Art of Africa - An African art Blog leading to an African Art site.

Boy with Bottle - Hargreaves Ntukwana - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-22T13:52:00.002-05:00

Boy with Bottle - Hargreaves Ntukwana - For African Art Gallery

HARGREAVES NTUKWANA (1938 - 1999)

Born at Crown Mines in Johannesburg on June 17, 1938and was schooled locally until he completed his secondary education and much to the disappointment of his father, Hargreaves decided to follow a career in fine art and music. He worked as a clerk to pay for his art and music tuition.

Hargreaves studied at the Pollo Street School of Art in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. From 1960 to 1962 his studies were under Cordelidos at the Artists' colony in Toledo, Spain. From 1971 to 1973 he received further private tuition from Professor Mel Edwards in New York. Hargreaves traveled extensively abroad and lived in the USA, Switzerland and the former West Germany during the seventies and eighties. Hargreaves was also a accomplishes sculptor and musician, playing double bass, saxophone and piano.

Hargreaves work is very popular in the United States where he developed a popularity after his first exhibition in Boston in 1974. He lectured in the United States and Switzerland on South African Art. Hargreaves headed a workshop at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1984.

"God gives you talent which you in turn make use of and then other people are there to appreciate your God given talent" - Hargreaves Ntukwana

Superb Kuba Drum

2011-06-20T09:54:00.003-05:00

Superb Kuba Drum

African drums are among the most important art forms in Africa, they used musical instruments as well as great sculptural African art works that are significant in many ceremonial functions, including dance, rituals, story-telling and communication of messages.

The Kuba tribe consists of about 250,000 people; they are located in Southeastern Congo. The Kuba tribe is actually a collection of smaller ethnic groups. The king of Kuba is always Bushoong, but each group has a representative at the Bushoong court. This is because the Kuba tribe believes the world was created by Bumba who decreed that Bushoong would always be the ruling class.

The Kuba tribe consists of traders, farmers, and fishers. Rivers define the region and provide them with the fish they consume. Women in the tribe would clear the fields and farm crops such as corn, bananas, pineapples, palms, and manioc. Men in the tribe would grow tobacco and hunt. Hunting brought prestige and reinforced the social cohesion between villages. A successful hunt was considered a gift from the gods.

Asante Stool 1622 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-13T13:10:00.002-05:00

Asante Stool 1622 - For African Art Gallery

Every Asante has a personal, utilitarian stool; there are hundreds of patterns expressing not only the owner's gender and social status, but also political orientation. Successful component state leaders bequeath their personal stools to the state as part of its regalia passed down to each new ruler, validating his right to his position. New leaders augment the collection. During his life a ruler may have many personal stools whose support design and decoration express his status and concerns; if he is successful, one of them will be blackened with soot and egg, laid on its side to avoid contamination by hostile spirits and placed in the stool house on its own throne as a shrine and means of access to the spirit of its former owner after his death.

Kwele Ekuk Mask #1623 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-13T13:07:00.003-05:00

Kwele Ekuk Mask #1623 - For African Art Gallery

Ekuk means both “protective forest spirit” and “children of beete.” It displays a flat surface and often has a whitened heart-shaped face, a triangular nose, coffee-bean eyes and small or non-existent mouth. This mask, with two large horns, represents the antelope. The faces are usually painted in white kaolin earth, a pigment associated by the Kwele with light and clarity, the two essential factors in the fight against evil.

Nupe Stool 1617 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-11T12:21:00.002-05:00

Nupe Stool 1617 - For African Art Gallery

These wonderful carved African art stools, created by the Nupe of Nigeria are carved out of one piece of wood with intricate patterns carved into the top. This particular Nupe stool has 10 legs.

The Nupe people live on the south-eastern corner of the plateau region of Nigeria and have had an important impact on their neighbors, both north and south of the Niger river.

The Nupe are largely a Muslim people, converted by a travelling preacher during the eighteenth century. The Nupe people have a more abstract form of art.

They are traditionally called the Tapa by the neighboring Yoruba

Chokwe Pwo African Passport Mask 1616 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-11T10:36:00.003-05:00

Chokwe Pwo African Passport Mask 1616 - For African Art Gallery

The Chokwe Pwo African art mask is a female mask. When masqueraded, the performance which is for entertainment, a comedy of manners or social satire, is very popular and is open to every one. In present times, it is mostly masqueraded at Christmas celebrations, political rallies or workshops on rural development run by NGOs.

The Chokwe Pwo mask can represent (in caricature form) only women in general, but it can also secretly represent a loved one, or be the source of a firm bond between a pwo mask owner and one of his ancestors.

A lot of care is taken in the pwo African masks presentation, the accessories and adornement can give hints to the fashion and period in which the mask was crafted. The oldest pwo masks have always had beautiful scarification marks and teeth filed to point, which at one time was a sign of beauty. Earrings are further adorned with coins, inported beads, ribbons and little zinc tokens that served as tax receipts in colonial times.

Passort masks are miniature masks with all the same attributes as the larger dance masks, but were kept on alters of members from the Pwo society.

African Currency Bracelet 1608 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-07T16:32:00.001-05:00

African Currency Bracelet 1608 - For African Art Gallery

Senufo Diviners Bracelet 1607 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-07T16:13:00.001-05:00

Senufo Diviners Bracelet 1607 - For African Art Gallery

The Senufo diviners used bracelets as part of their collection of items that were used during divination rituals.

The Senufo are spread across the

Ivory Coast

Mali

and

Burkina Faso

and number about one and a half million in total, sustaining a living off of farming and occasional hunting. They live in villages that are governed by a council of elders, who in turn are led by a chief that was elected from them. The tribal structure if controlled through the rituals of the Poro society who initiate and control the men from as young a seven yours of age and on.

Mama Mangam Mask 1599 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-01T13:40:00.001-05:00

Mama Mangam Mask 1599 - For African Art Gallery
The Mama people of northern Nigeria in the Benue River Vallery create Mangam head crests like this which represent a bush cow with open extended mouth and sculpted horns that extend upwards in a continuous single line to be joined at their ends.

When worn it is carried on the top of the dancer's head who is surrounded with a ruff of grasses extending from the bottom of the mask that hides the dancer.
Mangam masks dance during funerals and during the yearly agricultural cycle celebrations.

Mama Mangam Mask 1598 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-01T13:16:00.002-05:00

Mama Mangam Mask 1598 - For African Art Gallery
The Mama people of northern Nigeria in the Benue River Vallery create Mangam head crests like this which represent a bush cow with open extended mouth and sculpted horns that extend upwards in a continuous single line to be joined at their ends.

When worn it is carried on the top of the dancer's head who is surrounded with a ruff of grasses extending from the bottom of the mask that hides the dancer.

Mangam masks dance during funerals and during the yearly agricultural cycle celebrations.

Fang Ngil Mask #1589 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

Fang Ngil Mask #1589 - For African Art Gallery
The Ngil masks of the Fang tribe represent a masquerading tradition that waned over sixty years ago. They are worm by members of male Ngil society during the initiation of new members and the persecution of wrong-doers. Masqueraders clad in raffia costumes and attended by helpers would materialize in the village after dark, illuminated by flickering torchlight.
They are characterized by elongated features and a heart-shaped face and were thought to have judiciary powers and so were worn when sentences were handed down by society.

Kwele Ekuk Mask #1594 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-01T08:07:00.001-05:00

Kwele Ekuk Mask #1594 - For African Art Gallery

Ekuk means both “protective forest spirit” and “children of beete.” It displays a flat surface and often has a whitened heart-shaped face, a triangular nose, coffee-bean eyes and small or non-existent mouth. This mask, with two large horns, represents the antelope. The faces are usually painted in white kaolin earth, a pigment associated by the Kwele with light and clarity, the two essential factors in the fight against evil.

Tonga Chigaro Stool #1582 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-01T08:04:00.001-05:00

Tonga Chigaro Stool #1582 - For African Art Gallery

These, now African art, Tonga stools were important status symbols used by the head of the household and known as Chigaro to the Tonga people.

Fang Ngil Mask #1592 - For African Art Gallery

2011-06-01T08:02:00.000-05:00

Fang Ngil Mask #1592 - For African Art Gallery

Superb Somali Headrest # 1485 - For African Art Gallery

2011-04-27T06:29:00.001-05:00

Superb Somali Headrest # 1485 - For African Art Gallery

Mambila Tadep Figure 1569 - For African Art Gallery

2011-04-16T10:08:00.001-05:00

Mambila Tadep Figure 1569 - For African Art Gallery

Yoruba Ibeji Twin Figure 1568 - For African Art Gallery

2011-04-16T09:46:00.001-05:00

Yoruba Ibeji Twin Figure 1568 - For African Art Gallery

Grain Basket - Democratic Republic of Congo

2011-04-16T09:45:00.001-05:00

Grain Basket - Democratic Republic of Congo

Dogon Brass Martenity Figure 1530 - For African Art Gallery

2011-03-25T09:25:00.001-05:00

Dogon Brass Martenity Figure 1530 - For African Art Gallery

These bronze and brass figures created by Dogon blacksmiths are identified with the myths as the blacksmith was one of the primordial beings know to the Dogon as Nommo, and created by Ama one of the important Dogon dieties.
This relationship between the blacksmith and the Nommo gives the blacksmith special powers such as the ability to call down rain, a very important aspect to Dogon life. A figure wrought in metal is not a simple abstraction if the smith that forged it is believed to have descended directly from his remote predecessor who brought the secret of ironmaking down from heaven itself.

Djenne Pot 1527 - For African Art Gallery

2011-03-24T15:29:00.001-05:00

Djenne Pot 1527 - For African Art Gallery

Dogon pots have been found in Mali in the vacinity of Mopti and Djenne and as far north as Timbuktu, they are often simplistically called Djenne, the name also applied to terra cotta figures found in the same area.

Senufo Gourd Container - Ivory Coast

2011-03-24T14:57:00.001-05:00

Senufo Gourd Container - Ivory Coast

Kissi Nomoli Figure 1526 - For African Art Gallery

2011-03-24T08:52:00.001-05:00

Kissi Nomoli Figure 1526 - For African Art Gallery

These nomoli figures are found in a region along the Atlantic Ocean, stretching through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. They have been found, buried, by Kissi, Kono, Mende and Temne farmers working their fields and are attributed to the early peoples of this region. It is difficult to pinpoint the producers of these figures to one particular group due to the turbulent history that existed in this area.
The present day Mende farmers call the figures nomoli or mali yafeisia, and they are bleieved to have been placed in shrines in rice fields to ensure a fruitful harvest, it is further believed that the figures would receive offering of rice if the rice crops were growing as they hoped, but that if the crops failed to prosper as they expected, small whips were used to beat the figure.
among the neighboring Kissi people, these figures were more revered as ancestor figures and were kept in family shrines. The Kissi refered to them as pombo or pomton figures.
The carving of these figures ended generations ago, and are expected to be over a century old, and though were not carved by the Kissi, Kono, Mende or Temne, they were kept when found as they represented a mythical and heroic past to them.

Senufo Poro Society Ceremonial Bowl 1524 - For African Art Gallery

2011-03-18T15:33:00.001-05:00

Senufo Poro Society Ceremonial Bowl 1524 - For African Art Gallery

Tiv Snuff Pipe 1522 - For African Art Gallery

2011-03-18T09:02:00.001-05:00

Tiv Snuff Pipe 1522 - For African Art Gallery

Senufo Kpeli-yehe mask 1505 - For African Art Gallery

2011-03-04T16:15:00.001-05:00

Senufo Kpeli-yehe mask 1505 - For African Art Gallery

Baule Mask #1439 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-16T10:04:00.001-05:00

Baule Mask #1439 - For African Art Gallery

Baule Mask 1443 ~ For African Art Gallery

2011-02-16T09:59:00.001-05:00

Baule Mask 1443 ~ For African Art Gallery

Baule Mask 1444 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-16T09:21:00.001-05:00

Baule Mask 1444 - For African Art Gallery

Baule Blolo Bla Figure 1452 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-16T09:17:00.001-05:00

Baule Blolo Bla Figure 1452 - For African Art Gallery

Youruba Ibeji Fetish Figure 1474 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-16T09:09:00.001-05:00

Youruba Ibeji Fetish Figure 1474 - For African Art Gallery

Asante Akuaba Fetility Doll 1467 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-10T12:01:00.001-05:00

Asante Akuaba Fetility Doll 1467 - For African Art Gallery

Asante Akuaba Fertility Doll 1466 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-10T11:58:00.001-05:00

Asante Akuaba Fertility Doll 1466 - For African Art Gallery

Fante Akua'ba Fertility Doll 1465 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-10T11:53:00.001-05:00

Fante Akua'ba Fertility Doll 1465 - For African Art Gallery

Baule Mask 1445 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-10T11:49:00.001-05:00

Baule Mask 1445 - For African Art Gallery

Yoruba Opon Igede Ifa Bowl 1471 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-10T11:45:00.001-05:00

Yoruba Opon Igede Ifa Bowl 1471 - For African Art Gallery

Dan Takangle Mask 1457 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-01T14:44:00.001-05:00

Dan Takangle Mask 1457 - For African Art Gallery

Baule Ndoma Mask 1455 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

Baule Ndoma Mask 1455 - For African Art Gallery

BAULE NDOMA PORTRAIT MASK

Tribe: Baule
Country: Ivory Coast
Size: 18" (45.72 cm) Tall
Material: Wood.
Condition: Good
A portrait mask, signifying a beautiful woman, these masks were danced for entertainment. This portrait mask was probably created for a women that excelled at the production of cloth as there is a loom surmounting the head. Included on this mask are the scarification's on the cheeks that once typified the Baule (baule ngole) but no longer exist. Following independence, the government proscribed them in order to eliminate signs of ethnicity and bring all Ivoirians into a single people.
The Baule name comes from their myth of origin. In the seventeenth century, in what is today known as Ghana, the Denkyera kingdom rose to prominence, but a dispute led to a dynasty leaving the country. Abla Poku, the queen, had to flee far from Kumasi with her people, the Asabu, whom she led through the forests, but their trip was brought up short by the Comoe river. she consulted her diviner, who told her that to ensure safe passage across the river, she would have to sacrifice her only child. So, eager to escort her people to the promised land, she decided the she herself would throw the child into the waters as an offering to the river gods, crying out "Baouli" ("My child is dead!"), and the followers are said to have adopted this word as the name for their people in honor of the queen's sacrifice.

Baule Kplekple Mask 1454 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-01T10:17:00.001-05:00

Baule Kplekple Mask 1454 - For African Art Gallery

BAULE KPLEKPLE MASK

Tribe: Baule
Country: Ivory Coast
Material: Wood, Pigment
Size: 16.5" (42 cm)
Condition: Good
This mask is the first to appear in goli spirit dances. It performs a minor spirit associated with the junior rank of male dancers who perform before the more important masks appear. In keeping with its low status, it is of a simpler form of a disc shape. Known as a mischievous mask, the young dancers chase women around the village, goaded by their songs.
The Baule name comes from their myth of origin. In the seventeenth century, in what is today known as Ghana, the Denkyera kingdom rose to prominence, but a dispute led to a dynasty leaving the country. Abla Poku, the queen, had to flee far from Kumasi with her people, the Asabu, whom she led through the forests, but their trip was brought up short by the Comoe river. she consulted her diviner, who told her that to ensure safe passage across the river, she would have to sacrifice her only child. So, eager to escort her people to the promised land, she decided the she herself would throw the child into the waters as an offering to the river gods, crying out "Baouli" ("My child is dead!"), and the followers are said to have adopted this word as the name for their people in honor of the queen's sacrifice.

Baule Blolo Bla Figure 1458 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-01T10:14:00.001-05:00

Baule Blolo Bla Figure 1458 - For African Art Gallery

BAULE BLOLO BLA SPIRIT WIFE

Tribe: Baule
Country: Ivory Coast
Material: Wood
Size: 30.5" (75 cm)
Condition: Very Good.
This Baule sculpture represents a "blolo bla" or spirit wife (blolo bian being spirit husband). In Baule culture, the otherworld, (known to them as blolo), exists in contrast to the world of physical reality, existing in parallel to the lived world and is considered to be the world of the dead. Though, it must be noted that the blolo is more than a place for the 'departed', it is also a place of origin for the spirits of the newborn.
The initial knowledge of ones otherworld mate usually comes from some sort of crisis in young adult life, normally of a sexual nature, such as sterility. The person facing the crisis would consult with a diviner (wunnzueyifue), and it would normally be found out that the problems are caused by the unhappiness or jealousy of ones neglected otherworld opposite. In these situations, the divination could reveal that it is necessary to represent this other world person by a carved statue, to which offerings of food or money could be made on a regular basisand that it is necessary to consecrate one night a week to this blolo person by sleeping alone.
Recommended reading for more information: Dreams and Reverie - Phili L. Ravenhill ISBN:1-56098-650-6.

Baule Maternity Figure 1459 - For African Art Gallery

2011-02-01T10:06:00.001-05:00

Baule Maternity Figure 1459 - For African Art Gallery

BAULE MATERNITY FIGURE

Tribe: Baule
Country: Ivory Coast
Material: Wood
Size: 17.5" (45 cm)
Condition: Very Good.

Classically carved figures such as this mother and child among the Baule are known generally as waka sran, meaning a 'person of wood'. Some maternity sculptures were owned by diviners known as Komien, who could tell the future, cure illnesses as well as solving local community problems. The figure embodies a number of symbolic elements as shrine figure; she is a 'mother' and for the diviner she is a place of residence for the spirit of the bush to reside ready to be called upon by the diviner. Advised by the bush spirit (asye usu) the diviner will determine the reason that a woman is barren and direct her as to what she must do bear children. It is the energy and power of the bush spirits that create and give life that are contacted by the diviner and directed to the woman.

Recommended reading for more information: Baule Statuary Art: Meaning and Modernization - Phili L. Ravenhill ISBN:1-56098-650-6.

Mende Sande Society Bundu Mask 1420 - For African Art Gallery

2011-01-17T10:51:00.002-05:00

Mende Sande Society Bundu Mask 1420 - For African Art Gallery

Mende Sande Society Mask
Tribe: Mende
Country: Sierra Leonne
Material: Wood, Pigment
Size: 16" (40.5 cm) Tall

The Sande society is exclusively a womans society responsible for the initiation of young girls into womanhood and instructing them on the duties they will be responsible for as wives and members of the adult tribal community. The authority of the Sande society gets its power and influence from Hale, the magic that women control and which resides in the Sowei mask. The Sowei mask is the only mask danced by women in West Africa. This is a ‘helmet mask’ worn over the head.

Dan Deangle African Face Mask #1417 ~ For African Art Gallery

2011-01-07T10:25:00.001-05:00

Dan Deangle African Face Mask #1417 ~ For African Art Gallery

Dan Deangle Mask

Tribe: Dan
Country: Ivory Coast/Liberia
Material: Wood, Cloth, Metal, Raffia, Cowrie Shells
Size: 14" (35.5 cm)
Known as Takangle, these Dan masqueraders specialize in singing. In their function as singer masks (gle sö) they support the "great mask" (go ge) and give expression to the authority of the influential Go society. Great masks act as judges and justices of the peace.
On the other hand, this type of mask is also associated with the circumcicion camps for adolescent boys. Called deangle, or guard masks, they serve as mediators between the camp and the village.
The Dan people who are also known by the name Yucaba, live in the western part of the Cote d' Ivoire and into Liberia. They number about 350,000 and make their living farming cocoa, rice and manioc. The Dan villages used to be autonomous, governed by a chief chosen from within their ranks, based on his wealth and social standing, however, unifying secret societies were set up and play a very influential part in the daily life of the Dan.

Baule portrait or Ndoma Mask 1416 ~ For African Art Gallery

2011-01-07T09:39:00.001-05:00

Baule portrait or Ndoma Mask 1416 ~ For African Art Gallery

Baule "Portrait" or Ndoma Mask
Ethnic Group: Baule
Country: Cote d'Ivoire
Material: Wood
Size: 12.5"
Condition: Good, nice patina from use.

A portrait mask, signifying a beautiful woman, these masks were danced for entertainment. included on this mask are the scarifications on the cheeks that once typified the Baule (baule ngole) but no longer exist. Following independence, the government proscribed them in order to eliminate signs of ethnicity and bring all Ivoirians into a single people.
The Baule name comes from their myth of origin. In the seventeenth century, in what is today known as Ghana, the Denkyera kingdom rose to prominence, but a dispute led to a dynasty leaving the country. Abla Poku, the queen, had to flee far from Kumasi with her people, the Asabu, whom she led through the forests, but their trip was brought up short by the Comoe river. she consulted her diviner, who told her that to ensure safe passage across the river, she would have to sacrifice her only child. So, eager to escort her people to the promised land, she decided the she herself would throw the child into the waters as an offering to the river gods, crying out "Baouli" ("My child is dead!"), and the followers are said to have adopted this word as the name for their people in honor of the queen's sacrifice.

Maasai African art Wrist Cuffs #1408 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-23T15:10:00.000-05:00

Maasai African art Wrist Cuffs #1408 - For African Art Gallery

Maasai African art Wrist Cuffs #1407 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

Maasai African art Wrist Cuffs #1407 - For African Art Gallery

Maasai African art earrings #1406 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-23T15:03:00.000-05:00

Maasai African art earrings #1406 - For African Art Gallery

Maasai African art earrings #1405 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-23T15:02:00.000-05:00

Maasai African art earrings #1405 - For African Art Gallery

Maasai African art earrings #1404 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-23T14:58:00.000-05:00

Maasai African art earrings #1404 - For African Art Gallery

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1401 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-22T11:32:00.000-05:00

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1401 - For African Art Gallery

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1398 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-22T11:29:00.000-05:00

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1398 - For African Art Gallery

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1399 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1399 - For African Art Gallery

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1400 - For African Art Gallery

2010-12-22T11:21:00.000-05:00

Yoruba Diviners Sash #1400 - For African Art Gallery

Makonde "Matambu" Body Mask #868 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-30T09:04:00.000-05:00

Makonde "Matambu" Body Mask #868 - For African Art Gallery

Marka Mask #1361 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-23T16:49:00.000-05:00

Marka Mask #1361 - For African Art Gallery

Marka Mask #1360 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-23T12:22:00.000-05:00

Marka Mask #1360 - For African Art Gallery

African Ife Art on Display in Houston

2010-11-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

African Ife Art on Display in Houston

A Different Look at African Art.

2010-11-10T16:21:00.000-05:00

A Different Look at African Art.

Bamileke Bird Headdress #1353 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-05T14:33:00.000-05:00

Bamileke Bird Headdress #1353 - For African Art Gallery

Baule Mblo Mask 1356 ~ For African Art Gallery

2010-11-05T14:32:00.001-05:00

Baule Mblo Mask 1356 ~ For African Art Gallery

Chokwe Fertility Rites Headdress #1354 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-05T14:32:00.000-05:00

Chokwe Fertility Rites Headdress #1354 - For African Art Gallery

New York African Art Dealer chooses Webb's for Auction.

2010-11-05T14:31:00.000-05:00

New York African Art Dealer chooses Webb's for Auction.

Kota Reliquary Figures 1316 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

Kota Reliquary Figures 1316 - For African Art Gallery

Grebo War Mask #3 - For African Art Gallery

2010-11-04T09:49:00.000-05:00

Grebo War Mask #3 - For African Art Gallery

Merton D. Simpson African Art Collection

2010-11-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

Merton D. Simpson African Art Collection

Zulu Tribe Information

2010-09-28T11:35:00.002-05:00

Zulu Tribe Information

Zulus are decended from the Ngunis who migrated south from central or east Africa to settle in what is now known as KwaZulu-Natal. They are known across South Africa as a tribe of warriors with strond fighting spirit, but are just as famous for their beautiful beaded crafts.

In 1787 a boy, Shaka, was born out of wedlock to the chief of the Zulus, a small group of about 1500. Shaka had big dreams for his peopleand on his fathers death set about realizing them.

Starting with the limited men available to him, Shaka revolutionised military tactics and orginization, and over 12 years built a formidable force that subdued many of the neighboring groups. The Zulu chiefdom grew into the mighty Zulu empire.

Shaka was betrayed and assassinated by his half-brothers, resulting in the gradual weakening of the empire due to to factors, infighting within the Zulu nation and the arrival of the Afrikaaners, followed by the British.

The biggest defeat of British colonial history was ..........................................................(more)

Rare Mwila Omba Impende Shell Necklace - For African Art Gallery

2010-09-28T11:34:00.002-05:00

Rare Mwila Omba Impende Shell Necklace - For African Art Gallery

Impande Shell Status symbols

2010-09-28T11:34:00.001-05:00

Impande Shell Status symbols

Benin Royal Art Benin Bronze

2010-09-28T06:54:00.000-05:00

Benin Royal Art Benin Bronze

http://www.beninroyalart.com/

A fine collection of Benin Royal artifacts, showcasing the outstanding lost wax bronze castings that were made in the Kingdom of Benin.

African Art Museum Again Delays Opening of Site on Fifth Avenue

2010-09-26T08:06:00.002-05:00

Citing construction delays, the Museum for African Art said on Friday that it had pushed back the planned opening of its new Manhattan home by about six months, from April 2011 to September or October of that year.
The museum will occupy the lower floors of a 19-story condominium building, designed by Robert A. M. Stern, on Fifth...........(read more)

Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Collection of Objects from Southern Africa and Contemporary Work by Tony Oursler

2010-09-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

Until recently, objects from southern Africa — which are typically small, domestic and personal — have been perceived as being more ethnographic than artistic in nature.
CLEVELAND, OH.- A collection of 19th- and 20th-century portable objects from southern Africa and a contemporary sculpture and video piece from American artist Tony Oursler are the latest...................(read more)

Benin Bird of Prophecy Plaque

2010-07-09T09:40:00.003-05:00

Plaque: Three men striking idiophones with Birds of Prophecy

Origin: Edo, Court of Benin
Approximate Age: 16th / 17th Century
Size: 20.5 Inches x 18 Inches

The event portrayed in the plaque shown here is a defining moment in the history of the kingdom of Benin—a court ceremony that commemorates the victory of a sixteenth-century king, Esigie, over seemingly insurmountable odds. Both the work itself and the ritual represented constitute tributes to a divine king's ability to triumph over fate and destiny.

The musical instrument held by each of the three protagonists in this choreographed celebration scene is an idiophone, or clapper, consisting of a cylindrical shaft topped by a bird-motif finial. Each man is holding the clapper in one hand and a metal rod in the other, and two of the men (the central figure and the figure at the right) appear to be striking the rod against the bird's beak. The display and use of these handheld clappers in performances by Benin titleholders are the musical and visual highlights of an annual court festival known as Ugie Oro.

Although Benin artists invariably rendered it with exacting details, which include a long neck with wattles and narrow bib below its long, curved beak, it is difficult to determine what species of bird it might be modeled after.

Consequently, it may be that as a metaphor for an abstract concept—prophecy—ahianmwen-oro is a mythical creature that has been interpreted by Benin artists as a composite of different birds.

From the reign of Esigie onward, the bird of prophecy has been regarded as a sign that the kings of Benin are endowed with the power to alter the course of history. Before that time, according to oral history, it was associated with predictions of disaster. On the eve of an epic crisis involving combat against a formidable enemy, the Igala, its appearance before Esigie and his troops was interpreted by his diviners as a portent of a devastating outcome. Rather than follow their advice to heed the "bird that cries disaster" and retreat, Esigie defied the prediction and rallied his troops to proceed into battle. His audacity was rewarded. Under Esigie's command, the Benin army went on to defeat the Igala and further expand the kingdom's sphere of influence. As a means of commemorating this victory, Esigie commissioned the royal brass-casters to create instruments personifying the augury he had triumphed over, kingly counterparts to diviners' staffs.-

Art historians have noted that it was probably during the reign of Esigie, or of Ewuare a century earlier, that the brass-casters were organized as a professional association within the palace. Among the genres of artistic expression that flourished under Esigie's visionary leadership are the "bird of prophecy" idiophones and the rectangular architectural plaques that were displayed on the palace's facade. The example shown here is especially effective in achieving Esigie's goal of reinforcing the power and mystique of divine kingship at Benin while immortalizing his own quest to alter the course of history.

Cp.:

Barbara PLANKENSTEINER (Hg.): Benin. Könige und Rituale. Höfische Kunst aus Nigeria, Wien 2007, S. 446.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

2010-01-20T17:55:00.004-05:00

Fali African Fertility Dolls

When a young Fali man is preparing for marriage, he carves a doll, known as ham pilu from wood, decorating it with hair, beads, and other small fetish objects. This doll is given to his fiance, who wears it in a baby carrier on her back. The doll is a symbol of their marriage commitment and represents their future child. The man gives the doll the gender that he desires for his first-born. The young woman cares for the figure until the promised child is born; at this point, the couple carefully stores the doll away.

2010-01-19T14:50:00.003-05:00

PUNU IKWARA-MOKULU MASKS

These black punu Ikwara masks, which meted out justice, danced only at twilight or at night, on stilts made from musasa, muri-ditenga - 'the tree of the ghosts', which, by all accounts were much shorter than those used by the daytime Okuyi dancers. Punu (and Galwa, Lumbu or Shira) black masks in museums and collections are much rarer then the others, perhaps because of their dangerous and frankly evil nature, which, may have prompted the villagers to conceal them carefully from European collectors (like all objects connected in some way with witchcraft) and, when they had been discovered, to be more reluctant to sell them to travelers than other more banal items.

*"Visions of Africa: Punu" - Louis Perrois and Charlotte Grand-Dufay ISBN:978-88-7439-401-2

Punu Okuyi Masks

2010-01-19T11:15:00.008-05:00

The okuyi or mukuyi mask, originating from the Punu in southwest Gabon, represents and idealized female face. Indicated by the scarification on the face area, consisting of nine dots, and according to some, have a sexual connotation. Another sign of female gender is the coiffure.

The ritual function fulfilled by these masks is normally at funeral ceremonies, when they are danced as embodiments of the spirits of the ancestors. In the masquerade, the dancers, wearing costumes of raffia or cotton fabric and animal pelts, move with amazing agility on stilts up to six and a half feet in height.

The Turkana People

2008-02-27T13:36:00.005-05:00

Turkana People - Kenya

The Turkana of Kenya, numbering about 340,000, are a nilotic people. They live in northwest Kenya in the Turkana region, an arid and hot region bordering Lake Turkana in the east. The Turkana speak a language they call Ng'aturk(w)ana, by is know to the rest of the world as Turkana.

Traditionally the men and women of the Turkana wear wraps of rectangular woven material, however, the other obtects of adornment differ between the men and the women. The men wear their wraps similar to tunics and carry wrist knives made of steel and goat hide. They Also carry stools which they call ekicholongs and they utlilize them as simple chairs so as to avoid having to sit on the hot midday sand. These stools also double as headrests, keeping the head elevated and out of the sand, they protect ceremonial head decorations from being damaged. Turkana men are also known for carrying several walking staffs as once, normally one is used for walking and balancing, but another usually longer stick is kept to prod livestock while herding.
Turkana women wear beaded necklaces, but also wear their hair in a braided mohawk and adorned with beads.
THe Turkana rely on a few rivers, (Turkwel River, Kerio River) and when these rivers are in flood, new sediment and water extend onto the riverplain that is cultivated after heavy rainstorms which don't occur very often. When dry, the riverbeds are dug up to create an open-pit well which is then used for human consumption as well as for watering livestock.

The Turkana, like many other African tribal groups, hold lovestock as a very important aspect of their culture. Livestock is not only seen as a producer of milk and meat, but also as a form of currency, often used for bridal dowries. The Turkana herd goats, camels, donkeys and sheep, often a Turkana male is give a single animal as a young man, he then will accumulated more via animal husbandry. In turn, once sufficient livestock has been accumulated, the animals will be used to negotiate for a wife. Turkana men can take on more than one wife, however the number of wives he has is limited by the livestock he is able to accumulate.

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The Baga People

2008-02-23T09:18:00.007-05:00

The Baga people live along the coast of Guinnea Bissau where they number about 45,000. They live in villages divided into two and four quartiers, which are inturn divided into five or six clans. Traditionally , each village was governed by the eldest member of each clan, who met in secret to discuss tribal matters. More recently, this sysem has been replaced, and each village is now headed by an elected 'mayor'.
The Baga are a farming community, cultivating primarily rice in wet patties along the coast. Cotton, gourds, millet, oil palms, okra, sesame and sorgum are other locally grown commodities. The Baga also have the belief that abundance can be encouraged by placing benevolent spirits embodied in carved wooden figures in specially constructed huts between the village and the bush. Some coastal fihing is also undertaken and play san inportant role in the Baga economy.
Spiritually, the Baga believe in a single god, Kanu, who is assisted by Somtop, a male spirit and by A-Bol, a female spirit. Below them, the spirit, A-mantsho-nga-Tshol, who is often represented as a snake, serves as the patron of the two lowest grades of the To-lom societ which overseas the different initiation ceremonies.

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The Baga are famous for their Nimba headress, known to the Baga as d'emba. A shoulder mask, standing on four legs, it has a pair of large breats, enlarged head, u-shaped ears, and is work by dancers during festivals and ceremonies relating to births, marriages, harvest ceremonies and some other joyous celebrations. It is said to represent a woman who has born children, and to symbolize fertility.

The Baga snake headresses or Bansonyi, representing the spirit A-mantsho-nga-Tshol, (master of medicine)sometime measuring up to 10 feet high and typically display a rearing snake, polychrome decoration and eyes. Two or sometimes more dancers, clad in raffia costumes or textiles and palm frons, with the assistance of light framework decorated with feathers, ribbons and bells would support these headresses on their shoulders or heads. The masked figures representing the sections of the village would face one another, and, urged on by spectators, they open the ceremony with amock battle intended to inspire the village unity. Among most Baga subgroups, only adolescent males learn the secrets of the snake-spirit, during the Ka-Bere-Tshol initiation which marks the passage to adult status. The Bansonyi had a variety of functions. Beside appearing at funerals, they detact destructive forces, cure sterility, protect boys at circumcision and end droughts.
A-Tshol (meaning medicine) figures, or as sometimes called, elek figures were used principally as shrine figures, but sometime also as headresses. These figures took the form of a head with an exceptionally long beak and a long neck inserted into a base structure. The head also has anthropomorphic aspects such as a coiffure, ears, forhead and nose. A-Tshol figures were placed in the young man's sacred grove as a guardian during initiation, a time when they were considered to be suceptable to destructive forces as during these initiation ceremonies, a trance like state was often entered. A T-shol was under the control of the oldest member of the family as a symbolic incarnation of the lineage.
This Baga Bird Headdress, or a-Bamp headdress as the Baga call it, is very popular among the young initiates and boys. Typical form of these bird statues are a long nech and beak, body with chest protruding, broad wings, they often are sculpted with two birds on their backs, a house and sometimetimes a snake. It is intricately carved and colored with pigment in abstract lines and checkerboard. The a-Bemp dance performed by the masquerader is full of vigor, crouching and again leaping up, tilting the headdress from left to right, all done to the rythm of men beating on slit gongs and drums. It is generally a nocternal dance, and the masquerader is followed by an initiate hold a flame torch.
The Tonkongba mask of the Baga are usually kept in fornt of the clan's shrine. It is sometimes worn by masqueraders during ceremonies involving sacrifices, such as funerals. It is believed that Tonkongba has the power to know both good and bad news.

The Asante People

2008-02-23T09:10:00.003-05:00

The Asante empire was founded in the early 17th century under the rule of the first king, Osei Tutu. According to legend, a golden stool descended from heaven and into the lap of Osei Tutu. The stoll is believed to house the spirit of the Asante people just as it is believed that an individuals stool houses his spirit after death.
The Asante are situated in Southern Ghana, numbering about one and a half million people. The Asante were a dominant power in Ghana, and their early economic structure of the Asante was based on trade of gold and slaves to the Mande and Hausa traders as well as the Europeans in the coastal regions. Acting as middlemen in the slave trade, the Asante were given guns and luxury goods strengthening them as a group.
Asante society, inheritance was through maternal line. The essential role of an Asante woman was to bear children, preferably girls. The Asante fertility, akua’ba, and mother-and-child figures Esi Mansa, were very popular and widely carved due to the importance of maternity and child bearing. The akua’ba figures have disc like heads which embodied the Asante concept of beauty, and were carried by woman wishing to become pregnant and be blessed with the birth of a beautiful child. The akua’ba figures had a secondary purpose too, it was believed the if a child went missing, by placing a akua’ba doll at the edge of the forest with food and silver coins, it would attract the malevolent spirit responsible for the disappearance. The spirit would replace the akua’ba figure with the child, taking the food and silver coins.
The Esi Mansa mother-and-child figures were housed in royal and commoner shrines, emphasizing the importance of family and lineage. They express the Asante ideas about nurturing, family and the continuity of matrilineage through a daughter or of the state through a son.
The Asante are also well known for their ceremonial stool carvings, an curved u-shaped seat, over a base, referring to a proverb or a symbol of wisdom. The Asante are famous for their ceremonial stools carved with an arched sit set over a foot, referring to a proverb or a symbol of wisdom. They are usually made for a chief when he takes office and are adorned with beads or copper nails and sheets. In rare cases, when the chief is sufficiently important, the stool is placed in a special room following his death to commemorate his memory. Ashanti chairs are based on 17 century European models and, unlike stools; do not have any spiritual function. They are used as prestige objects by important chiefs during festivities or significant gatherings.
Also are produced staffs for royal spokesmen, which, like the handles of state swords, are covered in gold foil. The success of the Ashanti Empire depended on the trade in gold not only with Europeans at the coast but also with the Muslim north. Gold dust was the currency, weighed against small brass weights that were often geometric or were representations recalling well-known proverbs. Asante weavers developed a style of weaving of great technical mastery, incorporating imported silk.
The Asante developed remarkably diverse kuduo containers cast of copper alloys. Kuduo were used in many ways. They held gold dust and other valuables, but could also be found in important political and ritual contexts. Some kuduo were buried with their owners, while others were kept in the palace shrine rooms that housed the ancestral stools of deceased state leaders. Life and the afterlife, the present and the past, were enhanced and made more meaningful by the presence of these elegant prestige vessels.

The Pokot People

2008-02-23T09:04:00.002-05:00

The Pokot people live in the western Pokot and Baringo districts of Kenya and in eastern Karmoja in Uganda.

The Pokot history is a complicated one, they seem to be related to many peoples of the region, with ties to the Nilo-Hematic people from the north and the Bantu from central Africa. The Pokot have two main sub groups. Due to their nomadic life, adopted by most of the Pokot, they have interacted with many different peoples throughout their history. Social customs of neighbors were thus incorporated into their way of life and marriage with other communities was common. Their neighbors, the Turkana of Kenya and the Karamojo of Uganda seem to have had the greatest influence on the Pokot.

The Pokot society is governed through a series of age grades, and membership to any specific group would be determined by the age at which a Pokot would go through their initiation into that group or society. For the men it is usually between the ages of fifteen and twenty, whereas for the women, it is around twelve. Young people are allowed to for matrimonial binds once the initiation has been completed as well as begin taking part in the local econimc functions. There are close bonds formed within the initiation groups, that are functional in future political ties as they move through the ranks of the tribal structure. When Pokot peoples reach old age, they get a certain degree of status and the respect that goes with that. Elders have responsibilities to the Pokot such as presiding over important tribal decisions, festivals and religious celebrations.

The Pokot are mostly cattle herders/farmers, but about a quarter are cultivators, mostly growing corn. However, whether a cultivator or pastoralist, the measure of wealth among the Pokot is determined by the number of cows one owns. Cows are used for barter, and exchange, which further goes into "bride wealth". A man is permitted to take more than one wife, as long as he has enough cows to offer her family in exchange for her hand in marriage. Their cattle are hardly ever slaughterd for meat as they are far more valuable alive. The cattle also provide milk, butter, and cheese which are an important part of the diet of the Pokot.

The Pokot believe in Tororot being the supreme diety, and prayers and libations are offered to him during a variety of tribal festivals and dances that are overseen by the Pokot elders. The Pokot also have diviners that are responsible for maintaining the spiritual balance of the community. The Pokot are superstitious and believe in sorcery, and call on various forms of protective talismans to ward off the ill will of any sorcerors. The Pokot also revere other dieties such as the sun, moon and the spirit of death.

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Malaria Problems in Africa - How you can help

2008-01-19T21:58:00.000-05:00

A million deaths a year, almost 90% of them children under the age of five, the culprit MALARIA!

Because of the debilitating nature of Malaria, families stricken with this disease are unable to tend and harvest up to 60% of their crops. This means less to eat and even less to barter with.

And thus the cycle of poverty and disease begins.
This planet is a malarious planet, though it may not seem that way when looked at from the vantage point of a wealthy country, where if we even consider malaria, it is thought of as a problem that has mostly been solved. In actuality, malaria now affects more people than ever before.. In recent years, the parasite has grown so entrenched and has developed resistance to so many drugs that the most potent strains can scarcely be controlled. This year malaria will strike up to half a billion people. At least one million will die, most of them under the age of five, the vast majority living in Africa. That's more than twice the annual toll a generation ago.
Malaria, a plague of the poor is easy to overlook, though in the past few years, malaria captured the full attention of aid agencies and donors. The world health Organization has made malaria reduction a chief priority. The idea is to disable the disease by combining vitually every known malaria-fighting technique, from the ancinct (Chinese herbal medications), to the old (bed nets) to the ultra modern (multidrug cocktails). At the same time, malaria researchers are persueing a long-sought, elusive goal; a vaccine that would curb the disease for good.
Most of the aid is going to a few hard hit countries scattered across sub-Saharan Africa. If these nations can beat back disease, they'll serve as templates for the global anti-malaria effort. And if they can't? Well, nobody in the malaria world likes to answer that question.
Where can you help?
We at African Sky have partnered with another organization to get malaria medications to rural areas of southern Mali where we already have a support structure in place. The medications are guaranteed to get to the people that need them most, the way that medications are meant to, free of charge. African Sky will make your entire donation work in the fight against malaria. A $20 dosage purchase, buys the medication, has it shipped to Mali, and provides a small percentage for training the local clinics to administer the drug and care for the patient. Just think, your $20 could save the life of another innocent child that doesn't have a choice.
What will we be supplying?
The drug of choice, is the newest malaria cure available, which also happens to be based on one of the oldest - an herbal medicine derived from a weed related to sage-brush, sweet wormwood, called artemisia. This treatment was first described in a Chinese medical text written in the fourth century A.D. but seems to have been overlooked by the rest of the world until now. The new version, Artemisinin, is as powerful as quinine with few side effects. It is the last remaining surefire malaria cure. Other drugs can still play a role in treatment, but the parasites have developed resistance to all of them, including quinine itself. To help reduce the odds that mutation will also disarm artemisinin, derivatives of the drug are mixed with other compounds in an antimalarial barrage known as artemisinin-based combination therapy, or ACT.

Log on now, buy a complete treatment to save a life..........

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African art of the Maasai

2007-12-01T14:03:00.001-05:00

Maasai African Art form Kenya and Tanzania.

As the Maasai traditionally eat neither fruit nor grain, milk, either fresh or curdled, is the basic food staple, and is often drunk mixed with blood (the mixture is called nailang'a) in the dry season, when milk yields are low.
It is generally stored and carried in long, decorated gourds which are washed with urine (despite our western preconceptions, urine is totally sterile when fresh, and thus acts as a mild antiseptic). Milk itself - the gift of Ngai's cattle - is symbolized on ceremonial occasions by the application of a mixture of white chalk and water to the bodies of participants.
Once a month, blood is also taken from living animals, usually to be mixed with milk. This is done as follows: a noose is tightened around a cow's neck, causing the jugular vein to swell. A short blunt arrow with a 1cm tip and its shaft bound with twine, is then fired at close range from a loosely-strung bow to puncture the vein. The blood which spurts out is caught in a gourd. The wound is not fatal and is stopped afterwards with a wad of mud and dung to stop the bleeding: all in all, not that different from people giving blood. The Maasai believe the blood makes them very strong. Curdled blood is called osaroi.
The Maasai believe that Ngai (God) entrusted all the world's cattle to them for safe-keeping when the earth and sky split at the beginning of time, and this is how they justify raiding cattle from other tribes. The story goes that Ngai (a name synonymous with sky) was once one with the earth. Then earth and sky separated, and Ngai delivered cattle to the Maasai by means of the aerial roots of the wild fig tree, which is sacred.
For the Maasai, cattle are everything: food, material, culture, ritual. Cattle are life. "I hope your cattle are well", they say in greeting.
More than any other Kenyan people, the pastoralist Maasai are a cattle-herders par excellence. Cattle provide almost everything they need for survival, and much more besides. They are a symbol of wealth and a source of pride, and a person's entire life revolves around the herds: the need to pasture and care for them, the need to protect them, and the need to move with them in search of fresh pasture and water.

A-Bemp headdress in African art.

2007-12-01T13:49:00.000-05:00

The A-Bemp Headdress in African Art

At adolescence, young boys of the Baga enter a new stage. They form wrestling groups, and much of their ritual has to do with combat.

They also continue to conduct their own ritual, some of which involves masquerade. A headdress shaped as the figure of a large bird has long been one of the most popular masquerades of young men and boys. It is called 'the bird' -'a-Bemp' or 'a-Bamp'. The basic headdress is simply a bird form with a long neck, a long beak, a pot-bellied body, and broad striped wings over the back. A stake extends down from its belly, used to insert into an armature that the dancer wears on his head.

The headdress can range in form from softly naturalistic to extravagantly abstract and composite. Many of these figures bear twin miniature birds on their backs, often in conjunction with a miniature house. A checkerboard pattern often appears on the bird's front.

There are infinite departures from this basic form. Attachments may depict the Baga woman, model canoes, and airplanes. Some examples are almost completely abstract and extremely complex, incorporating bird and serpent forms as well as indeterminate geometric shapes.

One detail stands out, as a curiosity, in all this; the model house. A house is also seen on another headdress, the Banda. The house is the symbol par excellence of the gratification of sexual desire. Traditionally, it was only at marriage, preceded by the requisite initiation, that the young man built his own house. It was to this house that his brothers carried his bride on their shoulders following her marriage, and it was this little house that his marriage was consummated.

The a-Bamp headdress does not consistently represent any particular bird in nature. Many examples have head crests, suggesting the elegant large stalking birds of the sea inlets with their crowning tufts of feathers. The dance of the a-Bamp is athletic. The dance skips around the perimeter of the circle formed by the audience. He crouches and then leaps up; or, crouching, he tilts to the right and left. Occasionally he may twirl, accelerating his steps, and end by lifting the headdress above his head and spinning it around. Accompanying the dancer are men beating the large slit gong, box drums and smaller drums suspended under their arms. The dance generally takes place at night, so a young man may follow a-Bamp with a torch made from a lit bundle of grass.

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New Affiliate Program

2006-04-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Webmasters, make money by reffering customers to our site, earn a commission for every buying referral today! Full affiliate software allows you to manage your banners and links, reports show all referrals and commisions due. Click on the link to join now. African Art Affiliate Program.

African Religious Art

2006-02-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

For those of you interested in the religious side of the African people, I have put together a little information page on the Ethiopian manuscripts that were written on vellum, pictured is a Ethiopian bible, or gospel book, now in a private collection. If you go to my Sold Items page, you will see a Ethiopian magic scroll that is also now in a private collection.

New African Art archers bracelets.

2006-02-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

I have 3 Archers bracelets from The Tutsi arriving in a shipment shipment within the next 7 days. These bracelets were used by Archers to protects their wrists from the snap of the bow on release of the arrow. The wooden bracelets like those in the shipment were more prestigious, adorned with copper, than those commonly used by the average archer who would weave them out of grass, and were probably used by archers of the chief. These items will be viewable under the Weapons page of the For African Art website.

African Art and the Makonde.

2006-02-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

I have posted two new pages on my website wiht information on the Makonde and their sculpture. The first is more of a general information page on the Makonde and the other has far more focus on the Makonde Sculpture.

New African Art items due in over the next 2 weeks

2006-02-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

Here is a lsit of items due in over the next two weeks, I will try to post some pictures of the items that I got before they were boxed and shipped so that you can get an idea. If you are interested in any of these items, please feel free to contact me with queries, of to get the first right of refusal.
*Baule Door
*Afo Currency.
*Kusu Boloko Currency
*Idoma Currency
*Mfunte Currency
*Bambara Mask
*Senufo Kpeli-yehe Mask
*Double Baule Mblo Mask
*Zulu Beer pot cover
*Zulu Isicolo (Hat)
*Fang Ngil Mask
These items will be listed on New African Art Items page as soon as I get them photographed and loaded.<

Appologies for lack in Communication.

2006-02-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

HI All,
Sorry about the lack in communication, things have been crazy over the last few months, it is full blown season down here in Florida, the gallery is crazy as ever, I am working with a museum for an permanent African exhibition in their new Spain location that is in the process of being built.
as far as product goes, I have got a lot of new items in over the festive season, the bulk of them have been loaded already, and a lot have bee sold already. For those of you interested in seeing the new items, feel free to take your time browsing my New African Art Items Page.
If you would like to see a sampling of some of the items that have sold over the last few months, take a lood at my Sold Items Page.

Kuba Raffia Textiles

2005-11-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

The Kuba live in the Kasai river region of the Democratic republic of Congo (formerly Zaire.) The embroidered and decorated raffia cloths that are produced by the Kuba are the best known survivors of this wonderful ancient African tradition that was at a time a widespread process across the all of central Africa. Kuba cloth is woven from the fib of the Rafia Vinifera Palm. The production of these textiles is a multiple stage process involving the participation of children, men and women of the same clan. The process includes the collection and preparation of the raffia fibers for weaving and embroidery, weaving the basic cloth unit, dyeing the embroidery fibers, and embellishing the woven cloth with embroidery, applique, patchwork and dye.
For more on the Kuba Raffia Textiles visit Kuba Raffia Textile

Great resources on African art

2005-11-21T18:23:00.000-05:00

A lot of poeple spend hours searching for information on this great subject, I know, I have been online for countless hours, I have paged though thousands of pages of books, and read placed items in chat forums, all in the quest to learn more. I have put a page together on my website that has a great list of books on Africna art listed to make the search easier for you, including links to amazon for the purchase. If there is anything that i might be able to assist you with please feel free to contact me as well.
Here is a link to the African art resource page, the books listed here are all books that I have purchased and enjoyed, and fealt they are worth mentioning.
Great Books on African Art

Bamileke Kwifo Society

2005-11-21T17:53:00.000-05:00

The Kwifo (meaning 'night') society, who acts as a policing force while the king hears complaints and councils his people, carrying out punishments and executions at night. Acting as the kings agent, the Kwifo also mediates significant conflicts and pronounces sentence in both civil and criminal cases. The mask pictured to the right, known as Mabu presents the decrees of the society to the people.

for information on the Bamileke click here.Bamileke Tribe

for more information on the Kwifo Society in particular, click here. Bamileke Kwifo Society

Senufo Kpeli-Yehe Masks

2005-11-19T13:01:00.000-05:00

A mask of the Poro Society, a society that uses age grades and exerts political and social control, they convey traditional knowledge, and fulfill religious functions. The Senufo kpeli-yehe mask often used at funeral ceremonies, is used to compel the spirit to leave the house of the deacesed.
The masks pictured here are recent kpeli-yehe mask purchases of great quality and are being shipped in soon, they are still available for sale. Feel free to contact me for first option on these masks if you are interested. You can see more masks that are available at present on my website, through the following link to the MASKS AND HEADDRESSES page: African masks

New African Art Items

2005-11-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

I have some more items on the way into the States at the moment, and they will all be loaded onto the website as soon as they arrive. Some of the items coming in are:

Baga Protective Serpents
Bamun Bracelets
Benin Leopard
Metal Cache Sex
Bamileke Beaded Dolls
Senufo masks
Baule masks
Bamileke Elephant masks
Bali Elephant Mask
Baule Mouse Oracle

These items will be listed under the new items page on my website as soon as they come in, if you are interested in any having an option on any items before they are listed, feel free to contact my at any time.

New Items at forafricanart.com

Lost Wax bronzing in African art.

2005-11-12T13:52:00.000-05:00

For those of you interested in lost wax bronzes from African, I have put a webpage up explaining the intricate process of LOST WAX, you might find it informative if you are not sure of how it was done. LOST WAX BRONZING IN AFRICA

Yoruba Beadwork

2005-11-12T13:41:00.000-05:00

I have a new shipment due to come in within the next week or two from Nigeria of Yoruba beadwork. The will be a crown or two, some belts, possibly diviners bags, etc. I am not totally sure what they were able to send, as I have been unable to contact my associates in Nigeria for the last week and a half.

Hello

2005-11-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

A quick hello and thank you for visiting my African art blog, I will be continually adding new information and random posts regarding African art and what is going on in my life with this wonderful passion I have for it. Feel free to view my website http://www.forafricanart.com and browse at your leisure, give me any feedback you would like to and ask me any questions you may have regarding the art of the tribes, I will help wherever I can.