African Art: Virginia Museum of Fine ArtsThis eloquent, intimate portfolio links full-page, full-color photographs to brief, readable text to unveil the myths and mysteries of African art and the people who created it. Five recurring themes in African art -- the human image, objects for personal and ritual use, ceremonial masks, and animal symbol and image -connect some 50 objects from 22 sub-Saharan cultures. Gold and bronze jewelry, ceremonial objects of carved and gilded wood and bone, terra cotta figures, as well as a sampling of textiles, are illustrated. Brier descriptions place each object in its cultural and geographic context. Special features include colorful maps of historical and present-day Africa, many photos that illustrate how the objects appear in actual use, and comments on the purposes, forms, and complexities of African art. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
19th-20th century CULTURE 20th century CULTURE Adolph African Art Akan culture Akwete ancestors approx Arthur and Margaret artists Arts Purchase Asante Bamana Baule beginning circa A.D. bird Boone Samuels Memorial brass Bwami Mask carved chief coiffure copper cowrie shells DATE decorated Dinga Djenne Djenne region Egungun Egungun Mask EMPIRE OF MALI Eshu face feathers fiber figure's Fine Arts Purchase Fulani Ghana glass beads gold head headrest Hemba horn Igbo inches high inland delta Ivory Coast Kathleen Boone Samuels king Kneeling Kongo Kuba culture Lega Luba Mali Man's Bwami Margaret Glasgow Fund Mask MATERIALS Necklace Ngady amwaash Niger River Nigeria nkisi objects Orunmila patterns raffia raffia cloth Republic of Benin ritual royal court Samuels Memorial Fund scepter Senufo Songye spirit statue symbolic textiles TITLE Virginia Museum Wara Headdress warp threads wear weave white clay Wilkins Williams Fund woman Woman's Wrap Skirt wood Yoruba Yoruba culture Yoruba LOCATION Zaire Zulu