AFRICA

Question 1

PREHISTORIC

Running Horned Woman, from Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria ca. 6000-4000 BCE

Answer 1

This early rock painting is thousands of years older than the first African sculptures. It represents a running woman with body paint, raffia skirt, and horned headgear, apparently in a ritual context.

Question 2

NOK

Nok head, from Rafin Kura, Nigeria ca. 500 BCE-200 CE

Answer 2

The earliest African sculptures in the round come from Nigeria. The Nok culture produced expressive terracotta heads with large eyes, mouths, and ears. Piercing equalized the heat during the firing process.

Question 3

ILE-IFE

King, from Ita Yemoo (Ife), Nigeria 11th-12th C.

Answer 3

Unlike most African sculptures, this royal figure has a naturalistically modeled torso and facial features that
approach portraiture. The head, however, the locus of wisdom, is disproportionately large.

Question 4

DJENNE

Archer, from Djenne, Mali, 13th-14th C.

Answer 4

Djenne terracottas present a striking contrast to the statues from Ile-Ife. This archer is thin with tubular limbs and an elongated head featuring a prominent chin, bulging eyes, and large nose.

Question 5

DJENNE

Great Mosque, Djenne, Mali, begun 13th C

Answer 5

The Great Mosque at Djenne resembles Middle Eastern mosques in plan (large courtyard next to a roofed prayer hall), but the construction materials—adobe and wood—are distinctly African.

Question 6

LALIBELA

Beta Giorghis, (Church of St. George), Lalibela, Ethiopia 13th C.

Answer 6

During the 13th century, the Christian kingdom of Lalibela cut many churches out of the Ethiopian bedrock. This one emulates Byzantine models and has a Greek-cross plan and interior frescoes.

Question 7

ZIMBABWE

Walls and tower, Great Enclosure, Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe 14th C.

Answer 7

The Great Zimbabwe empire in southern Africa had a trade network that extended to the Near East and China. The royal residence was surrounded by 30-foot-high stone
walls and conical towers.

Question 8

ZIMBABWE

Monolith with bird and crocodile 15th C.

Answer 8

This soapstone monolith stood in the ancestral shrine of a Great Zimbabwe ruler’s wife. The bird and crocodile may symbolize previous rulers who act as messengers between
the living and dead.

Question 9

BENIN KINGDOM

Waist pendant of a Queen Mother ca. 1520

Answer 9

This ivory head probably portrays Idia, mother of Oba Esigie, who wore it on his waist. Above Idia’s head are Portuguese heads and mudfish, symbols, respectively, of trade and of Olokun, god of the sea.

Question 10

BENIN KINGDOM

Altar of the Hand and Arm (ikegobo) 17th C.

Answer 10

One of the Benin king’s praise names is “great head,” and on this cast-bronze royal shrine, he is represented
larger than all other figures and his proportions are distorted to emphasize his head.

Question 11

SAPI

MASTER OF THE SYMBOLIC EXECUTION. Saltcellar ca. 1490-1540

Answer 11

The Sapi saltcellars made for export combine African and Portuguese traits. This one represents an execution scene with an African-featured man, who wears European pants, seated among severed heads.

Question 12

KALABARI IJAW

Ancestral Screen (Nduen Fobara) late 19th C.

Answer 12

The name Nduen Fobara means “foreheads of the deceased” The chiefs is bare chested with colorful drapery covering the lower part of his body. At his feet are the heads of conquered rivals, completing the exceptionally rich iconographical program.

Question 13

FANG

Reliquary Guardian Figure (Bieri) late 19th C.

Answer 13

Bieri guard cylindrical bark boxes of Fang ancestor bones (reliquaries). The figures have the bodies of infants and the muscularity of adults, a combination of traits suggesting the cycle of life.

Question 14

KOTA

Reliquary Guardian Figure (Mbulu Ngulu) late 19th C

Answer 14

Kota guardian figures have large heads and bodies in the form of an open diamond. Polished copper and brass sheets cover the wood forms. The Kota believe gleaming surfaces repel evil.

Question 15

BAMUM

Throne and Footstool of King Nsangu ca. 1870

Answer 15

King Nsangu’s throne features luminous beads and shells and richly colored textiles. The decoration includes intertwining serpents, male and female retainers, bodyguards with European rifles.

Question 16

KONGO

Yombe Mother and Child (Pfemba) late 19th C.

Answer 16

The mother in this Yombe group wears a royal cap and jewelry and displays her chest scarification. The image may commemorate an ancestor or, more likely, a legendary founding clan mother.

Question 17

KONGO

Nail Figure (Nkisi N’kondi) ca. 1875-1900

Answer 17

Only priests using ritual formulas could consecrate Kongo power figures, which embody spirits that can heal or inflict harm. The statue has simplified anatomical forms and an oversized head.

Question 18

DOGON

Seated Couple ca. 1800-1850

Answer 18

This Dogon carving of a linked man and woman documents gender roles in traditional African society. The protective man wears a quiver on his back. The nurturing woman carries a child on hers.

Question 19

DOGON

Satimbe Masquerader mid-late 20th C.

Answer 19

Satimbe (sister on the head) masks commemorate the legend describing women as the first masqueraders. The mask’s crown is a woman with large breasts and sticklike bent arms.

Question 20

DOGON

Togu na (Men’s House of Words) Dogon, Mali, ca. 1989

Answer 20

Dogon men hold their communal deliberations in togu na. The posts of this one are of varied date. The oldest have traditional carvings, and the newest feature polychrome narrative or topical paintings.

Question 21

ASANTE

OSEI BONSU. Akua’ba (Akua’s Child) ca. 1935

Answer 21

Osei Bonsu was one of Africa’s leading sculptors. This figure, carried by women hoping to conceive a child, has flattened face and crosshatched eyebrows, typical features of the artist’s style.

Question 22

YORUBA

OLOWE OF ISE. Doors from the shrine of the king’s head, Ikere 1910-1914

Answer 22

These masterfully carved and painted doors to the shrine of the king’s head in the Ikere palace are the work of Olowe of Isle, one of the few African artists whose name and career have been recorded.

Question 23

SENUFO

Senufo Masquerader, Côte d’Ivoire ca. 1980-1990

Answer 23

Senufo masqueraders are always men. Their masks often represent composite creatures incarnating both ancestors and bush powers. They fight malevolent spirits with their aggressively powerful forms.

Question 24

SENUFO

“Beautiful Lady” dance mask late 20th C.

Answer 24

Some Senufo men dance female masks such as this one with the hornbill bored rising from the forehead. The female characters are sometimes the wives of the terrorizing male masks.

Question 25

MENDE

Female Mask 20th C

Answer 25

This Mende mask refers to ideals of female beauty, morality, and behavior. The large forehead signifies wisdom, the neck design beauty and health, and the plaited hair the order of ideal households.

Question 26

KUBA

Ngady Amwaash Mask late 19th- early 20th C

Answer 26

Ngady’s mask incorporates beads, shells, and feathers in geometric patterns. The stripes on her cheeks are tears from the pain of childbirth after incest with her father, represented by the Mwashamboy mask.

Question 27

KUBA

King Kuba Kot a-Mbweeky III 1970

Answer 27

Eagle feathers, leopard skin, cowrie shells, imported beads, raffia, and other materials combine to make the Kuba king larger than life. He is collage of wealth, dignity, and military might.

Question 28

IGBO

Ala and Amadioha ca. 1966

Answer 28

The Igbo build mud mbar houses to the earth goddess Ala. The painted statues inside this one represent Ala in traditional dress with body paint and the thunder god Amadioha in modern dress.