Africa Pre-1800
Chapter 19
Africa Before 1800
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Africa Before 1800
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Goals
• Understand the early history of African peoples and their shared
core of beliefs and cultural practices.
• Examine the styles and subject matter of early African rock art
and other media used to create art.
• Explore the art of different regions of early through medieval
Africa and study their stylistic qualities
• Examine the architecture of African civilizations.
• Evaluate the influence of other world cultures on African art and
architecture.
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19.1 Early African Art
• Discuss stylistic traits of regional African styles.
• Examine the styles and subject matter of early African rock
art and other media used to create art.
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Prehistoric and Early Cultures
• Examine the styles and subject matter of early African rock
art.
• Describe stylized features of early sculpture in the round
• Explore issues that cause difficulty in pinpointing the
creators and interpreting the meaning(s) of early African art
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Figure 19-2 Running horned woman, rock painting,
from Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria, ca. 6000–4000 BCE.
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Art from Nok and Lydenburg (500 BCE –
200 CE)
• Recall these locations as the discovery sites of some of the
earliest known sculpture-in-the round in Africa
• Describe stylized features of these sculptures
• Name popular materials used in these works
• Examine problems in ascertaining the purpose/meaning
behind art of this period
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Figure 19-3 Nok head, from Rafin Kura,
Nigeria, ca. 500 BCE–200 CE. Terracotta, 1’
2 3/16” high. National Museum, Lagos.
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Figure 19-4 Head, from Lydenburg, South
Africa, ca. 500 ce. Terracotta, 1 21
5/16” high. South African Museum, Iziko
Museums of Cape Town, Cape Town.
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Use of Metal-Casting in African Art
• Advanced works of art were cast in bronze and other metals in
West Africa by 9th and 10th centuries CE.
• Recall some of the various objects discovered in burial sites at
Igbo Ukwu.
• Consider how some of the art cast in metal reflect social
hierarchy in terms of durability and appearance
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Figure 19-5 Equestrian figure on fly-whisk hilt,
from Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria, 9th to 10th century.
Copper-alloy bronze, figure 6 3/16” high. National
Museum, Lagos.
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19-4A Roped water pot on a stand, from IgboUkwu, Nigeria, 9th to 10th century. Leaded
bronze, 1’ 11/16” high. National Museum,
Lagos.
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African Art 11th to 18th Centuries
• Examine the styles and subject matter of later African art and
media used, especially bronze and ivory.
• Explore the artistic differences between the Sudan and
Lower Nigeria.
• Recall specific cultures and their artistic contributions such as
Ife, Djenne, and Lalibela
• Discuss stylistic traits of regional African styles, especially the
idealized naturalism of Ile-Ife..
• Witness the blend of different cultures in Africa with the
introduction of Islam and Christianity
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• Observe the idealized
naturalism
• Notice that
disproportionately large head –
Ife seat of wisdom
Figure 19-6 King, from Ita Yemoo (Ife), Nigeria, 11th to 12th
century. Zinc-brass, 1’ 61/2” high.Museum of Ife Antiquities,
Ife.
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19-6A Head of an Ife king, from the Wunmonije
Compound, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 12th to 13th century. Zinc brass,
1’ 1/4" high. Museum of Ife Antiquities, Ife.
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19-7 Seated man, from Tada, Nigeria, 13th to 14th
century. Copper, 1’ 9 1/8” high. National Museum,
Lagos.
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Figure 19-8 Archer, from Djenne, Mali, 13th
to 15th century. Terracotta, 2’ 3/8” high.
National Museum of African Art,
Washington, D.C.
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Figure 19-9 Aerial view of the Great Mosque, Djenne, Mali, Begun 13th century, rebuilt 1906-1907.
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Lalibela (Christian Ethiopia)
• Evaluate the influence of Christianity in the art and
architecture of Africa.
• Examine the art and architecture of Lalibela (Christian
Ethiopia).
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Figure 19-10 Beta Giorghis (Church of Saint George), Lalibela, Ethiopia, 13th century.
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Great Zimbabwe (12th to 15th centuries)
• Examine the architecture of Zimbabwe.
• Realize the significance of Great Zimbabwe as a crossroads
of world wide trade and consider how this influenced its art
and architecture
• Study the imagery and contemplate the meaning of Great
Zimbabwe’s monolithic sculpture
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Figure 19-11 Walls and tower, Great Enclosure, Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, 14th century.
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Figure 19-12 Monolith with bird and crocodile, from Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, 15th
century. Soapstone, bird image 1’ 21/2” high. Great Zimbabwe Site Museum, Great
Zimbabwe.
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Benin Kingdom (13th to 16th centuries)
• Know the skill of Benin sculptors in working with various
materials including metals, ceramics, ivory, and wood
• Study the imagery of Benin art to understand the kingdom’s
religious iconography, political hierarchy, as well as the influence
of contacts with European expeditions
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Figure 19-13 Waist pendant of a Queen
Mother, from Benin, Nigeria, ca.1520. Ivory
and iron, 9 3/8” high. Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York (Michael C.
Rockefeller Memorial Collection, gift of
Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972).
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19-13A Head of a Queen Mother, from Benin,
Nigeria, ca. 1520–1550. Bronze, 1’ 3 1/3” high.
British Museum, London.
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Figure 19-1 Altar to the Hand and Arm
(ikegobo), from Benin, Nigeria, 17th to 18th
century. Bronze, 1’ 512” high. British Museum,
London.
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Sapi People (15th to 16th centuries)
• Evaluate the impact of their contacts with Europeans on their art
• After examining Sapi sculpture, consider reasons for its imagery
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Figure 19-14 MASTER OF THE SYMBOLIC EXECUTION, saltcellar,
Sapi-Portuguese, from Sierra Leone, 15th to 16th century. Ivory, 1’ 4 7/8”
high. Museo Nazionale Preistorico e Etnografico Luigi Pigorini, Rome.
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Discussion Questions
 What were some of the significant early to medieval
African civilizations? Give examples of and describe their
works of art.
 Discuss the importance of the discovery of Great
Zimbabwe and the insights it provides regarding African
culture.
 How did African artists incorporate the influence of nonAfricans into their art and architecture? What indigenous
qualities did African artists retain in their work?
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