Term
|
Definition
Separation between worlds of living and dead
Mpisoro - spiritual leader, mediator between carver and patron
Unknown artist
Aloalo (Tomb sculpture)
20th cent
Mahafaly peoples, southern Madagascar
Wood |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Ndoli Jowei (“the Sande leader” or masquerader) with Sande Society officials, 1972. Photo by Ruth Phillips.
Sowei - name of the “Spirit” in Mende |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Temne speakers - concentric bands symbolize black chrysalis of moth |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Mende speakers - concentric ridges represent ripples of water - origin of mask |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Kanaga mask, Dogon, Mali. 20th century AD. Wood, fiber, hide, and pigment.
Female counterpart of sirige - could represent female spirit, bird, lizard, or hand |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Contemporary photograph of a masked dance with kanaga being performed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Contemporary photographs of animal-faced wooden masks. Dogon. Mali. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
George Pemba
No Work
1948
Watercolour |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Paul Stopforth
The
Interrogators
1979
Triptych with
graphite and wax
on board |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Jane Alexander, Butcher Boys. 1985-86. Mixed Media. * An example of protest art |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Postcards of Africans and Africa from the late 19th– early 20th centuries
By photographer and publisher Francois- Edmond Fortier |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Nuit de Noël. Malick Sidibé. 1963. Bamako, Mali
candid shot, Western clothing |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Malick Sidibé
Portrait of reclining woman
1969
Bamako, Mali |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Efiambolo
Aloalo
(wooden memorial posts)
Before 1970 Wood
Mahafaly region, southern Madagascar |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The King of Loango (now in
DRC) and his court
Olfert Dapper’s Déscription de l’Afrique
1686.
16th – 17th centuries AD: Arts were royal prerogative of Kongo kings. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A royal Kongo hat, collected before 1674. Raffia. Royal Kongo hat with raffia. Made from a single thread. leopard talons.
KiKongo word for “spiral” is zinga - which also means “long life”
geometric, cruciform pattern- royalty |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Photograph of King Njoya seated on throne of his father, Nsa'ngu, royal palace at Foumban. Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon. 1912. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Throne of King Nsa’ngu. Late 19th Century AD. Wood, glass, beads, and cowries.
Bamum Kingdom, Cameroon.
Back/middle have symbolic elements
Twins: King as father of his people
Drinking horn and calabash bowl
Kola nuts were an important trade item
Kola nuts were an important trade item and local source of caffeine.
Frogs: fertility and abundance
Double-headed serpent: reference to Bamum military king, Mbuembue (r.1820-40)
Cowrie shells: Wealth of materials; role of king to bring prosperity to his people.
Base of the throne embodies ideas of royal authority
Court officers carved in relief along front: governance
Warriors with rifles: footrests and military prowess of king
Spiders at ends of footrests: King’s commitment to being judicious, wise, and prescient
Reference to earth spiders, associated with divine knowledge, connection between worlds of living and ancestors |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Photograph of a spider divination ceremony, with palm-leaf chips. Early 20th century (?) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Mebrata Yebeyin
Painted “tabot” icon with scenes of the Passion: the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
2001
Paint and wood Aksum, Ethiopia
tabots made through collaborative effort – carver, painter, and shopkeeper
Artists gain inspiration from visits to churches and exhibition catalogues |
|
|
