Africa and Pacific Islands

Question 1

african figural sculpture: relationships between rulers and spirits

Answer 1

the spirit would determines who will become leader and what the leader should do.

Sculptures often indicate spiritual statues, putting metal into them

Question 2

hierarchy of scale

Answer 2

an artistic convention in which greater size indicates greater importance

Question 3

ritual functions

Answer 3

fulfillment of religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotion needs of the practinioners, strengthening of social bonds, social and moral education.

Question 4

role of abstract symbols and patterns in african art

Answer 4

can represent spiritual concepts, emotions, human experience, complex ideas, or religious themes.

Question 5

kente cloth

Answer 5

a woven fabric from the kingdom of asante

traditionally worn only by royalty and state officials

Question 6

maori

Answer 6

indigenous polynesian people of mainland new zealand

Question 7

ta moko

Answer 7

tattoos, mark important events in the wearer’s life (puberty, marriage), indicate social status.

No two designs are alike: were at times used as a form of legal signature.

Question 8

Art of Africa

Answer 8

Diverse continent: 54 countries, 1.2 billion
inhabitants, 1,500 languages
 Archaeological evidence from ~200,000 years ago
indicates that the first modern humans lived in Africa
before migrating to other parts of the world.
 Oral history has been more important for African
communities than written documents. Records of
many events do not exist in many areas, especially
south of the Sahara.
 Thus, African art has been:
 Important form of communication and cultural
expression
 Earliest examples date back 75,000 years ago
(portable objects such as beads, shells)
Chapter 3.5 Art of Africa and the Pacific Islands
 Art of Africa and the Pacific Islands:
 Integrates and responds to the
environment
 Incorporates mythological beliefs
 Follows traditional methods of
construction and decoration
 Traditionally relies on natural materials:
wood, reeds, shells, earth

Question 9

Nigerian Ife Artist Figure of Oni

Answer 9

early 14th–15th
century. Brass with
lead, height 18⅜”.
National Museum, Ife,
Nigeri

Question 10

Portraits and Power Figures

Answer 10

Art used to assert and reinforce the power of African
rulers
 They often stress their connection to spirit realm in
order to encourage their people to believe that the
gods or ancestor spirits gave them the right to rule.
 Art can also act as a conduit or link between the spirit
world and the human world.
 Artworks are invested with power and that power is also
associated with the owner.
 Art communicates rules and customs
 Objects can be symbolic, related to a position/role; or
tell a story to communicate a message

Question 11

Head from Rafin Kura

Answer 11

The Nok of Nigeria created lifesized, hollow terra-cotta figures.
Characteristics include:
 Heads larger than the bodies.
Head as the location of a person’s
spirit.
 Triangular-shaped eyes; holes for
eyes, nose, mouth, ears
 Distinctive hairstyle or headdress
 Coiling technique.

Question 12

Twin Figure Ado Odo

Answer 12

, probably
from Ado Odo in
Yorubaland, pre-1877
(probably 19th century).
Wood, 10” high. Linden
Museum, Stuttgart,
Germany
Made by the Yoruba
of western Nigeria
Figure known as ere
ibeji

Question 13

Personal Stories and Symbolism

Answer 13

In Africa, information has traditionally been
shared orally or visually
 Abstract designs and patterns
 Can be read and understood like
representational imagery
 Symbols, colors, and materials all give
specific information: a person’s age,
status/position, and cultural connections

Question 14

Textile Wrapper (Kente)

Answer 14

Kente is a woven fabric from the Kingdom of
Asante, Ghana, West Africa
 Traditionally worn only by royalty and state
officials
 Symbolic use of color: yellow (holy,
precious), gold (royalty, wealth, spiritual
purity), green (growth, good health), red
(strong political and spiritual feelings)

Question 15

Kanaga Mask

Answer 15

Created by the Dogon of Mali in
West Africa
 Assists the dead in their journey
into the spiritual realm
 Used in funeral rituals, called
dama
 The two cross bars on the mask
represent the lower earthly realm
and the upper cosmic realm of the
sky

Question 16

Benin Kingdom 13-16th centuries

Answer 16

 According to oral tradition, the first Benin king in the
13th c. was the grandson of an Ife king.
 Benin reached its height of power and territorial
extent in the 16th c.
 The kingdom’s slow decline thereafter culminated in
1897 when the British burned the city and palace.

Question 17

Royal Plaque

Answer 17

from Benin,
Nigeria, 1550-1680. Bronze,
1’7 ½” x 1’ 4 ½” high.
British Museum, London.

Question 18

African Architecture

Answer 18

Many buildings made of perishable
materials (wood, mud-brick)
 Symbolism and ornamentation of
the structures communicate:
 Spiritual concerns
 Ties to ancestors
 Connections with nature

Question 19

Great Mosque, Djenne

Answer 19

Monday market, Great Mosque, Djenné, Mali, Africa. The earliest mosque on this site was
built in the 13th c. after King Koi Konboro converted to Islam. In 1834, Sheikh Amadou Labbo
ordered that mosque to be demolished. The current building was completed in 1907.

Question 20

Art of the Pacific Islands

Answer 20

Geographic area covers islands in the Pacific
Ocean: Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia,
Australia
 Artworks include: portable objects (jewelry,
furniture, weapons), body ornamentation,
wooden sculpture, paintings on rock, and
ceremonial architecture
 Mana=magical power is a strong influence

Question 21

New Zealand

Answer 21

 Inhabited by the Maori, who have
an elaborate tradition of tattooing
 Earliest preserved tattooed bodies
date to c. 3300 BCE
 Feature abstract designs with dots
and line patterns

Question 22

Sydney Parkinson, Drawing of traditional Maori tattoo

Answer 22

Tattoos are called ta moko or moko
 Mark important events in the
wearer’s life (puberty, marriage)
 Indicate social status
 No two designs are alike; were at
times used as a form of legal
signature

Question 23

Hawaii

Answer 23

First inhabited by Polynesians
from Marquesas Islands c. 600 CE
 Later, Tahitian settlers introduced
a social hierarchy and new gods
 King Kamehameha unified warring
factions during the 18th century
 Became the 50th US state in 1959;
has also kept Tahitian and
Polynesian roots

Question 24

Moai ancestor figures

Answer 24

 887 moai documented to date;
placed especially along the coast
 Carved from volcanic rock
 Represent deified ancestors who
were chiefs
 General characteristics and unique
individual features

Question 25

Easter Island

Answer 25

Small, isolated island in Polynesia
 15 miles long by 7½ miles wide
 1,300 miles off the coast of Chile
 Famous for abstract monolithic
stone sculptures called moai
 Meaning “seamount,” “image,”
“statue,” or “bearers of the gift”

Question 26

Papua New Guinea

Answer 26

Part of Melanesia
 Abelam people live in wetland
areas in the north
 Farming is a principal activity
 Crops include yams, taro,
bananas, and sweet potatoes