Akuaba

for FRIDAY 4 Feb

Osei Bonsu.  Akua'ba.  (Asante / Ghana, ca. 1935)

• one at the Metropolitan Museum (w description)
• one at the British Museum
• one at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

These should be enough. But if you want to see more of them, just search Google for "akuaba" and you'll also find plenty of them.  Some are even for sale.  And some are even made of chocolate.  AND here's akua-ba maternity wear! (Thanks, Judith!)  Whaddya think of those?

Dogon Seated Ancestor Couple

For WEDNESDAY 2-2

One page on this work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
And another page. 

Related essay on "Couples in Art" (also Metropolitan MoA)

Kongo Nail Figure (nkisi n'kondi)

For MONDAY 1-31:


Mangaaka Power Figure: Nkisi N'kondi at the Metropolitan Museum 

An article on the ritual use of the Mangaaka Figure

And another example at the Metropolitan Museum

Six different ones at the Brooklyn Museum

And a dog-form one at the World Museum in Liverpool

(Think about how to answer the questions -- especially "what is it for?")


and Coming Up:  on Wednesday, Dogon Ancestor Figures, and on Friday, akuabas.

Art-Thought Experiment: Ikegobo

Imagine:  if a person of power and authority in our own culture had an ikegobo, what would it look like?  What would be on it?  What would it be made of?  What would President Obama's ikegobo be like?  What would Steve Jobs's look like?  Paul McCartney's?  Stella McCartney's?  

Have fun.

P.S.  This is not an assignment!  It's just a way to study.

The Altar to the Hand (or Ikegobo).  

The one in our book (and shown to the right) is in the collection of the British Museum.  Read about it here.  

Other examples at the Metropolitan Museum in New York:  

• Oba with Animals (Ikegobo of Ezomo Ehenua) 
• Altar to the Hand (Ikegobo) 
• and another one, made of wood

Remember to consider how purpose, materials, imagery (iconography), and aesthetic values all relate to one another.  

Benin Bronzes and Ancestor Shrines

A Benin Royal Ancestor Shrine like the one shown here is not one art object, but a display involving a lot of specific art objects as well as ritual.

Useful resources on Benin and its art:

This page at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology is exceptionally good -- make sure to read this one!

The Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford) also has a good article about the Court Art of Benin

And the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (Metropolitan Museum of Art) has a lot of useful stuff:

• an overview of Benin & other nations in the region.
• an article on lost-wax casting (the casting technique used for Benin metalwork)
• an article on the history of Benin
• an article on Idia, the first Queen-Mother of Benin

Oni Figure from Ife-Ife

Ife (Metropolitan Museum)

Another example at the British Museum

Another one at the Brooklyn Museum

ALSO: don't neglect the side material in your book:  read the three boxes on "Dating African Art and Identifying African Artists" (p. 187); the one on p. 189 about "Art and Leadership in Africa" and (very important) the one on "Idealized Naturalism at Ife-Ife" on page 190.

Nok Heads

Nok Terracottas (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Also -- a lot of Nok artifacts have ended up in Western museums and personal collections, but the business of selling Nok artifacts to collectors is really controversial. Here are a couple links that show what I mean.

The Rape of Nok and Kwatakwashi: the crisis in Nigerian Antiquities (University of Cambridge)

UNESCO, Nok terracotta and the Met (Elginism blog)

Nok Heads for Sale (Hamill Gallery)

Daily Schedule for Weeks 2 & 3

Week 2:  African Gods & Kings 
M:  Ife-Ife Oni figures (10-6) (Chapter 10, pp. 191-196 would be a good start)
W: Benin Altarpiece (11-8) 
F:  Benin ikegobo

Week 3: African Power Figures
M: Kongo nkisi nkondi (11-6) 
W: Dogon ancestor couple (11-6) 
F: Ghana akuaba (11-10)