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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. 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 sub style 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 non naturalistic 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 th century the chokwe and 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 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 area in 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 area the ngbaka and 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 those of the ngbaka, peggy wagnerjohn picton east africa southern republic of the sudan agriculture and cattle raising are widespread in this part of the sudan though the former, is often despised and is engaged in with great reluctance among peoples such as the nuer and dinka cattle are a source of aesthetic satisfaction the prize ox could indeed be regarded as their sculpture there is little scope for differentiating local styles of surviving wood carvings all of which are highly schematic in form, some of the larger ones. Feet cm or more in height are attributed to the bongo and appear on the graves of important people the bongo also made smaller figures, used. In murder, trials to identify criminals by oracular divination other peoples especially the bari also made figures of uncertain significance. The shilluk made, life size representations of their first king nyikang clay figurines of bulls clay pipe bowls and figurines in hyena form and masks typically fashioned of a piece of gourd with applied. Facial features made of cattle dung and fishbone teeth some peoples decorate their houses with wall paintings and reliefs the burun for example paint animal murals reminiscent of rock, paintings the nuba make mural. Paintings and fine. Pottery of clay! Or cow dung sometimes embellished with finely painted geometric patterns the southeast nuba are particularly famous for the body painting of their young men artistic taste appears in weapons such as throwing knives and in domestic utensils elaborate coiffures and personal ornaments horn of africa the. Amhara people of ethiopia have inherited a christian art and architecture with its roots, in coptic and byzantine traditions the somali on the other hand are also with rich traditions of decorative art the konso and other peoples. Of southern ethiopia carve wooden tomb posts about feet cm high surmounted by carved. Heads and shoulders representing deceased nobles or warriors the arusi also of southern ethiopia make tombstones of like height ornamented with engravings filled state of the in with red or. Black sometimes showing the deceased in rough relief similarly shaped gravestones occur in somalia sometimes plain sometimes adorned with decoration the pastoral. Way of life of the people of this area affects the applied arts for example pottery is used less often than wood or coiled basketry for making containers and dishes for food and liquids baskets may be waterproofed and are often patterned in many colours and ornamented with cowrie. Shells and leather bands weaving and leatherwork sometimes reach. A high standard handsome jewelry is made from silver and amber wooden spoons and combs may be elaborately carved the somali have circular shields that are made of antelope hide and have embossed designs and their swords daggers and state of the spears combine utility with artistry, region of lakes victoria and tanganyika a pottery head and torso from luzira in uganda. Now in the british museum is generally regarded as the oldest work of art known from. This region though its age is in fact. Unknown surviving from the treasure of chief rumanika of, the karagwe on the western shore of lake victoria seen by the explorer henry morton stanley in are wrought iron figures of, two bulls and an eland a bird of copper foil and other metal objects that may have formed part of the chief's regalia compared with copper and its alloys iron is little used as an art medium in africa and these iron figures are the only such known from east africa the kerewe of ukerewe island, in lake victoria carved large wooden figures about feet cm high which appear to have been, effigies of deceased. Chiefs other examples of wood sculpture including figures and, masks are known some showing possible influences, from the luba of congo kinshasa in general however this is an area in which other artistic mediums clearly, dominate the peoples around lake victoria notably the ganda and tutsi have brought the decorative arts to a high peak of excellence mats! And screens used on house walls are twill plaited or sewn, in patterns of black against a pale straw coloured ground fine baskets with a variety of motifs in the same colours come from, the same area as well as fine black pottery burnished to a high lustre the domestic equipment is made in great variety, and is of high artistic merit also made are shields painted or straw covered and patterned in black or natural colour bark cloth robes are printed or painted in, black, on a rust red ground colour coastal east africa the area of the eastern bantu. Speaking peoples covers kenya and part of tanzania including the swahili coast the trade between east africa ia and india in the past years has had some effect on the decorative. Art traditions of the region swahili art includes wood carving especially of doors silversmithing and other metalworking and finely plaited polychrome mats farther inland direct cultural contact is less obvious like the konso the giryama of kenya produced grave posts surmounted by schematic heads notable among. The remaining peoples who produce, sculpture are the kamba, who. Have spontaneously developed. A style of, wood. Carving embellished with coiled wire jewelry ornament now sold in gift shops formerly their art was applied to engraving gourds and inlaying stools with coiled wire patterns clay figures were made throughout the region for a variety of purposes including initiation ceremonies at which they had the didactic role of visual aids in traditional education murals occur on the mud walls of houses—sometimes decorative sometimes for ritual and magical purposes pottery is normally simple in form and decoration gourds ornamented with engravings or covered with beadwork are widespread stools may be elaborately made as by the kamba shields painted with distinctive polychrome designs occur especially among the kikuyu and masai traders' beads and coiled brass or iron wire are the raw materials for elaborate personal ornaments in a variety of. Designs and colour combinations southern africa makonde the makonde living on either side of the tanzania mozambique border are the most prolific wood carvers in. The area masks are more numerous than figures and may be face masks worn only over the face or helmet masks. Worn renaissance paintingover the entire head makonde carvers have also developed a new, style of spirit figure carving in ebony not a wood that is used traditionally mbunda and others in zambia the mbunda luvale and chokwe make masks those of the former are made, of wood and those of the latter two are made of painted coarse bark cloth on. A wicker frame each type is worn with a netted string costume or a fibre skirt as with the makonde the masks may be worn at makishi dances held at the new moon in initiation ceremonies or for public entertainments small figure carvings are made in zambia mostly in the west decoratively carved food dishes stools headrests mbira lamellaphones clip and snuff bottles come. From zambia malaŵi and zimbabwe together with distinctive baskets and clay pipe bowls carved in animal form excellent pottery and fine brass copper and aluminum wire intricately wound and plaited to embellish ax handles hilts and sheaths and snuff bottles southern bantu the zulu and related peoples of the southern bantu made, wooden figures that are mostly, undistinguished and may have been executed, under european influence attractive small clay models. Of cattle made by children occur here as they do through much of eastern and southern africa much artistic feeling is revealed in such decorative arts as basketry pottery the carving of wooden vessels stools and headrests ceremonial weapons spoons pipes and personal ornaments consisting of beadwork in great variety the ndebele of the transvaal not only paint. The walls of their houses which is customary but also decorate their enclosure walls in a variety of coloured. Geometric patterns margret a careyjohn picton other visual arts pottery most peoples of sub saharan africa use pottery many making it themselves today although traditions of pottery making survive in many rural areas town dwellers switching from firewood to other sources of fuel are also turning to industrially manufactured wares the preindustrial traditions involve the molding of fairly coarse textured clay by hand either building the clay, up in rings or by some variation of the hammer and anvil, techniques found in preindustrial technologies worldwide the pots so formed are, then fired in open bonfires at a relatively low temperature the variety of form and design is almost endless pottery techniques are also used in a few places for sculpture as for example in the, grave memorials of the asante in ghana they are also presumed to have been the. Means used to form the pottery sculptures of antiquity such as those of ife and nok in nigeria and of djenné and mopti in mali in most modern cases potters are women textiles in both east and west africa cloth traditionally was woven of locally grown and hand spun cotton in west africa today most cotton is factory, spun producing a more, regular and easier to, weave fibre while in east africa weaving traditions have virtually disappeared in the face of competition. From ready made fabrics woolen yarn is woven in rural berber areas of north africa and by fulani weavers of the inland niger delta region of west africa silk is also woven in west africa hausa nupe and yoruba weavers in nigeria use a locally gathered wild silk asante and ewe weavers in southern ghana use imported silk a practice begun by asante weavers unraveling imported fabrics in the th century fibres prepared from the leaves of the raffia palm are woven into cloth principally in central africa especially congo kinshasa, though also in parts of west africa cubism throughout most of the continent men are the weavers though in some areas nigeria the sudan women also, weave if in any place both sexes weave each uses a different type of loom the looms are of two basic types according, to whether one or both sets of warp the lengths of yarn mounted on the loom are leashed to a heddle each, type has more than one version especially the single heddle of which there are various upright and horizontal versions in. Different regions of africa textiles are designed either as part of the weaving process—in which case colour texture and weave structure are significant—or by a range of techniques employed on the already woven cloth weaving the yarn the cultures, that have developed the greatest skill and creative variety erotic in woven design are undoubtedly the asante and ewe with the fulani and other weavers of the middle niger. On each side of timbuktu? Following closely in expertise three types of woven pattern are common in the first yarn of different colours is used for the warp creating stripes. Along the length of the cloth the variety of patterns is almost infinite most are decorative embellishments of what would? Otherwise be. A plain? Naturally coloured textile but certain patterns can have additional significance indicating for example a corpse a rich person or a girl about to be married this kind of patterning is most developed in west africa in the second type of pattern the loom is set up in such a way as to allow the weft the yarn interwoven with the warp to predominate in the finished cloth so, that the use of different colours gives patterns across the width of the cloth this type of patterning is typical of north african and of certain types. Of west african cloth the third type of patterning employs. An extra weft, this second yarn is woven in a different way from the basic weft using a technique known as float weaving this type of pattern is also. Common in, west africa a further design element is provided by the unusual way in which the double heddle loom has evolved in west africa the construction of the, loom is so narrow that it weaves strips of cloth of considerable length these. Strips are then sewn together edge to edge to make the finished textile the strips range from inch cm in one tradition of hausa weaving to less than a yard cm in another cloth about inches cm wide is typical of much of west africa this process can create a repeated pattern of, stripes or a juxtaposition of varied patterns embellishing the woven cloth the most widespread technique of embellishing already woven cloth is dyeing—particularly with indigo but also with other dye colours all of which are obtained from local vegetable and mineral sources as well as, in ready made industrially produced form another pattern making technique is known as resist dyeing in which parts of, the cloth to be, embellished are either tied stitched or painted with starch to prevent the, dye's colouring those parts women of the. Soninke senegal guro and. Baule côte d'ivoire and yoruba peoples have developed contrasting styles in the use of this technique photograph kuba raffia pile cloth kuba cultural area in the hampton university museum virginia u s kuba raffia pile cloth kuba cultural area in the hampton university museum virginia u s photograph fon appliqué banner representing a lion hunt dahomey in the museum voor land en … fon appliqué banner representing a lion hunt dahomey in the museum voor land en … other techniques of embellishing woven cloth are embroidery and appliqué embroidery is especially common in two areas in the first the savanna stretching across west africa male embroiderers give pattern to the wide sleeved gowns historically of, saharan, origin typical of that region the embroidery of the hausa and nupe are the best known, examples in the second area congo kinshasa women of the kuba people in particular embroider raffia cloth dyed and woven in complicated geometric motifs see photograph appliqué mostly for flags banners and tent hangings is practiced mostly along the nile and in the savanna region immediately south of the sahara it often takes the form of texts cut out in cloth of one colour and sewn, to cloth, of a, contrasting colour an exception to. This practice was the fon kingdom of dahomey present day benin in which banners displayed the attributes of, successive kings see photograph in many places appliqué is presently employed in the preparation of masquerade costumes a related technique is the stitching of glass beads onto a cloth backing for example to make royal regalia and sometimes other ceremonial objects those practicing this technique are the yoruba and the kuba and the various peoples, of. The cameroon grasslands other fabrics. Textiles are not traditionally woven throughout sub saharan africa in some areas other fabrics are used the stitching of beads to hide is found among some peoples of east and southern africa—as famous for example in the clothing of masai women. In kenya animal hides are also treated to produce leather the working of which is an art associated with many of the peoples south. Of the sahara for example the tuareg and the hausa each with. Its distinctive style in uganda bark cloth is prepared by felting and dyeing certain tree barks which are often then painted or stenciled the use of vegetable fibres for matting and, basketry is universal throughout, this region with particular peoples noted for their styles of pattern and design personal decoration the adornment of the photo human body involves all aspects of the arts as practiced in africa the body may be altered in ways that are? Permanent especially by scarification or the cutting of scars among the yoruba scarification indicates lineage affiliation among nuba women in the sudan it is sometimes a mark of physiological status patterns indicate such stages as the onset of menstruation and the birth of the first child sometimes the body is scarified for the aesthetic value of the, patterns as among the tiv of nigeria photograph facial and body design on a young nuba man the sudan facial and body design, on a young nuba man the sudan the body may be altered in ways, that are semipermanent in the sense that a person is not? Normally seen in public without certain effects although they can be removed or adjusted in private royal regalia are an example as are the heavily beaded ornaments worn by masai women the body may also be, altered, in ways that are essentially ephemeral for example some young nuba men celebrate their youthful vigour in extensive body painting see photograph hairdressing is done sometimes for its aesthetic value as among the yoruba sometimes to signal age, status east african pastoral peoples such as the pokot and samburu perhaps the most striking example of body decoration is that of the pastoral fulani of nigeria it reaches its height in the annual gerewol a beauty contest between men whose faces are painted and who wear metal bracelets bead necklaces and head ornaments the women regularly wear elaborate hairstyles often featuring golden rings around. Separate locks of hair together with a profusion of jewelry the varieties of dress and jewelry found throughout the continent are invariably matters of aesthetic concern whatever social purposes may, also be served painting painting in some form or another is found throughout, most of the sub saharan region besides the paintings and engravings on rock surfaces see below and the many traditions of body painting, there are the painting and decorating of houses and other buildings. In any given area numerous art forms may exist often as completely independent books traditions with little. Obvious relationship to one another in style or content the purposes fulfilled are equally varied as seen in personal decoration other forms of graphic design are noteworthy as well the most obvious is calabash or gourd decoration notable traditions of which exist among the fulani and in kenya among the kamba there is also. The painting of sculpture whether masks or other forms sometimes this is the final stage of the work of the carver but as often, as not sculptures are painted and repainted by their owners for example mask headpieces among the kalabari ijo of nigeria provide. A temporary embodiment of spirits and the painting of the masks before each performance is part, of the ritual by means of which the spirits are summoned paintings and engravings on the surfaces of rocks are found extensively in the sahara and in southern africa the saharan works were evidently, done by successive populations as is indicated by the different styles and subject matter most of the southern african work was probably done by ancestors of the san, hunter gatherers of the region john picton the sahara the earliest known african rock art consists of more than engravings and paintings on rocks in the sahara at the time most of these works were executed, from about the beginning of the th millennium bc into the nd the area was open savanna supporting animals no, longer found in the desert but represented in the art representation of. The? Changing fauna makes, it possible to divide the art into a succession of periods the divisions being confirmed by changes in style and in the economy and artifacts possessed by the artists the earliest engravings in southern oran and in tassili n ajjer algeria and in fezzan libya reflect a hunting economy and represent such wild animals as the extinct buffalo homoioceras antiquus formerly called bubalus hence the name bubalus period assigned to these earliest engravings and the. Elephant rhinoceros, hippopotamus giraffe ostrich, and large antelope the human figures are armed with clubs throwing sticks axes and bows carbon dating indicates that there was human occupation. If not drawing in tassili n ajjer from, the mid th millennium bc paintings seem to begin a little later than the engravings, these paintings in which some styles have been distinguished often represent men and women with globular heads or apparently wearing masks there follows both in painting and in engraving the cattle period in which the depiction of domestic cattle indicates that pastoralism had by then become, the basis for human life the bow is the principal weapon bones of domestic cattle and of homoioceras, were found together in a deposit dated by carbon to the mid th millennium bc thus dating this transitional phase of the art the style of engraving is less naturalistic than in the bubalus period the poses stiffer in contrast the paintings are more naturalistic with compositions and a sense of space graffiti if not strictly of perspective the cattle period ended with the introduction of the horse about bc the horse period is divided into three sub periods the first is the chariot sub period in which the elephant was the only pachyderm still depicted cattle continued to be, represented and mouflons or wild sheep and domesticated dogs appeared the earliest chariots were carefully rendered with a single shaft and a horse on each side later. Chariots consist only of, a shaft with two wheels and human figures are reduced to two isosceles triangles set apex to apex spears and shields are introduced and later daggers, the distribution of these representations of chariots conforms remarkably to the trans. Saharan trade routes of the more recent past and can be seen as the earliest evidence of them the horseman sub period reflects a change from horse driving to horse riding, though chariots continue next the camel was introduced possibly as early as bc and. Certainly by roman times producing the, horse and camel sub period cattle had by then become very rare because continuing desertification led to restricted distribution of the horse represented mainly in mauritania the camel period. Reflects only present day fauna camel antelope oryx gazelle mouflon ostrich humped cattle and goat at first the spear was the only weapon depicted but later the sword and firearms weapons that are still in use, were added, the style is highly schematic the camel period has continued up to the present! Time for their owners in some cases the nomadic tuareg still paint and engrave on rocks as well as on the occasional truck or airplane representations of camels in the sahara frank willettjohn picton southern africa in. Southern modern africa rock paintings and engravings occur in abundance. Most surviving paintings were. Probably made during the past two millennia the tradition seems to be much. Older but no southern african site. With either paintings or engravings has been satisfactorily dated to before the common era the san were still making such. Paintings in the th century but some of the surviving, examples may be. The work of khoisan and bantu speakers the way, of life. Represented is mainly that of neolithic or new stone age hunters which is |