Jean Laude - The Arts of Black Africa. 1973

199- Tambourine player. Bronze plaque. Benin, Nigeria. British Museum,London. Photo by the museum.

From Myth to History 237

200. Entrance to oba's

palace. Bronze plaque.

Benin, Nigeria. British

Museum, London. Photoby the museum.

In this type of work the height of the characters is determined

by symbolic proportions which may not be transgressed withoutthreatening the entire system of values and belief forming the

social order. Even when art veers toward this relative illusionism,there is no absolute visual priority. It is when the artist is nolonger constrained by social symbolism, when the elements ofthe work are not structured by a hierarchy, that the illusionistic

effects are most extreme. Decorative details may appear: anotherBritish Museum plaque shows the entrance to the oba's palaceflanked by shield bearers and a page with a round fan. The steps,

the pillars of the porch roof (covered with bronze plaques), and

the roof tiles with their supporting nails are depicted with pre-

cision. The palace itself is of course the repository of beliefs and

nonmaterial representations, whether mythical or religious. Pre-

sented in this minutely realistic fashion, however, it can also be

perceived as a representative element, not only as a symbolic

object.

Bini plaques cover the faces of the columns in the palace

courtyards. The order in which they are arranged is probably

highly significant. Since they are dedicated to recounting and

200

2oi. Portuguese soldier surrounded by manillas. Bronze plaque. Berlin, Ni-

geria. Museum fur Volkerkunde, Vienna. Photo by the museum.

From Myth to History 239

praising the oba's feats, his everyday life, and happenings in his

court, they form a chronicle of ritual, protocol, and memorable

events. As permanent exhibits, they are additions to architecture;

their existence is visual. These characteristics could be the result

of the search for illusionistic effects. Here space is perceived as

the theater of a spectacle rather than as the shape of mythical

expression.

All the Bini plaques were cast in the sixteenth and seven-

teenth centuries. The Portuguese arrived in the capital of Benin

in 1472, and trade between Africa and Europe began in the early

part of the sixteenth century. Any influential contact betweenBini and Western art remains conjectural. Some writers claim

that the format and the composition of the plaques were sug-

gested to black artists by illustrated books introduced by mis-

sionaries or merchants, but such hypothetical statements are hard

to authenticate. Nevertheless, an indirect Western influence can-

not be ruled out entirely. Clearly, the population that manifested

the most sophisticated sense of space and time was the one that

enjoyed the most direct and most enduring contact with Europe.

The arrival of the Europeans truly marked the intervention

of history among populations that, like the Ife, were disposed to

accept it only insofar as they had already sensed individual au-

tonomy at the level of the royal person. The artist who portrayed

a Portuguese soldier surrounded by his manillas (copper bracelets 201

used as slave currency) had, at least provisionally, banished all

mythical thought. It was no longer a question of allegory, for that

was the moment when Africa entered history.

8

Conclusion

The foregoing is merely a sketch of African art history. Black art,

vanishing into a past as distant as that of European art, has at

different moments offered clear signs of vitality and renewal. It

withered when colonization began; it died at the beginning ofthe twentieth century, but Africa herself remained. Sociologists

have attributed the disappearance of African art to its strict sub-

ordination to the social institutions it expressed. When traditionalAfrican societies began to disintegrate, owing to their colonial

status and to a prolonged contact with certain aspects of Western

civilization, the arts entered a period of irreversible decadence.

Georges Balandier and Jacques Maquet especially have used this

argument to show how artistic production was determined bysociety and traditional religions. If art disappears when societydissolves, society has entirely ruled creativity, and art is the re-

flection or the expression of society.

In this supposition there is an optical illusion, although the

rapport between art and society cannot be denied. It is not, how-

ever, a direct causal link. It is, to borrow a formula from Roger

Conclusion 241

Bastide, a situational link. The dissolution of traditional society

and religion often seems to be merely external. The example of

the Congo shows that, in places where group structures were

preserved by the colonizers, art has nonetheless decayed. Present-

day statues of Bakuba kings retain no more than a vague and

distant relationship to those discovered by the Europeans in 1910.

As far as religion is concerned, the Dogon experience is just asconvincing. The celebration of seasonal cycles continues and

mythology is still vividly present. The masks produced, however,

appear to be makeshift copies, like the ones exhibited at the

Theatre des Nations in 1964. If, then, social and religious values

outlive artistic values, the causes of decadence must be sought

by direct reference to the sculptor and his working conditions.

After colonization the artisan, like all other members of the

community, found himself subject to duties from which he had

traditionally remained more or less exempt. The necessity of pay-

ing taxes in currency constrained him to work for the new settlers,

for he had to fulfill military and work obligations. It logically

followed that his professional activity suffered, while the quantity

of work orders increased. The period of apprenticeship grew

shorter and more difficult as traditional models disappeared,

owing to their destruction during the missionaries' autos-da-fe

and to the massive purchases made by the Europeans in the early

i9oo's. From then on, limited to a short apprenticeship and work-

ing time, no longer living with the venerable models that had

sustained his efforts and formed his taste, the artist fashioned

crude and hasty rough drafts. A totally different kind of demandhad arisen. The artisan now became a supply source for Westerntourists who, eager to own exotic souvenirs, commissioned ob-jects (ashtrays, elephants) suited to their taste. The artist filled

urban marketplaces and airport shops with such mementos.

Since social and religious needs cbntinued to be fulfilled, at

least in the more remote regions, it seems correct to say that pur-

pose and function basically determine neither the quality nor the

outward aspect of masks, statuettes, and routine objects, and that

the artist's values surpass the exterior determinants of society,

242 Conclusion

myth, and cults. In the words of Marcel Mauss, these values are

not mere adjuncts. Even though the Dogon, the Bambara, and the

Senufo adhere to the same metaphysical concepts, their arts are

clearly differentiated. The artistic and stylistic traits of created

works must be considered in any analysis of the culture as a

whole.

It is not proper to describe African art as a monolithic whole

or to ascribe to it a single style, copied from one model and sub-

ject only to minor variations. Archaeological research has sup-

plied abundant proof of the diversity of black art. A double motif,or rather a double contemplative theme, pervades the African

continent. It is from two basic notions, person and vitalism, that

cultures seem to have developed and become diversified.

Emile Durkheim has shown that the consciousness of the

body is at the origin of the notion of person. African art is neither

fantastic nor imaginary. The human body sustains it; the prime

value attached to physical existence gives it solidity and internal

force. This art is the expression of a peasant culture, founded on

a settled existence and the seasonal cycles, as evidenced by the fact

that pastoral peoples and nomads are ignorant of sculpture. It is

interesting to contrast this farmers' art, whose plastic formalism

and material solidity fascinated the cubists, with Oceanic art, the

art of the great navigators, a fabulous creation that enchanted

the surrealist imagination. For Andre Breton, Oceanic art ex-

presses "the greatest effort of all time to expose the interpenetra-

tion of the physical and the mental, to triumph over the dualism

of perception and representation, to dig through the outer bark

to the sap," whereas in African art he finds only "sempiternal

variations of the external appearance of men and animals, . . .heavy material themes, the structure proper to the physical be-

ingface and bodyfecundity, domestic labor, horned beasts."We must pause here for a moment to offer our profound sympathyto Breton for the suffering that the thought of all these horned

beasts has caused him. But what can one expect? Racine's Pyrrhus

had not read the seventeenth-century salon novels, nor are the

Africans aware of Breton's Discours sur le Peu de Realite.

Conclusion 243

The African does not place himself at the center of the cos-

mos, nor does he tend to mingle his characteristics with those of

other species in order to create composite images. The arts of

black Africa contain very few monsters. To create the diabolical

and demonic images that Theodore de Bry engraved at the direc-

tion of Duarte Lopez and Filippo Pigafetta would require the

fiery and religious imagination of a fifteenth- or sixteenth-century

believer. The African individual rarely conspires with the ob-

scure forces that shape the universe. Moreover, his conception of

self changes with time and place.

For the Dogon and the Bambara, man is "the seed of the uni-verse"; he is part of the network of relationships woven among

all beings by the Creator. His bonds with the organization of all

forms are not symbolically but actually present. For Ife and Bini

artists, man is represented by a king of divine essence, the haughtydignitary whose mouth seems to curve scornfully and skeptically.

This royal personage is so sure of his preeminence that he does

not ask to be represented through his own features. He is the godhe incarnates, the god who incarnates himself within a temporaryhuman shell whose personal appearance matters not at all. Earthly

possessions belong to him by right; through his ancestry he holds

the monopoly of blood, of barter, and of commercial trade. To ob-

tain from the Portuguese the bronze he requires to exalt his au-

thority, he can dispose of the life and liberty of his faithful sub-

jects. Through the benefits flowing from all these advantages his

vital energy is further increased.

Ife heads, and to a lesser extent Bini heads, truly seem to be

Apollonian, but they too share in the sombre, rhythmically ex-

pressed energy that all African art critics have considered fun-

damental. The black essayists Anta Diop and Leopold Senghor

have partly confirmed this intuitive conclusion, describing the

rhythm more subtly and perceiving it in terms of African reality.

Following Gobineau, Elie Faure has emphasized the cosmic

and biological aspects of African rhythm. In black sculpture, he

writes, "the rhythm alone constitutes the subject matter . . . and

reflects cosmic order without even discussing it." From Senghor's

244 Conclusion

point of view rhythm for an African is "the architecture of being,

the internal dynamism that shapes him, the system of life waves,

waves he emits directly toward others, the expression of vital

force. . . . Rhythm illuminates the spirit to the extent that it

transforms itself into sensuality/' Dionysus is the hidden god of

Africa: the god who dances, who possesses and inspires the voiceand the poetic word, the god of intemperance who provisionallyannihilates individual will in order better to strengthen life. These

qualities appear over and over again in mythology and in cults.

African civilizations are civilizations of the dance and the word,

it being understood that vocal or instrumental music is always as-

sociated with recitatives and choreography. Nonsculptural forms

all express highly complex poetry and music. Herbert Pepper has

recorded five-part fugues from the Pygmies of the equatorial

forests, constructed according to a "tiled counterpoint/7

The essential features of African life and thought relate

very well to rhythm. Upon analysis, rhythmic aspects are re-

vealed as well in the scansion of poetry, the position of rhetorical

figures in a poem, choreographical and musical patterns, and

finally in the arrangement of sculptural volumes. Here it is neces-

sary to shade the purely biological interpretations of Gobineau

and Faure, who exaggerate the importance of instinct. WilliamFagg, after careful consideration of this problem, has cautiously

proposed an explanation for rhythm in the importance attached to

the germination and the growing of grain and to the vital force

of the person. It is not a question of denying the existence of an

African philosophy governed by dynamic vitalism, a fact con-

firmed by the acquisition of detailed knowledge about different

ethnic groups. African philosophy, however, must not be in-

terpreted in the light of modern Western metaphysical systems,

such as that of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In spite of their at-

tractiveness to modern African intellectuals, these systems do not

necessarily provide a sound basis for comparison.

The most striking feature of black African masks and statu-

ettes is their ambiguity. They all aim to trap nonmaterial forces,

but only in order to augment the group's reserves of life-force,

Conclusion 245

whether the group is a family, a village, or the nation. Their sec-

ond mission is to control the force which, if allowed to wander

freely and indiscriminately, would pose a serious threat to the

collectivity. Masks and statuettes also shield man from genii andspirits and from the liberated and scattered energies in nature.

In other words, they are designed to take possession of nature

through cultivation. It is a simultaneous process of recapturing

the burning and dangerous blood that flows through nature and

of mastering, through agriculture, the spirited forces by trapping

and irrigating them. This theory runs counter to other theories

that evaluate, or simply express, a rhythmically transmitted and

instinctively perceived present. The traditional African would

never abandon himself to the dark forces that obsess the world or

let himself be carried away by the vital flux. African emotivity

is quicker and more sharply alerted than that of Western man,

but perhaps these qualities are simply a function of milieu. Ab-

stracted from the community where it developed, this emotivity

is deprived of its natural, tempering, and meaningful framework.

The traditional milieu is changing. Africa is becoming ur-

banized, and roads crisscross the continent. In the villages tran-

sistor radios open people's minds to the vastness of space and to

the rest of humanity, and thus to new problems. Large cities

absorb men who have stretched and broken the bond with theirpeasant ancestry. Although still at an embryonic stage, industrial

growth is beginning to provide a new black proletariat with adifferent kind of civilization. These are the visible changes; there

are other, deeper ones which are harder to assess. The training

of qualified technicians, the establishment of universities, the

education of younger generationsall these are altering modesof thought, breaking traditional ties, and creating new scientific

and rational relationships. Once in a while someone glances back

at the vanishing traditions and nostalgically describes the past as

a golden age. But the backward look is a sign that the break with

the past is indeed complete and that the present momentum willnot slow down. Africa is not so much surviving as inventing her-

self anew.

246 Conclusion

So it is, too, with African art. The spiritual and intellectual

forces of an Africa that now belongs to history and looks towardthe future call for totally new forms. The artist must, however,

be warned of two dangers: first, a too violent rupture with tra-

ditional Africa through the adoption of purely Western modes,

and, second, a too tender and too insistent observance of a folk-

loric past. Either course of action would impoverish today's wide-

spread artistic energy. To pursue this question further would be

to indulge in futile prophecy and to ignore the brilliantly in-

ventive capacity that African art, through many centuries, hasnever ceased to display.

Comparative Survey of

World History and Art

248

Central and Eastern andDate Western Africa equatorial Africa southern Africa

5000- Blacks take possession of Africa, then probably inhabited by ancestors of4000 B.C. Pygmies.

4000-

3000 B.C.

3000-2000 B.C.

Ca. 2720-

2560 B.C.

Ca.

2400 B.C.

2000-

IOOO B.C.

18th cen-

tury B.C.

1558-I53O B.C.

1530-1520 B.C.

1504-

1483 B.C.

15th and14th

centu-

ries B.C.

249

African arts Discovery of AfricaEgypt and

Mediterranean Basin

Sudan: Pottery with wavypatterns.

Nubia: Cut or hammeredrock reliefs with animaldesign.

Nubia: The triumph ofDjer (on rock).

Egyptian raids into Nubia.

Exploitation of Nubianmines. Exploitation of low-

er Nubia by rulers ofElephantine.

Pepi I has granite obelisks

cut in Nubia for Heliopo-lis.

Pacification of Nubia. Es-

tablishment of Kerma.Colonization of Nubia.

Beginning of EarlyMinoan.

Copper (from Asia) inLower Egypt. Perfectingof copper tools in allEgypt-

Animal sculpture in Up-per Egypt.

In Upper Egypt, firstgreat royal necropolises.

Stela of king-serpent.

Middle Minoan. Firstpalaces built.

Middle Minoan III. Thesnake-goddess. Cnossusfrescoes: Sudanese land-scape with blue monkey;white chief leading armyof blacks.

Egyptian expansion to-

ward Sudan.

Founding of province ofKouch. Voyage to countryof Punt.

Domination ofEgypt to 3d cataract. Re-sumption of Egyptian ex-pansion to 4th cataract.

Temples of Amada and ofSemneh.

Egypt: Amenophis I.

Introduction of horse

into Egypt by Hyksos.

Tuthmosis I.Queen Hatshepsut.Temple at Deir el-Bahri.

Mycenaean style. Cretandecadence.

250

Date Western AfricaCentral and

equatorial Africa

Eastern andsouthern Africa

13th cen-

tury B.C.

12th cen-

tury B.C.

10th cen-

tury B.C.

9th and8th cen-

turies

B.C.

Beginning of Kouchexpansion towardnorth. 1st dynasty of

Napata. Ca. 760: Na-pata necropolis. Tri-

umphal stela of Na-pata. Ca. 730:

Piankhy, king of Su-

dan and of Nubians,master of UpperEgypt-

251


Mediterranean Basin

Foundation of Gem-Atonin Nubia. Temple of Amonat Soleb.

Amenophis II.

Engravings of chariots in

Sahara. Rock paintings(age unknown) in Tassiliand Ennedi.

Temples at Faras andKawa in Nubia.Temple at Abu Simbel.Battle of Kadesh (carveddecoration).

The four giants.Temple at Amara. Templeof Re at Dehr. Temple ofPtah at Gherf-Hussein.Temple at Wadi es-Sebou.Identical Pharaonic tem-ples in delta, in UpperEgypt, and in Nubia.

Introduction of horse intoLibya by People of theSea who cultivate the re-gion bounded by Fezzan,Maroc, and Niger Bend.

Amenophis IV (1372).Tutankhamen (1354-1346). Restoration ofcult of Amon. Ramses II(1301-1235).

Reestablishment of rela-tions with country ofKouch.

Extension of Pharaonicculture to 6th cataract.

Ca. 600: Periplus of Phoe-nicians by Necho.

Appearance in Egypt ofofficial metal statuary,

divine or royal. Renewalof stylization of bodies.

Height of bronze periodin Middle and UpperEgypt-

In 753, legendary foun-dation of Rome.609-595: Necho II phar-aoh of Egypt.

252


7th cen-

tury B.C.

6th-4th Nok civilization1

cen- (northern Nigeria).

turies

B.C.

253


Mediterranean Basin

Nok terra-cottas (up toist century a.d.).

Meroe as artistic center.Diffusion of Hellenistic

arts into Meroe.

Ca. 500: Periplus of Han-no, suffete of Carthage, as

far as Mount Cameroon(controversial).

Ca. 450: Travels of the

Nasamons across Sahara.

605 : Defeat of Necho IIby Nebuchadnezzar.Failure of Ethiopian at-

tempt against Egypt.Growing importance ofMeroe.

525: Conquest of Egyptby Persians.

332: Conquest of Egyptby Alexander.146: Destruction of Car-thage by Romans.

254


equatorial Africa


ist millen-

niumA.D.

Introduction of agri-

culture and metal-lurgy, from Nubia tothe south.

A.D. 66

A.D. jo

A.D. 86

A.D. 106

Until 4th century,

height of kingdomof Axum.

2d century

A.D.

3d and 4thcentu-

ries A.D.

Ca. 350 Ghana:To 8th century, firstdynasty in Ghana(44 kings). People in-

habiting Hodh, Aou-kar, and Ouagadouare subdued byBerbers (?).

Kingdom of Axum.End of kingdom ofMeroe. Beginning ofpre-Monomotapaperiod.

3925th cen-

tury A.D.

Ca. 400

Ca. 429

6th cen-

tury

255

African arts Discovery of Africa

Europeand Islam

Suetonius Paulinus goes

beyond Atlas Mountains.Palmyra under suzer-ainty of Rome. Strength-ening of Arab agree-ments with culturalcenters in ports and oncaravan routes.

Septimus Flaccus in Fez-zan.

Julius Maternus reachesAgisymba.

Ptolemy's

maps.

Trajan annexes Naba-tene. Province of Arabia.

State Christianity in

Rome. Christianityspreads into southern

Arabia.

Ca. 550: Legendary voy-age of Irish monk, St.Brendan, to Madeira andCanaries.

Establishment of Mecca,which becomes largecommercial city.Vandals in North Africa.Coptic Christianity in-troduced into Meroe.

256


7th cen- First Songhai dynasty Massacre of group oftury in Sudan. Sao in oasis of Bilma

(ca. 310 miles fromLake Chad).

622

654

666

8th cen- Exploitation of gold End of kingdom of

tury mines of Bambuk Axum. Until 12th(Upper Senegal) be- century, trade be-

gins. First kingdom tween eastern Africa

of the Nupe. and India. Indianpearls on coast. Af-rica sells ivory andiron, demanded byIndia.

732

790 After assassination of

reigning prince,

Ghana passes underrule of Kaya Maghan,king of Ouagadouand chief of line ofSisse Tounkara.

2-57

African arts Discovery of AfricaEurope

and Islam

Until nth century, Arabconquests in Egypt.

Arabs collect booty andthen introduce into mon-ey market precious met-als accumulated inchurch treasuries, finallybringing to light buriedriches in Pharaonictombs. Nubian gold nolonger reaches Byzan-tium because nomads(Blemmyes) who roamthe desert bounded byNile, Red Sea, andEthiopian mountainshave cut the road.

Until nth century, Arabstravel road from Honain,near Tlemcen, throughTuat to Timbuktu.

Hegira

Arabs take possessionof Dongola, chief en-trepot of Nubian gold.Treaty with Nubians.Founding of Kairouan.In Europe, slaves tradedto Arabs for gold andivory of Zandj country.Enrichment of Verdunand Meuse Basin.

Charles Martel defeatsArabs at Poitiers.

258


9th cen-

tury

800

852-853

890 Djerma take Gao.

1

Arab geographerYakubi describes fe-

10th cert-

verish activity in

goldfields of upperNile. Islamization of

tury

Ca. 950

990

11th cen-

tury

Capture of Aouda-ghost (Tegdaoust?)

by reigning sovereignof Ghana.

Beginning of empire

of Sosso. Ruler of

Gambaga extends hisinfluence over right

bank of White Volta.

Migration of Bantufrom central to south-ern Africa begins.

Settlement of Sao inChari Delta.

eastern Africa. Arabs:

introduce cowries as;

money, which pre-vails in interior of Af-

rica. Muslim settle-ment in Mozambique.

1010

1050

1061-1075

Djerma move Songhaicapital to Gao. Sov-ereign converted to

Islam.

Chief of province of

Mande converted toIslam.

Almoravid chiefmounts war againstGhana, which fallsapart.

First mention, by al-Bekri, of empire ofKanem-Bornu.

259


Europeand Islam

Until 13th century, stone

towers and tombs in An-gola of same style as thosein Zimbabwe.

Charlemagne crowned.Shrine of St. Vaast, dec-

orated with Arabiangold.

Until 16th century, de-

velopment of Sao art, ce-ramic and bronze. Until16th century (?), develop-

ment of Ife art and civili-zation (ceramic, bronze,

quartz). Masudi writes Meadowsof Cold.

At beginning of 10thcentury Fatimites seize

Ifrikia, Djerid, and Trip-oli, destroy principality

of Tiaret, and occupySijilmassa, thus becom-ing masters of all goldroutes.

Spread of Almoravid con-quest along western goldroute, from Sudan toMaroc and then to Spain.

In his description of Af-rica (1068), Arab geog-rapher al-Bekri describescapital of Ghana.

Invasion of Ga'aliin

Arabs into Ifrikia(Tunisia) interrupts

route that, througheastern Sahara, Djerid,and Tripoli, suppliedFatimite domain withSudanese gold.

z6o


equatorial Africa


1083

1086 Conversion of rulerof Kanem-Bornu toIslam.

Mission of blacksfrom Zand] countryto China, close to Em-peror Cheun-Tsoung

1095-1099

12th cen-

tury

13th cen-

tury

Ca. 1234

Preponderance ofDyaresso in Sahel.Formation of Mossikingdoms south ofNiger Bend.

Dogon settle at Ban-diagara cliff.

Emperor of Sosso hasprince of Mande andeleven of his sons as-

sassinated. Twelfthson, Soundiata, is

spared, reassembles

army, and reestab-lishes his authority.

Soundiata raids Tin-

kisso, attacks east-

ern Bambara, andpenetrates Dieriba,

the capital. He de-feats Sosso emperorin 1235. Economicdevelopment of Maliunder Soundiata.

Forming of Hausacities. Muslim dy-nasty at Kanem-Bornu.

Kingdom of the Con-go formed. Kings ofKanem-Bornu try toenlarge their realmat expense of Sao.Foundation of Wa-dai.

In eastern Africa, be-

ginning of migration

from north. Mono-motapa period,known as Chona I,ends ca. 1450.

1255 Death of Soundiata.

26l


and Islam

Ceramic figurines atDjenne and Mopti. Build-ing of Zimbabwe.

Gregory VII preparesFirst Crusade.

Arabs trade between eastcoast of Africa andChina. Chinese cur-rencies and porcelains oneast coast.

262


equatorial Africa


1255-1270 Reign of Mansa Oulewho expands inher-itance from his fath-er, Soundiata.

1275 Ife being at its height,

Yoruba dominateNupe.

1285-1300 In Mali, after trou-

bled period, emanci-

pated slave takes

power and reestab-lishes order.

1291

14th cen-

tury

1300-1307

1307-1322

1324

1325

1332-1336

1333

Raoua, younger sonof Ouedrago (founderof Mossi empire),builds settlement of

Sangha and leavesthere one of his sonswhose descendantsmix with the Dogon.

In Mali, Keita regain

power.Rule of Kankan (orGongo) Moussa. Maliat its height. Goldmarket at Gao active.Fields of West Africafeed Berber andEgypt-

Kankan Moussa inCairo causes deval-

uation by expenditureof gold.

Mali dominates Son-ghai. Capture of Gao.Weakening of Mali.

Mossi of Yatenga lootTimbuktu.

Until 16th century,

Baluba kingdom.

Conversion of Hausaprinces to Islam.

Kitara states aroundlakes.

263

EuropeAfrican arts Discovery of Africa and Islam

Organization of Benin 1270: Death of St. Louisbronze workers by artist in Tunis,from Ife.

The Genoese Vivaldo onwest coast.

Beginning of sculptural

art in wood among Baluba.In West Africa, jewelry,ornaments, and masks ofgold.

Before 1312: Cherbourgsailors in Canaries.

1320: Map drawn accord-ing to indications of a

Genoese living in Sijilmas-sa in 1306 shows crossingfrom Tafilalet to Oualata.

1336: The Genoese Lan-zarote Malocello in Ca-naries.

264


equatorial Africa


1336-1359 Recovery of Mali un-

der rule of Suleiman.

1359-1390 In Mali, fratricidalstruggles and trou-bles.

End of14th

century

Active trade in cop-

per from Maghreb.

15th cen-

tury

Mossi, Tuareg, andSonghai attack Mali.

Metal mines (copperand orichalc) in Kano

Hottentots in Zam-bezi. Empire of Bech-

or Takkedda occupied uana.by Arabs (?).

1450(7): In East Af-rica, Mambo periodcalled Chona II.

1402-1405

1405-1413

1415

1417

1434

1437

1439

1441

1442


265

Europeand Islam

1346: Death of Andalusianarchitect Es-Saheli in Tim-buktu.

Zimbabwe: Stone cupswith carved edges; birds

with folded wings; stonefigurines. Benin: Lasting

until arrival of Portuguese,

first bronze period.

1346: Jacme Ferrer in Ca-naries.

1352: Ibn Batuta visits

Mali.

1364: Hypothetical voyageof Dieppe seamen toGuinea.

1375 : Abraham Cresques,Jew of Majorca, finishesCatalan Atlas which showsimage of Kankan Moussa,emperor of Mandingo(Mali).

Conquest of Canaries bythe Norman, Jean deBethencourt.

Sojourn of Anthelmed'Ysalguier, of merchantfamily from Toulouse, atGao, where he marriesSonghai princess.Conquest of Ceuta.Henry the Navigator atSagres.

Gilianes rounds Cape Bo-iador.

Under pressure fromBruges, half paymentsfor commercial trans-actions in devalued mon-ey.

Rediscovery of Azores.

Nuno Tristam at CapeBlanc.

Ecumenical council triesto merge Greek and Ro-man churches with thatof Prester John (?).In painting, first repre-

sentations of the WiseMan, Gaspar, with fea-tures of a black.

Pope gives Portuguesetrading privileges in Af-rica.

266


equatorial Africa


*443

1444

1445

1446

1447

Tuareg occupy Tim-buktu, Araouane, andOualata.

14531455-1456

1460

1465-1492

1468

1469

1470

1471-1475

Reign of Sunni Ali,Songhai emperor.Songhai conquer Ni-ger Valley.

Sunni Ali recapturesTimbuktu fromTuareg.

1472-1504

1473

1477

1479

Sunni Ali recapturesDjenne.

Mossi from Yatengainvade province ofBagana (vassal ofSonghai).

Ali, king of Bornu.

267


Europeand Islam

Nuno Tristam reachescountry of blacks.

Antonio Malfante sent byCenturione house to Tuatand Niger Basin.

Cada Mosto (Venetian)and Uso di Mare (Geno-ese) in Gambia.P. de Cintra in Sierra

Leone.

Council of experts planspayments, in thirds, ingold, silver, and deval-uated currency.

Return to gold standardunder pressure of Cen-turione house of Genoa.

Capture of Constanti-nople. End of HundredYears' War.

(April) Charles the Bold

orders Jehan d'Aulve-kerque paid for several Af-

rican objects.

Son of Andre Tiraqueau,patron of Rabelais, assem-

bles collection of exotic

objects at Bel-Esbat, near

Fontenay-le-Comte.

F. Gomes receives mo-nopoly of Guinea trade for

5 years.

Benedetto Dei, clerk of

Florentine house of Por-tinari, goes from Paris toTimbuktu. Joao de San-tarem and Pero de Escobarat mouth of Niger. Dis-covery of Sao Tome.Goncalvez at Cape Lopez(Gabon).

Trial of Jacques d'Ar-

magnac in Paris.

Treaty between theTurks and Venice. Fer-dinand of Aragon mar-ries Isabella of Castile.

268


equatorial Africa


1480-1483

1482

1481-1485

1484

14871490

1491

1492

Mossi loot Oualatabut are defeated at

Gao by Sunni Ali.

John II of Portugal,believing Mali is stillpowerful, sends am-bassadors.

Mamadou Toure(1492-1529) over-

throws son of SunniAli and founds Askiadynasty.

Power of Loangoweakened.

King of the Congobaptized as Joao I.

1493

1495

1497-1499

16th cen-

tury

Chieftaincies of

Adansi, Dyenkera,and Akwamu de-velop in southern part

of present-day

Ghana.

In Benin, the obaEseguie institutes ti-

tle of queen mother.

Sao disappear fromchronicles.

In the Congo, reac-tion against Chris-

tianity, drowned inblood by son ofNzinga Nkuwu(1506-1541).

Companions of Vascoda Gama learn ofempire of Monomo-tapa.

1529-1549 Songhai emperor Ma-madou abdicates; en-suing troubled period

ends with accessionof Askia Daud (1549-1582).

African arts

269

Discovery of AfricaEurope

and Islam

Diogo Cao reaches An-gola.

G. Dantas travels upSenegal as far as Felu

falls.

Bartholomew Diaz roundsCape of Good Hope.

Portuguese penetrate toMbali, capital of the Con-go.

The Portuguese Pedro deCorvilhan in kingdom ofPrester John (Ethiopia).

Fall of Granada.Christopher Columbusdiscovers America.

Pope divides New Worldbetween Spain and Por-tugal. Beginning of traf-

fic in blacks.

Voyage of Vasco da Gama.

In Angola, until 17th cen-tury, Christian figurines

in wood, ivory, and cop-per.

In Benin, heads of queenmother. Work in ivory.

April 1520: A. Durernotes in journal his ad-

miration for exotic

works which probablycome from "treasure ofMontezuma." Leonardoda Vinci becomes in-terested in arts of East

Indies (in paintings in

caves of Ajanta). Francis

I visits "La Pensee," villaof Ango brothers, Diep-pe shipowners who col-lect objects from newlydiscovered lands.

At Dieppe, bas-relief inchurch of Saint-Jacquesshows three known con-tinents.

270


equatorial Africa


1534

1548

1550

1570-1603

1580

Ca. 1590

1591

Emperor of Mali asksin vain for help of

Portuguese settlednear Gulf of Guinea.

Adansi dominateAkan group which in-cludes Agni andDyenkera. They aresubject in turn to

Dyenkera.

(12 March) Songhaiarmy defeated atTondibi by merce-naries of Moroccansultan, who occupySonghai country un-til 1780. Period of

anarchy.

John II of Portugalsends Jesuits to the

Congo.Mbali, capital of the

Congo, becomes SanSalvador. Portuguesebuildings.

Height of Kanem-Bornu in reign ofIdriss III.

Philip II of Portugal

sends Carmelites tothe Congo. Declineof kingdom of theCongo.

17th cen- Founding of Bambaratury kingdom of Kaarta.

1625-1650 Reign of Deko, firstking of Dahomey.

1650-1680 Ouegbadja, and thenAkaba, complete con-

1680-1708 quest of plateaus ofAbomey and subduecountries of the East.

1600-1620: Reign ofShamba Bolongongo,king of Bakuba.

Decline of Monomo-tapa.

Dutch in South Af-rica in 1651. Estab-

lishment of Cape-town.

271


and Islam

Papal bull of Paul III(Alessandro Farnese)

grants status of men tonatives of newly dis-covered countries.

Second period of Beninart. Plaques and bronzeson pillars of palace court-yards.

Creation of decorative art

among Bakuba. Gobletsshaped like drums. Mi-chael Praetorius, musicianand musicologist at courtof Brunswick, reproducesAfrican ivory horns inTheatrum Instrumentorum(1619).

Publication of Relatione

del reame di Congo, owingto collaboration of Duarte

Lopez, Portuguese agent,

and Italian humanist Filip-po Pigafetta. Illustratedwith engravings by deBry brothers. Translatedinto several languages.

During 17th century,French cartographers, nolonger understandingtracings of their predeces-

sors, obliterate interior of

Africa.

Vigorous impetus given

Flemish metallurgy

(braziery) by trade withWest Coast of Africa.Bronze is exchanged forslaves.

272


equatorial Africa


1670

1680

18th and19th

centu-

ries

1727

1720 or

1730

1730

1730-1749

1738

1749-1753

Disappearance of em-pire of Mali. Forma-tion of Bambarakingdom of Segu un-der impetus of Fo-tigue, known as BitonKouloubali (1660-

1710).

Ashanti uprisingagainst Dyenkera.Foundation ofAshanti kingdom.

First half of 18th cen-

tury: Settlement of

Fangs in north-eastern Gabon.

Dahomey: Occupa-tion of kingdom ofAllada by Agadja,successor to andbrother of Akaba. By1729 Agadja con-trols coast cities.

Death of founder ofAshanti kingdom.Quarrels over suc-cession.

Migration of Ashantigroup led by Dakon'ssister Aura Pokouwho founds Baulekingdom in IvoryCoast.

Reign of ApokouOuare who developsAshanti kingdommilitarily and eco-nomically.

Yoruba seize Abomeyunder reign of Teg-bessou and exact an-nual tribute until

1850.

Michel Adanson inSenegal.

Sao Paulo de Loandacompetes with andruins San Salvador.

273

EuropeAfrican arts Discovery of Africa and Islam

Benin art begins to de- 17i 3 . Treaty of Utrechtcline. controls slave trade.

Golden mask of Ashantiking Koffe Kalkalli.

274


1775-1789 King Kpengla tries to 1779: Beginning ofbreak Yoruba yoke Kaffir wars betweenover Dahomey. Dutch and Bantu.

1789-1797 Weakening of royal End of Bantu migra-authority in Da- tion to South Africa.homey.

1800-1810 Reign of Kata-Mbula,109th king of Bakuba.

1804 Usman founds Mus-

1818-1858

lim empire in Nigeriafrom Hausa states,Nupe kingdom, andNorthern Cameroon;dies in 1810 or 1815.Period of anarchyuntil 1900.

Gezo reestablishesauthority over Da-homey, defeats Yor-uba, and stops payingthem tribute.

1849: French foundLibreville in Gabon.

1853: Empire ofKanem-Bornu dis-appears.

1814: England pur-chases Cape Colony.

1835: Boer exodus:the great trek.

1854-1864 Hajj Omar (1797-1864) preaches holy

war, defeats some ofBambara in 1854, andstrikes against Faid-

herbe. In 1861 he en-

ters Segu; in 1862 heseizes Massina. Dies

at Bandiagara in

1864.

1851 Gezo signs commer-cial treaty with

France.

1854 Death of Adama whohad founded Muslimempire in northernNigeria.

1858-1889 Reign of Glegle inDahomey.

1859-1862 Struggles of Bambarakingdom of Seguagainst Hajj Omar.

1874 English raid againstAshanti.

1867: Discovery of

diamonds in OrangeFree State.

2-75


and Islam

Engraved calabash im-portant, especially in Da-

homey.

Ca. 1850: Les AnnatesMaritimes takes note ofgoldsmith's craft in GrandBassam (Lt. Besson).

From 1840 on, rediscoveryof African interior. Scien-

tific missions (geographic

and ethnographic). LargeEuropean cities establishmuseums of ethnography.

Second half of 19th cen-tury: great Europeanpowers compete for mar-kets and banks and thento colonize Africa.

1848: Abolition of slav-

ery.

Ca. i860: Bas-reliefs in

palaces of Abomey.Since 1872: Destruction bymissionaries of ancient

works in northern Angola.Kyoka religious move-ment.

First missionaries andsettlers in Dahomey inGlegle's reign.

1867: Discovery of minesin Monomotapa.

276


equatorial Africa


1879-1894

1884

By his intransigence,Behanzin bringsabout annexation ofDahomey by Francein 1894.

Germans in Togo.

1881: Establishment

of Leopoldville.

1883: Germans inCameroon.

1885 : Independentstate of the Congo.

1877: England col-onizes Transvaal.

1884: Discovery ofgold in Transvaal.

1890

1897

1900

End of Bambarakingdom of Segu.Colonel Archinardenters Segu.

Punitive expedition of

English to Benin.

Annexation of coun-try. Bronzes dis-covered in a shed aredistributed to Euro-pean museums.

Last Ashanti up-rising.

End of 19th century:Fangs (or Pahouin)reach Gabon estuary.

1899-1902: Boer War.1910: Union of SouthAfrica formed. 1914:Boer uprising.

19441958

Conference of Brazzaville.Most of the former colonies achieve independence.

277


and Islam

1880: Use of sculpture for-bidden to Bena-Lulua andreplaced by hashish cults.Beginning in second half

of 19th century, massivedestruction of carved

works by European mis-sionaries and by adherentsof African syncretist

movements.

A sculptor, Herbert T.Ward, praises Congoleseart in book thatis not translated into

French until 1910.

1906-1907: Discovery of

black art by Matisse,Braque, and Picasso. 1915:Carl Einstein publishes

Negerplastik. 1917: Paul

Guillaume and GuillaumeApollinaire bring out first

French album devoted toAfrican sculpture.

1919: Blaise Cendrars,L'Anthologie negre.Ca. 1930: Yoruba sculp-tor Bamgboye. 1920-1935:Great exhibits of Negroand Oceanic art: Marseille(1923); Paris, Pavilion deMarsan (1925); GaleriePigalle (1931); colonial ex-

hibit in Vincennes (1931);New York, Museum ofModern Art (1935).Ca. 1934: Fangs no longerpractice sculpture.

1914-1918: African bat-talions recruited in Euro-

pean colonies fight inWorld War I. Allies di-vide up former Germancolonies.

1931: Dakar-Djibouti Mis-sion

1937: Former Museed'Ethnographie in Troca-dero becomes Musee de1'Homme.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GENERAL WORKS

L'Art Negre. Special issue of Presence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editionsdu Seuil, 1951.

Einstein, Carl. Negerplastik. Leipzig, 1915. Trans, into French by J. Matthey-Doret in Mediations (Paris), no. 3 (1961).

Fagg, William. La Sculpture africaine. Paris: Hazah, 1963.Gerbrands, Adrian A. Art as an Element of Culture, Especially in Negro-

Africa. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, XII.Leiden, 1957.

Griaule, Marcel. Arts de VAfrique Noire. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1947.Hardy, Georges. L'Art negre. Paris: H. Laurens, 1927.Kjersmeier, Carl. Centres de style de la sculpture negre africaine. Paris:

A. Morance, 1935-1938. 4 vols.Laude, Jean. Les Arts de VAfrique noire. Collection of 100 transparencies.

Paris: Ministere de la Cooperation, 1964.Lavachery, Henri. La Statuaire de VAfrique noire. Neuchatel: La Baconniere,

1954.Leiris, Michel. "Les Negres d'Afrique et les Arts sculpturaux." In Originalite

des cultures. Paris: Unesco, 1954.. "Reflexions sur la statuaire religieuse de l'Afrique noire." In Les

Religions traditionelles africaines. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1965.Lem, F. H. Sculptures soudanaises. Paris: Arts et Metiers graphiques, 1947.Level, Andre, and Henri Clouzot. Sculptures africaines et oceaniennes. Paris:

Librairie de Medicis, 1923.Paulme, Denise. Les Sculptures de l'Afrique noire. Paris: Presses Univer-

sitaires de France, 1956.Radin, Paul, ed. African- Folktales and Sculpture. Introduction by James J.Sweeney. New York: Pantheon Books, 1952.

280 Bibliography

RELATIONS OF EUROPE AND AFRICA

Coquery, C. La Decouverte de I'Afrique. Paris: Julliard, 1965.Denuce, J. L'Afrique de XVle siecle et le Commerce anversois. Antwerp: De

Sikkel, 1937.

Labouret, H. "L'Echange et le Commerce dans les archipels du Pacifique eten Afrique equatoriale." In Histoire du Commerce. Vol. III. Paris: S.P.I.D.,1953.

Lombard, M. "L'or musulman de VIIe au XIe siecle/' Annales E. S. C, 2(April-June 1947).

. "La Route de la Meuse et les relations lointaines des pays mosansentre le VIII e et le XI e siecle." In L'Art mosan. Paris: A. Colin, 1953.

Ronciere, Ch. de la. La Decouverte de I'Afrique au Moyen Age. Cairo, 1929.3 vols.

WORKS OF AFRICAN ART IN EUROPEAN COLLECTIONS (15TH-I9TH CENTURY)

Besson, M. L'Influence coloniale sur le decor de la vie francaise. Paris:Agence economique des colonies, 1944.

Bonnaffe, E. Les Collectionneurs de VAncienne France. Paris: Aubry, 1873.Fagg, William. Afro-Portuguese Art. London, 1959.Hamy, E. T. Les Origines du Musee a"ethnographic Paris: Leroux, 1890.Olbrechts, F. M. Bidjdrage tot de Kennis van de Chronologie der afrikaanse

Plastiek. Memoire, Vol. X, fasc. 2. Brussels: Institut Royal Colonial Beige,

1941.

Van Gennep, A. Religions, Mceurs et Legendes. 5th ser. Paris: Mercure deFrance, 1914.

Von Schlosser, J. Die Kunst- und Wunderkammer der Spatrenaissance.Leipzig, 1908.

EVOLUTION OF EUROPEAN APPRECIATION OF BLACK ART

Goldwater, R. J. Primitivism in Modern Painting. New York and London,1938.

Hermann, F. "Die afrikanische Negerplastik als Forschungsgegenstand." InBeitrage zur afrikanischen Kunst. Berlin, 1958.

. Die Bildnerei der Naturvolker als Forschungsgegenstand, Studium

generale. Heidelberg, 1951.

HISTORY OF BLACK AFRICA

Labouret, H. Histoire des Noirs d'Afrique. Paris: Presses Universitaires de

France, 1946.Moniot, H. "Pour une histoire de I'Afrique noire," Annales E. S. C. (Jan-

Feb. 1962).

Murdock, G. P. Africa: Its Peoples and Their Culture History. New York,1959.

RELATIONS OF AFRICAN ART WITH MEDITERRANEAN CIVILIZATIONS

Laude, Jean. "En Afrique noire: art et histoire," Annales E. S. C, 4 (Oct-Dec. 1959).

Paulme, D. "Un probleme de l'histoire de l'art en Afrique noire: les bronzesdu Benin," C. R. Institut francais d'anthropologic (Paris), Fasc. II (Jan.1944-Dec. 1946).

Bibliography 281

Schweger-Hefel, A. M. "Der afrikanische Gelbgusse und seine Beziehungenzu den Mittelmeerlandern," Wiener Beitrage zur Kulturgeschichte undLinguistik, 5th year (1943).

Segy, L. "The Symbolism of the Snake in Africa," Archiv fur Volkerkunde(Vienna), IX (1954).

ARCHAEOLOGY

Fagg, William. "L'Art nigerien avant Jesus-Christ." In L'Art Negre. Specialissue of Presence africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.

. Merveilles de VArt nigerien. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1963.Hamelin, P. "Les Bronzes du Tchad," Tribus (1952-53).Lebeuf, J. P. "L'Art ancien du Tchad," Cahiers d'art (1951).Lebeuf, J. P., and A. M. Masson-Detourbet. La Civilisation du Tchad. Paris:

Payot, 1950.Wieschhoff, H. A. The Zimbabwe-Monomotapa Culture in South-East Af-

rica. Menasha, Wis., 1941.

AFRICAN SCULPTURE

Fagg, William. "De 1'art des Yoruba." In L'Art Negre. Special issue ofPresence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.

Fagg, William, K. C. Murray, et al. The Artist in the Tribal Society. London:Kegan, 1959.

Fischer, E. "Kiinstler der Dan," Baessler-Archiv, n.s., X (1962).Himmelheber, H. Negerkiinstler. Stuttgart, 1935.

METALWORK

Clement, P. "Le Forgeron en Afrique noire," Revue de Ceographie Humaineet d'Ethnologie, 2 (April-June 1946).

Davidson, B. UAfrique noire avant les Blancs. Paris: Presses Universitairesde France, 1962.

Laclant, J. Le Per dans VEgypte ancienne, le Soudan et VAfrique. Actes ducolloque international: Le Per a travers les ages. In Annales de I'Est, Me-moir no. 16. Nancy, 1956.

Mauny, R. "Essai sur l'histoire des metaux en Afrique occidentale," Bulletinde I'lnstitut Prancais d'Afrique Noire, XIV (1952).

REGIONAL ART

DahomeyHerskovits, M. J. "The Art of Dahomey," American Magazine of Art (1934).Mercier, P. Les Ase du Musee d'Abomey. Dakar: Institut Francais d'Af-

rique Noire, 1952.. "Evolution de l'Art dahomeen." In L'Art Negre. Special issue of

Presence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.-. "Images de l'Art animalier au ''Dahomey," Etudes Dahomeenes

(1951).

Waterlot, E. Les Bas-Reliefs des Batiments royaux d'Abomey. Paris: In-

stitut d'Ethnologie, 1926.

282 Bibliography

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Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.Ration, Ch. "L'Or fetiche." In ibid.

Nigeria

Bradbury, M. R. The Benin Kingdom and the Edo-speaking Peoples of South-western Nigeria. London: International African Institute, 1957.

Egharevba, J. U. A Short History of Benin. 2d ed. Lagos, 1953.Fagg, William. "The Antiquities of Ife," Magazine of Art, XLIII (1950).

. The Art of Ife. Lagos: Nigerian Museum, 1955.

. "De 1'art des Yoruba." In L'Art Negre. Special issue of PresenceAfricaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1951.

Merveilles de VArt nigerien. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1963.Pitt Rivers Museum. Antique Works of Art from Benin. London, 1900.Read, C. H., and O. M. Dalton. Antiquities from the City of Benin. London,

1899.

Schweger-Hefel, A. M. Afrikanische Bronzen. Vienna, 1948.Underwood, L. Bronzes of West Africa. London: Tiranti, 1949.Von Luschan, F. Die Altertiimer von Benin. Berlin, 1919.

CameroonFrobenius, L. Der Kameruner Schiffschnabel und seine Motive. Halle, 1897.Germann, P. Das plastichefigurliche Kunstgewerbe im Grasland von Kam-

erun. Leipzig, 1910.

Jauze, J. B. "L'Art inconnu d'une culture primitive africaine dans la region

de Yaounde," Bulletin de la Societe d'Etudes Camerounaises (1948).. "Contribution a l'etude de 1'archeologie du Cameroun," Bulletin

de la Societe d'Etudes Camerounaises (1944).Lebeuf, J.-P. L'Habitation des Pali du Nord Cameroun. Paris: Hachette, 1961.Lecoq, R. Les Bamileke: une civilisation africaine. Paris: Presence Africaine,

1953.Truitard, S., and E. Buisson. Arts du Cameroun a I'Exposition coloniale de

Naples. Naples, 1934.

Congo /Brazzaville and Congo/KinshasaBittremieux, L. Symbolisme in de Negerkunst. Brussels, 1937.Les Arts au Congo beige et au Ruanda-Urundi. Brussels, 1950.Himmelheber, I. H. Art et Artistes Bakuba. Broussa, 1940.

. Art et Artistes Batshiok. Broussa, 1939.

. Les Masques bayaka et leurs Sculpteurs. Broussa, 1939.Hottot, R. "Teke Fetishes," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute,LXXXVI (1956).

Maes, J. Aniota Kifwebe. Antwerp: De Sikkel, 1924.Olbrechts, F. M. Plastiek van Kongo. Antwerp, 1946.Torday, I. E., and T. A. Joyce. Les Bushongo. Brussels, 1911.Van Wing, J. Etudes Bakongo. Vol. II: Religion et Magie. Brussels, 1938.Verly, R. "Les Mintadi," Zaire (1955).

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GabonAndersson, E. Contribution a l'etude des Kuta. Vol. I. Uppsala, 1953.Chauvet, S. "L'Art funeraire au Gabon," Bulletin des Sceurs Bleues (1933).Grebert, F. "Arts en voie de disparition au Gabon," Africa (1934).Peissi, P. "Les Masques blancs des Tribus de l'Ogooue." In L'Art Negre.

Special issue of Presence Africaine, nos. 10-11. Paris: Editions du Seuil,1951.

Segy, L. "Figures funeraires ba-kota." Zaire (1952).Tessmann, G. Die Pangioe. Berlin, 1913.

GuineaAppia, B. "Masques de Guinee francaise et de Casamance," Journal de la

Societe des Africanistes (1943).Fagg, William. "Two Wood-Carvings from the Baga of French Guinea,"Man (1947).

Neel, H. "Statuettes en pierre et en argile de l'Afrique occidentale," RevueEthnologique et Sociologique (1914).

Paulme, D. "Deux statuettes en pierre de Guinee francaise," Bulletin de laSociete francaise d'Anthropologic (1943).

Riitimeyer, L. "Ober westafrikanische Steinidole," Globus (1901).

Ivory CoastBardon, P. Catalogue des masques d'or baoule de VI.F.A.N. Dakar: Institut

Francais d'Afrique Noire, 1954.Goldwater, R. J. Senufo Sculpture from West Africa. New York: Museum of

Primitive Art, 1964.

Holas, B. Cultures materielles de la Cbte-d'Ivoire. Paris: Presses Univer-

sitaires de France, i960.. Portes sculptees du musee d'Abidjan. Dakar: Institut Francais

d'Afrique Noire, 1952.Olbrechts, F. M. Maskers en Dansers in de Ivoorkurst. Louvain, 1938.Salverte-Marmier, M. de. Work on Baule art in preparation.Vandenhoute, P. J. Classification stylistique du Masque Dan et Guere de laCote d'lvoire Occidentale. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voorVolkenkunde, IV. Leiden, 1948.

MaliGoldwater, R. J. Bambara Sculpture from the Western Sudan. New York:Museum of Primitive Art, i960.

Griaule, Marcel. Masques dogon. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938.Kjersmeier, Carl. Bambara Kunst. Copenhagen: Ymer, 1927.Langlois, P. Art soudanais: tribus dogon. Lille: M. Evrard, 1954.

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Laude, Jean. Irons of the Dogon. New York: H. Kamer, 1964.Leiris, Michel, and J. Damase. The Sculpture of the Tellem and the Dogon.London: Hanover Gallery, 1959.

STUDIES OF GENERAL INTEREST

Brosses, Charles de. Du culte des Dieux fetiches. Paris, 1760.

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Cesaire, A. "Culture et Colonisation/' Presence Africaine (1956).. Discours sur le colonialisme. Paris, 1955.

Francastel, P. Peinture et Societe. Lyon: M. Audin, 1950.Focillon, H. La Vie des Formes. 2d ed. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France,

1948.

Jahn, J. Muntu. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1961.Levi-Strauss, Claude. La Pensee sauvage. Paris: Plon, 1963.Moret, A. Le Nil et la Civilisation egyptienne. Paris: Renaissance du Livre,

1926.

Panofsky, E. Die Perspective als symbolische Form. 1927.Les Religions traditionnelles africaines. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1965.Senghor, L. S. "L'esprit de civilisation ou les Lois de le culture negro-

africaine," Presence Africaine (1956).Tradition et Modernisme en Afrique noire. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1965.

INDEX

Abeokuta, 69, 222, 224Abiri, 123Abomey, 67, 69, 222, 223Accra, 9Adamawa, 55Adansi, 64Adanzan, 222, 224Adja, 67Adrar, 50Agadja, 69Agni, 6, 9, 13, 64, 65, 78, 157, 182

Agonglo, 69Ajiguna, 174Akaba, 69Akan, 64akuaba, 32, 64Allada, 67, 69Ammon Tifou, 6Andoumboulou, 185Andree, Richard, 15

Angola, 44, 71, 145, 150, 182Aniota (leopard men), 142, 197Ansegue, 99Aouanrhet, 26Aoudaghost, 52Aoukar, 50Apokou Ouare, 64Archinard, Colonel Louis, 53Arou, 130-132, 136, 208, 210Arsouane, 53Ashanti, 9, 13, 30, 32, 64, 67, 157, 158Askia, 54Athieme, 67Atlas, 26

Aura Pokou, 64, 65, 67, 221

Bafur, 50Baga, 165Bagana, 64Baguirmi, 55

286 Index

Bailloud Gerard, 28, 139Bakaya, 151Bakongo, 6, 13, 106-107, 108, 109,in, 117, 199

Bakota, 96Bakuba, 71, 77, 79, 90, 91, 102, 103,

105, 106, 107, 108, 109, in, 116,117, 135, 206, 208, 209, 210, 224,

241Bakwele, 152, 154Balbara, 52Baluba, 92, 98, 106, 109, m, 163, 197Balumbo, 97, 154Bambaga, 62Bambara, 24, 53-55, 58, 79, 85-86,

124, 132, 136, 141, 152, 169, 187,

189, 196, 209, 242, 243Bambuk, 52Bamgboye, 100, 174Bamileke, 161

Bamoum, 92, 152, 161, 162Bandiagara, 58, 63Bantu, 44-45Barbosa, Duarte, 44Bardon, Pierre, 157Barros, Joao de, 44, 46Barth, Heinrich, 89Bastian, Adolf, 16

Bateke, 152Baule, 9, 32, 64, 65, 67, 92, 93, 99, 100,

145, 154, 157, 158, 168, 173, 193,

215, 218, 221, 225, 233Baumann, Hermann, 28, 76, 145Bavili, 70Bayaka, 151Behanzin, 69, 222Bekri, al-, 50, 55Bel-Esbat, 3Bena-Lulua, 62, 106, 107, 108-109,

111

Benametapa 44Benin, 3, 4, 6, 19, 23, 40-41, 42, 78,

90, ioi, 116-120, 122-123, 12 4/135, 158, 206, 208, 209, 215, 225,

226, 239Bigo, 49Bilma, 35Bini, 41-42, 78, 206, 210, 213, 222,

225, 233, 237, 239, 243Biton Kouloubali, 53Blaeu map, 13

Bope Kena, 105Bororo, 139Bosman, William, 9, 13Boulle, Marcelin, 26

Bovide, 139Bry, Theodore de, 11, 193, 195, 243Buli, Master of, 109, 111Bumba, 102Bundu, 144

Cameroon, 23, 49, 55, 56, ^7, 92, 93,148, 163, 165, 203, 206

Cao, Diogo, 70Casamance, 151Catalan Atlas, 8, 53Cendrars, Blaise, 18

Chad, io, 23, 25, 34, 37, 49, 120,

*37/ 139Chamba, 168Chari River, 34, 35Chembe, 102, 113Chona, 46Cnossus, 29-30Congo, 4, 11, 12, 16, 25, 44, 49, 62,

70-71, 73, 74, 78, 79, 86, 90, 92,ioi, 102, 106, 111, 117, 120, 122,

124, 141, 142, 145, 150, 151, 175,182, 193, 197, 206, 241

Coniagui dancers, 151Coptic art, 33

Dahomey, 54, 67, 79, 91, 93, 100,135, 143, 165, 206, 215, 222, 224,

225

Dakon, 64Dan, 91, 92, 99, 100, 142-143, 155,

160Dapper, Olfert, 120Darfur, ^Dei, Benedetto, 9Deko, 69Delange, Jacqueline, 137Detourbet, A. Masson, 34Dhlo-Dhlo, 42Dialloube, 55Dieriba, 52Diop, Anta, 243Djenne, 49, 52, 54, 182Djerma, 54Djimon, 161Djouder, 54

Index 287

Dogon, 24, 30-31, 33, 49, 57, 58, 62,63, 64, 78, 79, 85, 96, 97, 98, 99,

102, 124-125, 130-132, 135-136,

137, 141, 143-145, 152, 169, 173,182, 185, 187, 189, 195-196, 202,

203-204, 206, 209, 210, 215, 217,

225, 233, 241, 242, 243Dyenkera, 64Dyon, 130-131Dyougou Serou, 208, 217

Eguae, 119Egypt, 8, 14, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33,

52, 53, 201

Einstein, Carl, 175, 202-203

Ekoi, 163Elikeo, 28

Ennedi, 26, 28, 137, 139Eseguie, 41Esie, 42, 78, 123Es-Saheli, 53Ethiopia, 2, 30, 46Etruscan, 32Europe, 1-3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15,

16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 41, 49, 53, 67,

75, 77, 90/ 99/ i4, "7/ 122 / 123/124, 134, 141, 178, 196, 209, 210,

226, 239, 241Evans, Arthur, 29-30Eweka I, 117

Fagg, Bernard, 39Fagg, William, 39, 40, 77, 100, 158,

163, 177, 230, 244Fali, 57Fang, 59, 154, 177Faure, Elie, 18, 243, 244Fetishes, 9, 71, 193, 196, 197, 198-

199, 201, 210

Fiot, 70Fischer, Eberhard, 100Focillon, Henri, 187Fors, 69Fotigue, 53Fouta Djalon, 55Frobenius, Leo, 16, 18, 145

Gabon, 59, 96, 153, 154, 163, 177Galam, 52Gana, 50, 52Gangara, 50.. 52

Gao, 8, 9, 54, 64Gardner, G. A., 44Gaspar, 11Gerewol, 139Gezo, 69, 222Ghana. See Gold CoastGlegle, 69, 222

Gobineau, Count Joseph de, 17, 243,244

Goes, Damiao de, 46Gold Coast (Ghana), 9, 50, 62, 64,

78, 168

Gongo Moussa, 8, 53Grand Lahou, 9Griaule, Marcel, 33, 128, 133, 144,

173, 180, 203Gris, Juan, 180Grunshi, 168Guere-Wobe, 155Guillaume, Paul, 153Guinea, 4, 9, 13, 32, 49, ^, 6z, 73,

74, 78, 148, 151, 162, 165, 182

Hajj Omar, 54, ^Hamelin, P., 37Hampateba, Amadou, 195Hausa, 52, ^Herskovits, Melville, 91Hodh, 50Hofra-en-Nahas, 120Hoggar, 8, 26hogon, 102, 124, 131, 132, 145, 208,

210, 217Holli, 165honhom, 158

Ibibio, 28, 30, 152Ibn Batuta, 53Ibo, 152Idriss III, ^Ife, 32, 39, 40, 41, 42, 78, 101, 117-

119, 123, 124, 158, 206, 209, 210,

213, 215, 239, 243Iguegha, 119Iguneromwo, 90, 119Inyanga, 42Islam, 49, 52, 54, 55, 57/ 58, 73Ivory Coast, 38, 64, 79, 91, 92, 155,

168Ivory leopards, 123iyase, 118

288 Index

Jaman, 168

Kaarta, 53-54Kakongo, 70Kanem-Bornu, 35, ^Kankan Moussa. See Gongo MoussaKano, 34, 120Kante, 52Kasai, 4, 71, 93, 108

Kata-Mbula, 103, 104, 113Kaya Maghan, 52Keaka, 163, 165Keita, 8, 52, 53Khami, 42Kircher, Father Athanasius, 6

Kissi, 78, 182Koffe Kalkalli, 30, 158Kolomo, 102Kono, 86Kotoko, 23, 34Kouakou Anougbele, 221Kouch, 89Koukya, 54Koulou Tyeleo, 218Kpengla, 69Kurumba, 62, 63, 141, 169Kwanza, 70

Labouret, Henri, 25, 52Lajuvva, 119Lange, Julius, 15, 16

Lantier, Raymond, 37Lavachery, Henri, 198Lebeuf, Jean Paul, 34, 37Leiris, Michel, 91, 97, 99, 201, 203lela, 104Libya, 89, 90Limpopo, 42Loango, 70Lopez, Duarte, 193, 243Loyer, Father Godefroy, 9Luba, 44, 71Lunda, 44, 71Lunda-Luwale, 150

Maesen, Albert, 197, 199Maghreb, 52, 53, 54Mahaya, 37Maindo rites, 148Makari, 37Makishi, 151Malfante, Antonio, 8-9

Mali, 24, 52-53/ 54/ 64, 79Malraux, Andre, 179Mamadou Toure, 54Mambo, 46Mandara, 56Mande, 52, 124, 132, 136, 185Mandingo, 8, 52, 53Mangbetu, 4, 77, 78, 96, 182Mani-Kongo, 11, 89Mansa Oule, 52Mapoungouboue, 42, 44Marc, Lucien, 63Marees, Pieter van, 9Mariette, Auguste, 30Masks, 17, 19, 20, 21, 28, 99-100,

102, 132, 137, 139, 141-144, 145,148, 150, 151-152, 174-175, 177,178-179, 180, 181, 244-245; ante-

lope, 169, 179; Ashani, 158; Ba-

ga, 165, 169; Bakwele, 152-153,

154; Baluba, 163; Balumbo, 154;Bambara, 152, 169; Bamileke, 161;Bamoum, 161, 162; Bateke, 152;Baule, 154, 158, 168, 173, 193;Bayaka, 174-175; Benin, 158;blade-shaped, 63, 169, 173; Bobo-Oule, 169; Cameroon, 165, 168;commemorative, 157-158, 160,181; crowned by sculptures, 173,175; Dan, 160; Dea, 155, 160;Dogon, 63, 141, 143, 152, 154, 155,169, 173, 175, 204, 241; Ekoi, 163,

165; facial, 152-154, 161, 163, 181;funeral, 9; Guere-Wobe, 155; hel-met, 162-163, 168, 169, 173, 181;Holli, 165; Ibibio, 152; Ibo, 152;Ife, 158; Jagunjagun, 174; kanaga,

141, 173; Keaka, 163, 165; kpe-lyegue, 218; Kurumba, 169; leafand woven, 148, 150-151; Mende,163; Mossi, 169, 173, 175; nimba,

165; Pangwe, 153-154, 163; Sen-ufo, 152, 168, 217; sirige, 143;wango, 63, 173; wooden, 150, 181;yasagine, 175; Yoruba, 173-174,t-75

Massina, ^Masudi, al-, 45Mauny, Raymond, 28, 49, 89Mauritania, 50Mayombe, 70, 197, 198Mbali, 70

Index 289

Mende, 78, 139, 144, 163, 206Meroe, 40, 89Meyerowitz, Eva, 158mfumu, 107Midigue, 37Miele, 71Mikope Mbula, 104, 105, 208Minoans, 30mintadi, 106-107, 108, 109Monomotapa, 42, 44, 46, 71Mopti, 49, 182

Moret, Alexandre, 32, 201

Morocco, 8, 53, 54-55, 64Mosan, 3Mossi, 53, 54, 58, 62-64, 169, 173,

175Mpongwe, 142-143Mycenaeans, 30

Nago, 222, 224nganga, 197, 198Ngere, 91Ngonyo, 70Nigeria, 4, 23, 39, 40, 49, 33, 78, 92,

101, 143, 145, 163, 168, 222

Njoya, 23nkisi, 196-197Nok, 34, 39-40, 42, 123, 182Nommo, 31-32, 96, 125, 202, 208,

217Nubia, 30, 40, 44, 89-90, 120Nupe, 33Nyendael, David, 120Nyimi, 102, 105, 106Nzinga Nkuwu, 13, 70

Obalufon II, 119, 158Ogooue, 154Oguola, 119okra, 157okrafo, 158Olbrechts, Frans M., 109Olorun, 118oni, 118, 119, 123, 158Ono, 130-131Ophir, 44Orosongo, 128Ouagadougou, 50-52, 62Oualata, 8, 53, 64Ouare, Apokou, 64Ouedrago, 62, 63

Ouegbadja, 69Ovimbundu, 145

Pangwe, 153, 163Paulme, Denise, 30, 32, 86, 196-197Penhalonga, 42Peuls, 55, 38, 137, 139, 141Pigafetta, Filippo, 11, 193, 243Porto-Novo, 67Portugal, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 42, 44,

46, 5 2 / 53/ 70, 71 / 78, 89, 120, 196,

208, 239, 243Prester John, 2, 10

Pygmies, 26, 204, 244

Raoua, 63Read, Herbert, 177Rhodesia, 25, 34, 46, 49, 71Riegl, Alois, 15-16

Sahara, 8, 9, 26, 28, 49, 120, 139Sahel, 50, 52Salverte-Marnier, 145Samory Toure, 55Sangha, 63, 78, 99San Salvador, 4, 70, 71Sao, 34-35, 37, 157, 182, 185Schuhl, Pierre M., 33Schweinfurth, Georg, 77Sefar, 28

Segu, 53-54/ 55Segy, Ladislas, 30Senegal, 49, 52, 55Senghor, Leopold, 243-244Senufo, 38, 63, 79, 83, 99, 124, 136,

152, 168, 187, 193, 209, 215, 217-218, 225, 233, 242

Serer, 30Shamba Bolongongo, 71, 103, 104Sierra Leone. 78, 139, 144, 163Sijilmassa, 8

Sisse Tounkara, 52sogoni-kun, 169Songhai, 9, 50, 52, 53, 54, 64, 145Sosso, 52Soundiata, 52Sudan, 2, 3, 6, 8, 25, 30, 33, 34, 49,

50-52, 53, 55, 36-37, 58, 62, 86,

89, 90, 101, 102, 124, 161, 180Suleiman, 53Sunni Ali, 54, 64Sydow, Erich von, 76

290 Index

Tado, 67Tafilalet, 8

Takkedda, 120Tamstit, 8

Tarikh-es-Fettach, 54Tarikh-es-Sudan, 54Tassili, 26, 137, 204

Tauxier, Louis, 63Tegbessou, 69Tegdaoust, 52Tekrun, 52Tellem, 58, 63, 124-125, 173, 195-

196Tenkodogo, 62Tibesti, 26

Timbuktu, 8, 9, 25, 52, 53, 54, 64Tinkisso, 52Tiywana, 169Toma, 148Tuareg, 53, 54, 89Tuat, 8, 9Tunis, 8

Uganda, 49Usman, 55-56

Vallois, Henri-Victor, 26

Van Niekerk, 42Varagnac, Andre, 208

Wadai, 55, 120wango, 63, 173Warega, 78, 160Woulki, 37

Yangere, 96Yatenga, 53~54/ 58 / 62 / 63/ 64Yirigue, 141Yoruba, 40, 69, 100, 118, 158, 173,

187, 201, 202

Zaire, 70Zambezi, 41Zambia, 150Zandj, 3, 45, 46Zimbabwe, 42, 45, 46, 78, 203

$3.45

"A marvelous introduction

... to the traditional sculpture of Black Africa. It is an up-to-date,

well informed and reliable synthesis, as well as an aestheticallyperceptive book."

African Arts

"Not a superficial account of the topic of African art, but athorough analysis of when and where it began, its progressthrough the centuries, and its present development. In the backof the book is a comparative survey of epochal historic eventsin Africa and the rest of the world and relates in a bird's eyeview the important changes in the history of mankind. Thisbook should be in each museum library, and also owned by artstudents generally."

Georgia Museum of Art Quarterly News Bulletin"Rejecting the old notions of 'Negro art' and 'primitive art,' thishandsome volume lends new perspective to the artisticachievements of the African peoples."

Black Scholar Book Club

"The text contains much African history. In fact, most tribalhistory must be traced through art alone, since there is nowriting. The book also contains an invaluable table of knownhistorical events in Africa with dates when the art was createdand a side table of contemporary events in Egypt and theMediterranean basin."Dona Id B. Thackrey, Western Book Shelf"Students will find these essays fresh, thought provoking, anda good deal more scholarly than most other writings onAfrican art."

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University of California Press, Berkeley, California 94720

Documents

Jean Laude - The Arts of Black Africa. 1973