A History of Art in AfricaInformed by the latest scholarship yet written for the general reader, this is the first comprehensive book to present the arts of Africa in art-historical terms. The authors treat individual pieces as tangible manifestations of changing beliefs and customs, as products of complex cultural interactions, as expressions of historical and economic realities, and as creations of gifted individuals, and in so doing brilliantly offer up African art on its own terms. Organized in five major parts, A History of Art in Africa covers every corner of the continent, including Egypt, from prehistory to the present day and includes the art of the African diaspora. The Islamic influence and the Christian arts of Ethiopia and Nubia are treated as fully African expressions, as are tourist arts and the fascinating hybrid art that periodically arose from interaction with Europe. All art forms are given equal consideration: from such familiar categories as sculpture to such quintessentially African forms as masquerades, festivals, and personal and domestic adornment. The arts of daily life, of royal ceremony, and of state cosmology also receive compelling discussions. And throughout, the authors emphasize the cultural contexts in which art is produced and imbued with meaning. Contemporary art forms are explored both as part of the living splendors of modern Africa and as ingenious responses to the experience of diaspora. The illustrations present a vast and rich range of images, including superb colorplates of artworks, archival and contemporary field photographs, explanatory drawings and plans, and individual objects displayed in museums and in use. Book jacket. |
Contents
PREFACE | 10 |
From the Nile to the Niger | 24 |
The Coming of Islam | 33 |
Copyright | |
34 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
A History of Art in Africa Monica Blackmun Visonà,Robin Poynor,Herbert M. Cole No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
African art Akan altars ancestors ancient animal appear architecture art forms artists associated Bamana beads Benin Berber brass Cameroon carved central century ceramic ceremonies chiefs Chokwe cloth color Congo costume Côte d'Ivoire created cultural dance deceased decorated deity depicted display divination Dogon Eshu European face female figures Fulani funerary geometric Ghana groups Hausa head headdress HEIGHT horns houses human Igbo images important initiation Islamic ivory Kemet king kingdom known Kongo Kuba leopard living Luba male Mali Mangbetu maskers masks masquerades mbari mosque motifs MUSEUM Niger NIGERIA nkisi Nubia objects Ogboni Olokun orisha ornaments painted palace patterns Photo photograph PIGMENT Poro raffia refer regalia region ritual River role royal rulers sacred Sahara sculpture Senufo shrines society southern spirit stone stool style Sudan Swahili symbolic terracotta textiles tion tombs ture village visual walls wear woman women WOOD wooden worn Yoruba Zimbabwe