The stunning artwork of the Benin kingdom (Nigeria) displayed by expert photography is the main attraction in this revised edition, although Ben-Amos' carefully researched text complements the visual delights. She describes the development of the art, its social and religious significance, and the African and European absorption which influenced but never overshadowed the character of the unique masks, jewelry, pottery, and statuary. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
The couple. The woman and child. The armed male. The rider. The stranger. For more than six thousand years, these five themes have appeared in countless works of art across the vast continent of Africa. The cultural ideals and values they embody are central to the lives of African peoples. Herbert M. Cole calls these timeless fundamental images icons. In this fascinating book, Cole explores the many different ways the icons have been depicted, used, and interpreted. "Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa" is lavishly illustrated iwth more than two hundred photographs. Cole discusses such diverse works as ancient rock paintings and engravings, archaeological bronzes and terra-cottas, wooden shrine sculptors, miniature metal castings, public monuments in clay or cement, shop signs, gold and ivory political emblems, and modern glass paintings. "Icons" is both a noteworthy contribution to scholarship and a compelling introduction to the vitality, richness, and history of African art. -- From publisher's description.
The sixteen essays in this volume reflect a wide range of research concerning methods for metals conservation, particularly in respect to ancient and historic objects. The variety of issues discussed includes considerations in the cleaning of ancient bronze vessels; the processes involved in bronze casting, finishing, patination, and corrosion; studies of manufacturing techniques of gold objects in ancient African and medieval European metalworking; techniques of mercury gilding in the 18th century; an investigation of patina in the classification of bronze surfaces from land and lake environments; an examination of bronze objects from the Benin Kingdom, Nigeria; the history of restoration of the Marcus Aurelius monument in Rome; the corrosion of iron in architecture; and applications of radiographic tomography to the study of metal objects.
This volume, which grew from a 1996 symposium at Amherst College in Massachusetts, focuses on the rituals and associated objects of divination in central and western Africa, with consideration of three over-riding themes: the study of the rituals themselves; the nature and use of the objects, both as instruments and works of art; and methodological issues of cross-cultural inquiry. The 14 well- illustrated essays are by curators and professors of African art, and professors of anthropology, philosophy, and ethnic studies. The editor is professor of religious studies at Amherst. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR
Walk into any European museum today and you will see the curated spoils of Empire. They sit behind plate glass: dignified, tastefully lit. Accompanying pieces of card offer a name, date and place of origin. They do not mention that the objectsare all stolen. Few artefacts embody this history of rapacious and extractive colonialism better than the Benin Bronzes - a collection of thousands of brass plaques and carved ivory tusks depicting the history of the Royal Court of the Obas of BeninCity, Nigeria. Pillaged during a British naval attack in 1897, the loot was passed on to Queen Victoria, the British Museum and countless private collections. The story of the Benin Bronzes sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation and the decolonisation of museums. In The Brutish Museums, Dan Hicks makes a powerful case for the urgent return of such objects, as part of a wider project of addressing the outstanding debt of colonialism.
Explorations in African Systems of Thought examines the problems currently faced by researchers in the analysis of systems of belief in African societies. In contrast to the prevailing emphasis on the analysis of partial systems of thought, such as witchcraft beliefs or spirit possesion, the present collection of thirteen original essays stresses a more broadly analytic approach that relates the study of African systems of thought to other aspects of culture and social organization in African societies.
Published in conjunction with a traveling exhibition opening at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, these eight essays and 160 color illustrations examine the complex causes, outcomes, and legacies of the 400-year slave trade. 160 color illustrations.
The cultural legacy of the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin is one of Africa's oldest and richest, extending for more than nine centuries. Among the most prized achievements of African art are the naturalistic terracotta sculptures produced for the royal Yoruba courts from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries. Also renowned for their beauty and craftsmanship are Yoruba ceremonial swords, elaborate beaded crowns, wood and ivory carvings, embroidered textiles, jewelry, and architectural works. With twenty-seven color reproductions and eighty-one photographs - many published for the first time - accompanying essays by eighteen of the world's foremost Yoruba cultural historians, this book offers the most complete exploration of Yoruba artists and their work to date. Documenting the full spectrum of Yoruba culture, this definitive work extends beyond the visual arts to examine, for the first time, the Yoruba use of such oral traditions as singing and chanting, as well as drumming, dance, and other artistic expressions, including an Ifa divination ritual that involves an interplay of arts. The Yoruba Artist presents the latest in field-research and critical methodology, pointing to new directions in African cultural scholarship. The book explains the intricate linkage of a variety of Yoruba art forms and the role of oriki (praise poetry) songs in the transmission of knowledge. In one essay, Wande Abimbola illustrates how an extended praise poem serves as a source for knowledge concerning a famous eighteenth-century carver in the Old Oyo area. In another, Oba Solomon Babayemi discusses the relationship between oral history preserved by singers and drummers and the architectural history ofthe palace at Gbongan. In appraising individual figures such as Olowe of Isethis century's most important Yoruba artist - the contributors underscore particular oral and visual codes that identify authorship. Discussing the transition to current cultural forms, the essayists also show how contemporary artists in West Africa and the Americas have revitalized Yoruba aesthetic traditions.
This is a review of 190 years of literature on copper and its alloys. It integrates information on pigments, corrosion and minerals, and discusses environmental conditions, conservation methods, ancient and historical technologies.
