Detail of colorful fabric used for a Yoruba masquerade costume. South from the Sahara:  Early African Art

ART HISTORY SURVEY I
In many parts of Africa rock and cave paintings dating as far back as 6500 BCE have been found and documented in recent years.  The Sahara desert is the location of many rock paintings, preserved in the dry desert heat.  Not always a desert, the Sahara was once a green and lush plain, home to many people and a variety of animals.
Image of rock cut low relief gazelles from North Africa.
Picture showing the Sahara Desert mountain range in North Africa.
Image of gazelles, carved into the surface in the "Tagina style" of Algeria and Morocco. The Sahara Desert mountain range of Tassili N'Ajjer in North Africa, site of many rock paintings and engravings.

At least three ancient cultures developed in sub-Saharan Africa outside of Egypt.  The first of these was the Meroe civilization in what is present day Sudan.  The Meroe civilization built cities and pyramidal shaped tombs, developed writing prior to the Egyptians, and later interfaced with both ancient Nubia and Kush.  All of these Nile river valley kingdoms periodically conquered and were conquered by the Egyptians, and later art reflects both Egyptian and native African influences.  The ancient civilization called the "Nok" originated in the area of present day Yoruba in the Niger river valley area and contributed later to the development of the Kingdoms of Benin and Ife.  A third culture developed in Zaire in the Congo river area.
Clay figure from Jenne, an ancient city of Mali.
Painted wood figure from Mali.
This clay figure is from Jenne, an ancient city of Mali, on the delta of the Niger River.  The city was active around 250 BCE, and the 10" terra cotta figure dates from the 13th century CE. The wood and painted figure above is from the Dogon people of Mali.

Ancient African art, once past the "hunter and gatherer" stage in which the art images reflect animals and hunt, tended to portray human beings, often the ancestors or ancestral couples.  Some of the civilizations created wood, clay, or bronze heads, both naturalistic and abstract.  Others developed the art of the mask, often made of combined materials.
Ancestress face mask in wood and other materials.
Effigy mask in wood, cowrie shells, and other materials.
Female face mask made of wood.
"Ancestress" mask from Zaire,
wood and paint."		 The Founder King" from the Kuba Kingdom, Congo.  When the king died, the mask was placed on an effigy, and later buried with him. From the Mende of Sierre Leone, a female's mask made of wood.

Founders, ancestors, the family and the tribe are most important to the ancient and indigenous African cultures.  These are usually subject matter of art although the purpose of the art may be funerary, ceremonial, religious, political and so on.  The art is also used to mark the important events and times in individuals and the community's life.
Stylized head, made of steatite, from Sierra Leone.
Bronze head, idealized figure of a Queen Mother.
This head, made of steatite, a very hard stone, is from
Sierra Leone and is dated at approximately the 16th century.  It is 14 l/4" and is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The above head, from the Kingdom of Benin in the 16th century is made of bronze.  It is thought to be an idealized figure of a Queen or Queen Mother. 
Altered abstracted image of African Kinte cloth.
 
Mother and child figure from Mali.
Carved wood Dogon 'ancestral couple' from Mali.
Female figure from the Ivory Coast.
Mother and child figure from Mali, 15th century.  Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dogon ancestral couple from Mali, wood and metal.  Metropolitan Museum of Art. Female figure from the Ivory Coast.

Another common art form is the headress, made of various materials from wood, beads, shells, woven fabric, and metals.  The headress may be used in combination with a mask and/or costume, or alone, as part of a community ceremony or ritual.
Antelope headress from Mali.
Intricately carved headress from Mali.
Mende female mask.
Carved Yoruba headress.
Antelope headress from Mali
Headress from Mali
Mende female mask 
Yoruba Headress
Examine African rock art and listen to African music:  http://www.paleologos.com/wildlife.htm

Learn about ancient Ethiopia and the rock churchs at Lalibela at these two exiciting sites: http://www.onhiatus.com/journal/journal.cgi/EthiopiaPhotos.html?51#1 

http://members.tripod.com/~Abyssinia/Ark/churches_in_rock.html
 
Visit the Guggenheim Museum in New York  and explore the 'clickable' map of Africa:  http://artnetweb.com/guggenheim/africa/

Headdress from Mali
African twin figures
Headress from Mali
African "Twin Figures"
Page Updated 8/03/09
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Copyright M. Hoover and San Antonio College,
Sept., 2001.  All rights reserved.