in earth, absorbs the nyama released during girls’ initiation excision and is also worn for marriage and burial. Traditionally, bokolanfini patterns served as cues to broader reflections on life; contemporary textiles are created in Bamako and elsewhere solely with fashion in mind.
Djenné-MoptiDjenné and Mopti are two towns situated on the inland delta of the Niger River in Mali. They are notable as centres of the cloth trade and for their architecture (see African architecture). Moreover, in their immediate vicinity many sculptures in pottery of uncertain age have been found. They may have some association with the empires of Ghana and Mali (7th–13th and 13th–16th century, respectively). For all their extensive trade contacts across the Sahara, these medieval empires did not significantly change the basic structure of society in the western Sudan.Senufo kpelie mask, wood, horns, fibre, cotton cloth, feather, metal, sacrificial material, Côte d\'Ivoire, 19th–20th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.The Senufo of northern Côte d’Ivoire produce a rich variety of sculptures, mainly associated with Poro, a society guided by a female ancestral spirit known as “the Ancient Mother.” All adult Senufo men belong to Poro, and the society maintains the continuity of religious and historical traditions. During initiation, young men are instructed through the use of sculptural figures. Some with massive bases are carried in procession by initiates, who swing them from side to side and strike the earth to call ancestral spirits to join the rites. Statues of the Ancient Mother, the spiritual mother of the initiates and the community, are kept in a sacred grove. Several types of mask are used in conjunction with Poro. Kponyugu masks exhibit many variations in name, style, animal references, and symbolism. Their iconography—a composite of a wide range of animals—refers to the origin of the world, to important legends, and to the roles of certain animals in carrying out obligations to ancestors and nature spirits. The kpelie masks, small human faces with delicate features, represent female spirits and encode aspects of Poro knowledge. Both types of masks are involved with initiation and also perform at funerals, where they help encourage the soul of the deceased to move on to the ancestral realm.Women have a parallel initiation society known as Sandogo. The divination shrines of Sandogo contain small sculptures, images of the messenger python (fo), and assorted divination materials. The spirits may order clients to commission and wear brass amulets and jewelry to communicate with spirits and reiterate basic values. Some Sandogo shrines have elaborately carved doors. Senufo artists, particularly in the city of Karhogo, also produce sculptures, brass figures, and textiles for a large tourist market.
Bwa and MossiThe Bwa inhabit northwestern Burkina Faso. Its villages are composed mainly of farmers, smiths, and musicians who also produce textiles and work leather. A religious organization called Do is a major force in Bwa life; Do is incarnated in the leaf mask, in which the masker is entirely covered with vines, grasses, and leaves. Wooden masks embody bush spirits, invoked to benefit humankind and the natural forces on which life depends. Abstract plank masks painted in black, white, and red with high-contrast geometric designs represent cultural order. Some tension exists between Do leaf masks and Bwa wooden masks, as the leaf mask is a more ancient and indigenous mask form.The more numerous Mossi people of Burkina Faso were organized by equestrian invaders in the 15th and 16th centuries. Mossi arts reflect the duality of the original inhabitants and rulers: figural sculptures are owned and used ritually by rulers in political contexts, while masks are owned by farmers and invoke the power of ancestors.
Guinea CoastThe Guinea Coast is the forested region of West Africa, where Islam was not a dominant influence until recent years. Political organizations in the past tended to be small in scale, with government sometimes in the hands of chiefs, sometimes by assemblies of men, and sometimes by secret associations manifesting their attributes in masquerade ceremonies. State systems developed toward the eastern end of the region, particularly in areas inhabited by the Asante (in present-day Ghana; see Asante empire) and Fon (Benin) and in the Yoruba Oyo empire and the Edo kingdom of Benin (Nigeria). These states capitalized on trade both with peoples of the savanna and, from the late 15th century onward, with Europeans.Guinea Coast sculpture displays a greater tendency to naturalistic styles of representation. Some of the best-known traditions of the area are the following.
offeryogo (offerjogo)The offeryogo people of the Bijagós Islands of Guinea-Bissau are known for their striking costumes and masquerades. Large, heavy headdresses portray bulls, swordfish, sharks, hippopotamuses, and crocodiles. The offeryogo also carve hollow cylinders covered with red cloth to house guardian spirits; the sacred object and spirit are known as iran. Many of these cylinders are surmounted with human and animal forms. Carnival in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, is linked to celebrations in the Cape Verde islands and Brazil and is marked by the appearance of papier-mâché costumes representing modern objects and ideas.
BagaLike the neighbouring offeryogo, the Baga, who are descendents of 15th- or 16th-century migrants from the Sudan now occupying the coastal region of Guinea, carve sacred objects. These objects are called tshol. They have cylindrical bases with a birdlike beak. One type of tshol, the a-tshol, refers to wealth, elegance, and leadership and is the supreme authority within the clan. The Baga have a rich tradition of masquerades: the a-muntshol-nga-tsho, a serpentlike being identified with water, fertility, and wealth; the kumbaduba, a heavy wooden mask combining features of various animals and known for its spectacular dance movements; and the contemporary al-B’rak (Buraq), an adaptation of the woman-headed mare believed to have carried the Prophet Muhammad on a mystical flight. The presence of Muslim missionaries led to the suppression of masks like the massive nimba, with its great cantilevered head. The nimba’s head is supported on the upper part of a female torso, carved so as to rest on the shoulders of the wearer, who sees out through a hole between the breasts, his body hidden in raffia fibre. This mask appeared at harvest festivals and other celebrations.
Mende
Mende mask
Mende mask
Wooden mask worn during the ceremony of the Sande, a Mende women\'s secret society, Sierra Leone.The Mende of Sierra Leone are best known for smooth black helmet-shaped masks representing the Sande society, which is responsible for educating girls and initiating them into womanhood. This is one of the few women’s societies on the continent known to use masks. The blackened wooden mask, which represents a water spirit, also signifies the transformation of young girls into beautiful and powerful women. Members of the corresponding male society, Poro, also wear masks, although they are of differing form. Some Poro masks are constructed of leather, fabric, and white raffia; other objects, including wooden tablets inscribed with Qurʾānic verses, may be attached to the headdress. Other masks employ a heavy wooden headdress with a beaked nose, open jaws with jagged teeth, and a crown of feathers. In preparing their rice farms, the Mende often uncovered figures carved in soapstone and known as nomoli, which they set up in shelters to protect the crop. The figures are similar in style and are thought to be similar in date to ivory spoons, boxes, hunting horns, and salt cellars commissioned in the 16th century by Portuguese traders in the adjacent Sherbro area.
Dan-WeThe Dan-We complex of styles is named after two extremes of stylistic variation: the smooth, restrained style of the Dan, the De, and the Diomande and the grotesque style of the We (the Guere, the Wobe, and the Kran), a less-extreme form of which is found among the Kru and the Grebo, who inhabit adjacent regions of Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire. A single carver will produce masks in both of the extreme modes of the range of style. Miniature, easily portable masks, representing and sharing in the power of the larger masks, protect the owner when he is away from home. The carvers also produce the large anthropomorphic rice ladles used to designate the most hospitable woman of a lineage during the harvest feast; chiefs’ staffs; and female figures that seem to be prestige items, as are small figures cast in brass among the Dan and the Kpelle. We women also may perform as masqueraders with bold facial decoration and full raffia costumes, as well as headdresses of shells and fur.
Asante, Fante, and BauleThe Asante region of southern Ghana is a remnant of the Asante empire, which was founded in the early 17th century when, according to legend, a Golden Stool descended from heaven into the lap of the first Asantehene (king), Osei Tutu. The stool is believed to house the spirit of the Asante people in the same way that an individual’s stool houses his spirit after death.The most visible component of Asante art is royal regalia. The success of the Asante empire depended on the trade in gold not only with Europeans at the coast but also with the Muslim north. Gold therefore signified the basis of Asante authority; it covered the handles of state swords, diplomats’ staffs, containers for precious items, and jewelry, as well as the Golden Stool itself. Gold dust also served as Asante currency, and small cast-brass weights—at first geometric and later representational in style, and frequently signifying well-known proverbs—were used to measure it.An Asante chief wearing silk cloth and gold jewelry.Cotton and silk kente cloth of the Akan people, from the Asante region of Ghana, 19th century.Asante weavers developed a style of great technical mastery, which incorporated imported cloth unraveled and rewoven into designs of enormous complexity; a dominant colour in these textiles, known today as kente cloth, is gold. Other arts well known among the Asante include a distinctive royal architecture, with facades deriving from the patterns of Islamic calligraphy; sculptures representing the Queen Mother; funerary vessels and terra-cotta “portrait” heads; and akuaba, wooden figures commissioned and cared for by women who desire a successful pregnancy.The coastal Fante are well known for their distinctive flags, inspired by the flags of colonizers, and for their concrete monuments, both associated with military companies.Baule gold weights are similar to those of the Asante, but the Baule also have types of sculpture that none of the other Akan peoples possess: masks (which, like their low-relief doors, seem to indicate Senufo influence) and standing human figures, apparently sometimes used as ancestor figures. Goli, the most popular Baule masquerade, is danced at funerals as a form of social commentary and as a representation of social hierarchies and oppositions. The goli gbin, for example, a composite of bush cow, antelope, and crocodile, is frightening and aggressive but is also associated with life and continuity. The most-feared masks are the bonu amwin, bush-cow/antelope masks of Mande origin.
FonFon iron image of Gun, the god of iron and war, Dahomey. In the Musée de l\'Homme, Paris. Height 165 cm.The Fon kingdom of Dahomey, with its capital at Abomey (now in Benin), was also founded in the early 17th century. Artists in Abomey were organized into guilds, like the artists of the Asante in Kumasi, and produced pavilions, canopies, umbrellas, and banners embellished with appliqué, as well as images of deities or symbols of state in iron and brass, and empowered sculptural objects known as bo (plural bocio). The exterior walls of the palace were ornamented with painted clay reliefs that celebrated the achievements of the king; royal bocio in the palace were sculptures combining animal and human characteristics that protected against harm and reinforced the king’s power. A significant example is the sculpture of Gu, the god of iron and war, made from sheets of metal. The thrones of Fon kings are similar in form to Asante stools but are much taller and are preserved as the focus of reverence for ancestral kings. Small figures cast in brass, often in groups, are prestige items employed also to decorate royal tombs. Brightly coloured appliqué cloth is used on state umbrellas and chiefs’ caps, as well as banners for the tourist market.
NigeriaThe northern and southern parts of Nigeria can be considered part of the western Sudan and Guinea Coast, respectively; but, because of the wealth of evidence for an artistic tradition of some 2,000 years, it is convenient to consider Nigeria separately.
Nok
Nok pottery head
Nok pottery head
Pottery head found at Nok, Nigeria. In the Jos Museum, Nigeria. Height: 21 cm.The earliest-known sculpture of large size in the Sudan is the ceramic art of the Nok culture, which flourished extensively in northern Nigeria from the 5th century bce into the early centuries ce. These people were the first known manufacturers of iron in western Africa, furnaces at Taruga having been dated between the 5th and early 3rd century bce; they continued, however, to use stone tools. Their sculptures, of well-fired clay, represent animals naturalistically; human figures, however, are depicted with heads that are cylindrical, spherical, or conical. The subtractive technique used to create these objects suggests the presence of a significant woodcarving tradition. The art of Nok indicates the antiquity of many basic canons of West African sculpture, but the precise relationship between ancient and modern forms is obscure.
Daima and SaoNot far from the Nok area but very different in style, at Daima near Lake Chad, small, simple clay animal figures were by the 6th century bce being made by a population of Neolithic herdsmen. A little later they began making animals with more extended legs, and sometime after 1000 ce they started to make animals covered with little spikes. The last are similar to examples found on sites of the Sao culture in the Chari valley, Cameroon, where more elaborate human figure sculptures, thought to represent ancestors and probably spirits, have been found. Carbon-14 dates for these sites range from the 5th century bce to the 18th century ce.Brass figure of an oni (“king”) of Ife, 14th–15th century; in the Museum of Ife Antiquities, Lagos, Nigeria. Height: 46.7 cm.The Yoruba peoples inhabit a large part of southwestern Nigeria. Their art traditions are of considerable antiquity. Excavations at Ife, in central Yorubaland (the site of the creation of the world in some Yoruba myths), have shown that naturalistic sculpture in brass and pottery was being produced sometime between 1100 and 1450 ce. The sculptures may represent royal figures and their attendants, and life-size portrait heads in brass were perhaps used as part of funerary effigies. During this time, Ife appears to have had widespread importance, and the naturalism of its art seems to have influenced the basic development of Yoruba sculptural style. Throughout Yorubaland, human figures are represented in a fundamentally naturalistic way, except for bulging eyes, flat, protruding, and usually parallel lips, and stylized ears. The evolution of these characteristics can be observed in a number of pottery sculptures at Ife, which, on stylistic grounds, are considered to be relatively late.
Within the basic canon of Yoruba sculpture, many local styles can be distinguished, down to the hand of the individual artist. Individual cults too have their own characteristic requirements of form and ethnography. Staffs for Shango, the thunder god, bear the symbol of a double ax. On his altars are placed carved mortars, for the pounding of food in a mortar sounds like thunder; on the wall behind hangs his leather bag, with a motif based on the extensive gesture of a Shango dancer. Because Shango was king of Oyo, largest of the Yoruba kingdoms, his cult is mainly restricted to areas that were once under Oyo domination.
Pair of Yoruba twin figures (ibeji), wood, from Efon Alaye, Nigeria. Height 27.6 cm. The starch-resist dyed cloth is also Yoruba; in the Frank Willett Collection.Typical of Ekiti is the Epa cult, which is connected with both the ancestors and agriculture. The mask proper, roughly globular, has highly stylized features that vary little; but the superstructure, which may be 4 feet (120 cm) or more in height, is often of very great complexity—for example, a king on horseback, surrounded by two tiers of attendant warriors and musicians. The most widely distributed cult is of twins—ibeji—whose birth among the Yoruba is unusually frequent. Their effigies, made on the instructions of the oracle, are among the most numerous of all classes of African sculpture. Carved doors and house posts are found in shrines and palaces and in the houses of important men. Fulfilling purely secular functions are bowls for kola nuts, offered in welcoming a guest; ayo boards for the game, known also as wari, played with seeds or pebbles in two rows of cuplike depressions; and stools, spoons, combs, and heddle pulleys.To the north is Esie, where about 800 sculptures in soapstone were found by the local Yoruba population some centuries ago. Their origin is obscure; they are by no means certainly Yoruba. The city of Owo, to the southeast of Yorubaland near the frontier with the Edo-speaking peoples, developed an art style—indeed, a whole culture—that is a blend of Yoruba and Benin traditions. Ivory carving is especially important, and wooden heads of rams and of humans with rams’ horns are used on ancestral altars. Second-burial effigies, life-size and naturalistically carved in wood, were made during the 20th century but were developed from wickerwork forms such as are still used in Benin and in Igbo towns once under Benin influence. Excavations in 1971 revealed a large number of pottery sculptures that are clearly related to those of Ife but with some Benin features. The site was dated by carbon-14 to about the 15th
Head of an oba, Edo brass sculpture from the court of Benin, Nigeria, 16th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.According to tradition, the kingdom of Benin was founded from Ife, whence, in the late 14th century, knowledge of brass casting may have been introduced into Benin City for the manufacture of commemorative heads for royal altars. These heads have been grouped in stylistic sequence from moderate naturalism through increasing stylization. The brasses also include figures in the round, groups on a common base, and plaques. The rectangular shape of the plaques, their narrative content, and in some cases their attempt at perspective have been attributed to the influence of illustrations in books carried by the Portuguese, who were in contact with Benin from the late 15th century. The technique of brass casting, however, had been introduced at least a century earlier. Bronze bars had been imported, probably from the interior, as early as the 13th century, but these were made into bracelets in Benin City only by smithing and chasing techniques, not by casting. There were certain limitations on the use of brass, and also ivory. Cult objects (such as memorial beads) were made of wood when intended for nonroyal purposes but of brass for the king. Regalia, if made for the king, were of ivory but otherwise of brass. The regalia of the king and chiefs also included coral beads and red cloth, the colour red signifying a mystical threat to the enemies of the kingdom. Wood was used for staffs commemorating ancestors, and these were placed on their altars. Pottery heads were made for shrines in the brass casters’ quarter, and life-size groups of royal figures in mud are still made for the cult of Olokun, divinity of the sea and of wealth.Outside Benin City the Edo peoples live in villages that have many localized cults of nearby topographical features and of founder heroes. The ekpo masquerade, occurring to the south and east of Benin, is performed by the warrior age group in ceremonies to purify the village ritually and to maintain health. At Ughoton, to the southwest of Benin, a different type of mask is used, in the cult of the water spirit Igbile. Both the cult and the sculptural style seem to have derived from the Ijo.A number of bronze castings found in Benin have been tentatively classified as the lower-Niger bronze industries. They include pieces from Tada and Jebba in the region now inhabited by the Nupe people, who regard them as relics associated with their own mythical ancestor, and other pieces from various parts of the delta of the Niger River.
IjoThe Niger delta is occupied by Ijo fishermen, whose masks for the cults of the water spirits are made in the form of aquatic animals, especially the hippopotamus and crocodile. The western Ijo use ejiri figures, in which the head of the household is represented upon a highly schematic quadruped that is said to represent the guardian spirit of the family. Similar objects are made by the Edo-speaking Urhobo, to the north of the Ijo, where they are used in a cult of aggressiveness by the warriors. Among the eastern Ijo, shrines for the water spirits have figures that are often large, though frequently kept hidden. They also have masks, similar to those of the western Ijo, worn by men of the Ekine society. In addition, there are shrines that contain sculptures for the village heroes and ancestors. In some Kalabari communities, rectangular screens are fashioned by carpentry into a low-relief frontal group in which a commemorated ancestor is flanked by supporting figures—much like the king in Benin plaques, by which the screens may have been inspired about two centuries ago. All Ijo sculpture exhibits a four-square schematic style that contrasts starkly with the relative naturalism of surrounding styles, such as those of Yorubaland or Benin.
IgboOn both sides of the Niger, but mainly to the east, live the Igbo. Traditionally they have lived in small and often isolated settlements scattered through the forest. Only on the northern and western edges of the area, under influence from Igala and Benin, are hereditary rulers found. In Igbo society there is strong social pressure toward individual distinction, and men can move upward through successive grades by demonstrating their achievements and their generosity. One of the traditional representations of this was the ikenga, that part of oneself enabling personal achievement, with cult figures representing the attributes of distinction.Leaded bronze ceremonial object, thought to have been the head of a staff, decorated with coloured beads of glass and stone, 9th century, from Igbo Ukwu, Nigeria; in the Nigerian Museum, Lagos. Height 16.8 cm.The lack of overall centralization among the Igbo-speaking peoples has been conducive to the development of a great variety of art styles and cultural practices. The earliest-known sculpture from Igboland is from the village of Igbo Ukwu, where the grave of a man of distinction and a ritual store dating from the 9th century ce contained both chased copper objects and elaborate castings of leaded bronze. The earliest artistic castings from sub-Saharan Africa, these pieces consist of ritual vessels and other ceremonial objects with intricate surface decoration, often small animals and insects represented in the round.
maiden spirit mask
maiden spirit mask
Maiden spirit mask symbolizing beauty and peacefulness, painted wood, southern Igbo Ekpe society, Nigeria; in the Nigerian Museum, Lagos. Height 21.3 cm.A very great variety of masks are found among the Igbo. The masks, of wood or fabric, are employed in a variety of dramas: social satires, sacred rituals (for ancestors and invocation of the gods), initiation, second burials, and public festivals—which now include Christmas and Independence Day. Some masks appear at only one festival, but the majority appear at many or all. Best known are those of the Northern Igbo Mmo society, which represents the spirits of deceased maidens and their mothers with masks symbolizing beauty. Among the Southern Igbo, the Ekpe society, introduced from the Cross River area, uses contrasting masks to represent the maiden spirit and the elephant spirit, the latter representing ugliness and aggression and the former representing beauty and peacefulness. A similar contrast is found in their Okorosia masks, which correspond to the Mmo of the Northern Igbo. The Eastern Igbo are best known for masquerades associated with the Iko okochi harvest festival, in which the forms of the masks are determined by tradition, though the content of the play varies from year to year. Stock characters include Mbeke, the European; Mkpi, the he-goat; and Mba, which appear in pairs, one representing a boy dressed as a girl mimicking the behaviour of a girl, the other representing the girl being satirized.Most impressive are the ijele masks of the Northern Igbo, which are 12 feet (366 cm) high. Consisting of platforms 6 feet (183 cm) in diameter, supporting tiers of figures made of coloured cloth and representing everyday scenes, they honour the dead to ensure the continuity and well-being of the community.Wooden figures are carved for ancestors of both sexes, varying from less than 1 to more than 5 feet (less than 30 to more than 150 cm) in height. Those representing founders of the village are kept in a central shrine and sometimes become patrons of the market. A great many other decorative wooden objects are made, including musical instruments, doors, stools, mirror frames, trays for offering kola nuts to guests, dolls, and a variety of small figures used in divination. Shrines called mbari, which contain elaborate tableaux of painted unfired earth, are made in honour of the earth spirit in villages near Owerri in southern Nigeria. In Igbo communities to the west of the Niger, elaborate pottery groups representing a man and his family are made for the yam cult. There seems to be no tradition of pottery sculpture in other Igbo groups.
IbibioAmong the oldest sculptures of tropical Africa are several hundred ancestor figures, called ekpu, of the Ibibio coastal trade centre of Oron, some of which are thought to date from the late 18th century. They are bearded figures 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm) high and are so individual as to suggest portraiture, despite their schematic style. Oron is one group of Ibibio-speaking villages. As with the Igbo, Ibibio is not a single group but several networks of independent communities, with local unity represented by secret associations and their masquerades. The Ekpo society uses black masks, often of naturalistic appearance and with movable jaws, to maintain social order and propitiate the ancestors; some of these masks represent disease and deformity.
EkoiThe Ekoi peoples (Anyang, Boki, Ejagham, Keaka, and Yako) are best known for their large skin-covered masks, which have two or even three faces, and for their smaller headpieces, which represent a head or an entire figure. The headpieces and masks have metal teeth, inlaid eyes, and frequently pegs to represent hair, which, alternatively, may be carved in elaborate coils. They are used by several masking associations. Found in the northern Ekoi area, around Ikom, are circles of large stones (akwanshi) from 1 to 6 feet (30 to 180 cm) high, carved in low relief to represent human figures. They are thought to be no earlier than the 16th century.
FulaniThe Fulani are in origin nomadic pastoralists who range from Senegal to the Cameroon grasslands. They are particularly known for their body decoration (see below Personal decoration) and for their engraved milk gourds. In addition, in Mali settled groups of Fulani artists work as goldsmiths, leatherworkers, blacksmiths, weavers, and potters.
HausaNorthern Nigeria has long been dominated by the Muslim Hausa, who since the 19th century have been ruled by Fulani emirs. For centuries their buildings have been decorated inside with molded and painted low-relief decorations, which have more recently been applied to the exteriors. Both decorative and of a high technical standard are their crafts: leatherwork for saddles, bags, hilts, and sheaths; gold and silver jewelry; ironwork; pottery; weaving; and embroidery.
NupeThe Nupe have been Muslim for some centuries and are best known for their weaving, embroidery, beadmaking, wood carving, and sheet metalwork. They have produced many doors carved in low relief in a blend of decorative designs. Carved and painted masks are made for the elo, a purely secular performance intended only to entertain (nowadays held on the Prophet’s birthday). The elo mask has a human face with a motif (sometimes a human figure) rising above it, flanked with stylized horns. The gugu masquerader wears a cloth mask decorated with cowrie shells, but sometimes Yoruba masks are used. The ndako gboya appears to be indigenous; a spirit that affords protection from witches, it is controlled by a small secret society that cleanses communities by invitation. The mask consists of a tall tube of white cotton supported inside on a bamboo pole about 12 feet (366 cm) long.That Nupe art should have been influenced by the Yoruba is not surprising. Yoruba live among the Nupe, and there are bronzes in the Nupe villages of Tada and Jebba—one of them apparently an Ife work and another in a more recent Yoruba style. Others of this group, which include the largest castings ever made in sub-Saharan Africa, share features with Benin sculpture and have other elements that are widely distributed in time and space on the lower Niger. Nupe tradition says these sculptures were taken from Idah, the Igala capital, in the early 16th century. Many were probably already ancient, but nothing is known of ancient Igala bronze casting.
Other groups in northern NigeriaThere is a great diversity of sculptural tradition among peoples inhabiting the Niger and Benue valleys, the mountainous regions around the Jos Plateau in the centre of the area, and Adamawa to the east. This is altogether an area of astonishing diversity. Some of the better-known traditions include those of the Igala, the Idoma, the Afo, the Tiv, and the Jukun, all of the Benue valley.
Central Africa
Cameroon grasslandsBamum king\'s beaded throne, Cameroon grasslands; in the Ethnological Museum, Berlin. Height 83.2 cm.The Cameroon grasslands area can be divided into three stylistic regions. The Bamileke area is composed of a number of separate chiefdoms, the best-known ones being the Bangwa and the Bacham. Here sculptured human figures are composed of a highly expressive blend of rounded and angular forms. The Bamum kingdom developed roundness of form almost to its extreme, producing figures with big inflated cheeks. Among the Tikar, the Bekom, and the Babanki, the forms are rounded but not exaggerated. Throughout the grasslands there have been exchanges of art objects and diffusion of the brass-casting technique, confusing the more-detailed stylistic picture. In general, however, all of these societies are hierarchical, with sculpture mainly intended to reflect the power and importance of the king.
Frank Willett John Picton
GabonThree major groups live in the equatorial rainforests of Gabon: the Fang and related peoples; the Ogowe (Ogooué) group, including the Ashira and the Mpongwe; and the Kota.Fang masks and figures are characterized by schematic simplicity. Typical of Fang work are bieri, boxes containing the skulls and bones of deceased ancestors and carved with figures intended to represent their protective influence. Fang masks, such as those worn by itinerant troubadours and for hunting and punishing sorcerers, are painted white with facial features outlined in black.The art of the Ogowe tribes, particularly the Mpongwe, is closely tied to death rituals. Their masks, painted white to symbolize death, represent dead female ancestors, though they are worn by male relatives of the deceased.The Kota create stylistically unique reliquary figures, called mbulu-ngulu, which are covered with a sheet of brass or copper. Like the Fang, the Kota keep the skulls and bones of ancestors in containers, which consist here of a basket surmounted by the carved figure.
Congo (Kinshasa) and Congo (Brazzaville)Lega iginga figure (an initiation object), wood with plastic beads, Lega culture, Northern cultural area of Central Africa (in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), late 19th–early 20th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 27.9 × 9.5 × 6.4 cm.The region formerly referred to as the “Congo” consists of the modern republics of Congo (Kinshasa) and Congo (Brazzaville), which are separated by the Congo River. The area falls into two major geographic divisions: the northern half is an equatorial rainforest inhabited by peoples who hunt, farm, and fish; the southern half is a savanna. It is in the villages of this southern region that the most highly developed political, social, and artistic culture has evolved.In general, the styles of the two nations can be characterized as a combination of symbolism and realism, wherein naturalistic forms—predominantly human and animal figures—are rendered not in precise imitation of nature but in an exaggerated manner. It is this “nonnaturalistic reality” that distinguishes the art of this region from West African art.The sculptural forms are most commonly wood carvings: masks, ancestor figures, fetishes, bowls, boxes, cups, staffs, pots and lids, pipes, combs, tools, weapons, and musical instruments. Similar objects are also carved in ivory, and in some cases copper, brass, and iron are used. In rare instances, stone figures have been found.Painting is not greatly utilized as a separate medium, but carved pieces frequently are painted. Masks and other pieces are covered with polychrome, the colours applied in wide patches and often in planes and angles upon smooth surfaces. In the huts in which rituals take place, wooden figures are hung on brightly painted walls.Reeds are woven into decorated mats, used for sleeping and for wrapping the dead, and into baskets and boxes, which are used to contain foodstuffs as well as ritual objects. Basketry patterns and sometimes container forms have been imitated by wood-carvers; textile weavers also use decorative motifs derived from basketry.Pottery making has depended on four forming techniques: molding, ring building, modeling on a board, and, more recently, throwing on the potter’s wheel. Pottery forms are influenced by those of basketry and wood carving as well as by vegetal forms such as the calabash; decoration consists of traditional geometric incised or painted patterns. The pots are used for cooking and for carrying and storing food or as ceremonial objects.Pottery and embroidery are arts practiced by women, whereas sculpture and weaving are male activities.Stylistic differences within the two major regions of the southern savanna and the northern rainforest can best be seen by subdividing the areas according to the kingdoms that have determined the social, political, and artistic lives of the people. The savanna falls into the lower Congo, Kuba, and Luba cultural areas; the rainforest, into the northern, northeast, and northwest areas.
Lower Congo (Kongo) cultural areaIn the lower Congo area three substyles can be identified: the areas known as the coastal region, the Kwango River area, and the Teke region.
mother-and-child sculpture
mother-and-child sculpture
Mother-and-child sculpture, wood, beads, glass mirror, metal, (possibly) Kongo culture, Yombe subgroup, Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), 19th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 27.9 × 12.7 × 11.4 cm.Seated mother-and-child figures are found throughout the lower Congo region. The human figure is used by the peoples of the lower Congo in the decoration of almost every work—from ceremonial objects and domestic utensils to pieces of furniture and architectural ornament. Although the majority of carved figures are made of wood, many important pieces in metal and ivory have been found. Among them are numerous metal figures clearly influenced by the Portuguese missionaries—statuettes of Christian saints, for example. In addition to the figures, crucifixes were also produced, in brass or bronze (using the lost-wax, or cire-perdue, method of casting).Ancestor figures and fetishes carved by the Kongo and related peoples, who live along the coast and in the Mayombé forest, are more realistically expressive than the figures of other areas. Every detail is rendered; the deceased ancestor is portrayed standing, seated, or kneeling, each attitude revealing the dignity and pride with which he is viewed. The fetishes are less realistically portrayed; although the head is treated in great detail, the arms and legs are stylized, appearing to be of equal size, and often the sex of the figure is not indicated. Whereas the ancestor figure typically appears serene, the countenance of the fetish can be protective or malevolent.
Mangaaka (Kongo power figure)
Mangaaka (Kongo power figure)
Kongo power figure (Mangaaka), wood, paint, metal, resin, ceramic, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or from Angola, second half of the 19th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.The nkongi, a group of fetishes characteristic of the coast and the Mayombé forest, consist mainly of human figures, but there are some that combine the forms of a dog and a leopard, sometimes with two heads. The nkongi fetish is often completely covered by nails and other sharply pointed metal objects driven into its surface; these objects mark each appeal made to the spirit embodied in it. All fetishes, whether they represent humans or animals and whether they are made of wood, horn, ivory, or even calabash, must contain a number of magical substances such as blood along with animal, vegetable, and mineral matter. These ingredients, called bilongo, are placed in a cavity, usually in the figure’s stomach but sometimes in the back or head. The opening of the cavity is covered by a shell or, in some modern fetishes, by a piece of mirror. The magical substances are believed to invest the fetish figure with power and make it possible for the devotee to establish contact with the spirit (nkisi).Another object common to the lower Congo area, produced primarily by the coastal peoples, especially the Woyo, is a wooden pot lid carved with pictorial narratives representing proverbs. The pot lid, which covered the meal served by a wife to her husband, illustrates a particular complaint about their marital relationship—a wife’s displeasure with her husband, for example; when that lid was used, the husband was obliged to discuss and resolve the problem publicly with the help of mealtime witnesses. This manner of family arbitration was traditional, and each woman was given a variety of carved pot lids on the occasion of her marriage.The Kwango River area is the home of the Yaka, the Suku, the Mbala, and the Pende, whose masks, figures, and other carved objects show a dynamic stylization. Characterized by geometric patterns formed by the relationship of stylized body parts, Yaka figures lack the organic integration of naturalistic forms produced by the neighbouring Kongo. The turned-up nose is a characteristic of Yaka figures and masks. Large life-size carved figures stand at the entrances of Yaka initiation huts, the inside walls of which are covered with painted bark panels. Tudansi masks, worn by the young men at their initiation into manhood and decorated with polychrome and raffia collars, are topped with animal figures. The dramatically painted kakungu mask worn by the leader of the initiation rite represents a gaunt face with exaggerated nose and cheeks. This mask is thought to embody terrific powers and is kept in its own hut. Similar to the Yaka tudansi mask is the hemba mask of the nearby Suku, which is only slightly less grotesque. Carved Suku figures show more rounded forms than do the Yaka.Mbala figures have three different types of faces: elongated, wide, and lozenge-shaped. The features (especially the forehead and chin) project forcefully, and the head is surmounted by a crestlike coiffure. Mbala mother-and-child figures are much more powerfully rigid in style than others in the Congo region.Pende masks, made in a realistic style, are among the most dramatic works of all African art. Like the Yaka, small Pende masks fit over the head, helmet-style. Representing the mysterious powers to which boys are introduced at initiation, Pende masks are worn in comic entertainments performed during the ceremonies. The masks have facial forms that repeat the angular pattern established by the heavy triangular eyelids, and they are topped by a bushy coif of raffia. Smaller versions of these masks are made as amulets in ivory or wood. The Pende fashion their figures in a style identical to that of their masks. One type of figure, called tungunlungu, representing the female ancestry of the tribe, is placed in front of the chief’s house.
Teke mask
Teke mask
Teke (Bateke) mask, painted wood, Teke tribal region, Lower Congo cultural area; in the Musee de l\'Homme, Paris. Diameter 34.9 cm.The Teke live on the banks of the Congo River. They are best known for their fetishes, called butti, which serve in the cult of a wide range of supernatural forces sent by the ancestors, who are not worshiped directly. Each figure has its own specific purpose not related directly to its appearance. When a figure is carved for a newborn child, part of the placenta is placed in the stomach cavity of the figure while the rest is buried inside the father’s hut (where the family’s fetish figures are kept). The figure serves to protect the child until puberty. Figures of identical appearance serve for success in hunting, trading, and other activities, each figure’s specific purpose being known only to the owner. Teke figures are characterized by an angular geometric form with linear ornamentation. Teke face masks, flat disks painted in bright polychrome, are highly schematic forms bearing no naturalistic associations.
Kuba cultural area
Kuba palm wine cup
Kuba palm wine cup
Palm wine cup, wood, Kuba culture, Lulua province, Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), 19th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 21.6 × 11.4 × 13.3 cm.The art of the Kuba is one of the most highly developed of all African traditions, and significant cultural accomplishments are part of their heritage. Mucu Mushanga, their 27th king, was credited with the invention of fire, and he was the first to make clothing out of bark cloth. Shamba Bolongongo (c. 1600), the 93rd king, who introduced weaving and textile manufacture to his people, was also the first Kuba ruler to have his portrait carved in wood. Shamba Bolongongo’s portrait established a tradition of such portraiture among the Kuba people. The kings typically sit facing forward with legs crossed, the left in front of the right; the right hand, with fingers extended, rests on the right knee, and the left hand holds the royal dagger. Geometric patterns cover the stomach and are continued on the back of the figure. The sculptures also include objects significant to each particular king, identifying his own personal accomplishments. Developing from the court style was a popular style, which utilized geometric forms instead of the well-modeled full-volumed forms of the court figures. Kuba fetishes, emphasizing only essential organs, are highly schematic. The popular style can also be found in the utensils and textiles produced by the Kuba.
Kuba mask
Kuba mask
Kuba mashamboy mask, fibre, shells, and beads, Kuba cultural area; in Hampton University, Hampton, Va. Height 41 cm.The Kuba metalsmith worked with copper, iron, and brass, making weapons and tools to be admired as well as used. In some cases, one metal was inlaid with another. Mashamboy and other masks—made of raffia and decorated with shells, beads, and even bells and feathers—were traditionally used to dramatize the founding of the royal dynasty and its matrilineal system of descent.
Luba cultural area
Luba ancestral statue
Luba ancestral statue
Female Luba ancestral statue of carved wood; in the Musée de l\'Homme, Paris.Although the history of the Luba people (southeastern Congo [Kinshasa]) is one of violence and warfare, their artistic style is characterized by harmonious integration of organically related forms. Female figures are carved more often than male figures. Some are freestanding, almost always in a frontal position with their hands on their breasts; others are kneeling, sitting, or standing figures whose upraised hands serve as supports for bowls, seats, and neck rests. A popular form consists of a kneeling or sitting female figure holding a bowl. Such mendicant figures are used to appeal to spirits for health and aid for pregnant women; neighbours, seeing the figure in front of a woman’s hut, will fill it with gifts to help her avoid hardship in pregnancy. The female figures are modeled in rounded forms and have what is called dodu—that is, a stylistic tendency toward plumpness.One well-known Luba substyle has been called the “long-face style” of Buli. It contrasts strongly with the roundness of other Luba figures. The faces are elongated, with angular, elegant features.The Songe, who conquered and were conquered by the Luba, created a sculptural style of intense dynamism and vitality. The style of their fetishes, carved from wood or horn and decorated with shells and polychrome, is not as realistic as the classic Luba style, and their integration of nonnaturalistic, more geometric forms is impressive. The Songe also produce ceremonial axes made of iron and copper and decorated with interlaced patterns. One group is known for its kifwebe masks, which combine human and animal features painted in red, black, and white.In the 19th century the Chokwe and the Lunda conquered the Luba kingdom; today these hunters and farmers live in an area that includes part of northern Angola as well as southern Congo. Their styles are often indistinguishable from one another. The forms they create are monumental and weighty, and both male and female figures are carved in an impressively vigorous style. Also made by these peoples are chairs decorated with figures posed in genre and legendary scenes. Zoomorphic motifs are found on all objects—even utensils such as combs and knives. In ceremonial rites of initiation, men wear painted bark cloth masks and net costumes.
Northern cultural area
Lega carved ivory figure
Lega carved ivory figure
Lega carved ivory figure, Zaire; in the Carlo Monzino Collection. Height 14.5 cm.
Lega three-headed figure
Lega three-headed figure
Three-headed figure, wood, fibre, pigment, Lega culture, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19th century; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 14 × 5.1 × 2.9 cm.The Lega, who inhabit the area between the Luba and the northernmost peoples, have produced figures and masks, mostly carved from ivory in a schematic style. These objects are used, together with a vast assemblage of artifacts and natural objects, in the initiation to successive grades of the Bwami association.
Northeast cultural areaIn the northeast area live the Mangbetu and the Zande. Mangbetu sculpture—in wood, ivory, and pottery—is often characterized by the elongated skull forms produced by binding the heads of young children. Zande sculpture seems largely of Mangbetu derivation.
Northwest cultural areaThe Ngbaka and the Ngbandi are the peoples whose sculptures are of major significance in the northwest area. There is no single Ngbaka sculptural style: at times the figures are fleshy and rounded; at other times they are considerably more angular. Small animal figures are used as fetishes in hunting. The masks used in circumcision ceremonies are roughly executed. Both the Ngbaka and the Ngbandi make clay images to be used in funeral rituals. The Ngbandi are also known for wooden fetishes and figures. Small carved ivory or wood figures were worn by Ngbandi warriors, who carried shields made of decorated woven fibre. It is often impossible to distinguish the few Ngbandi masks from tho