Introduction to World Art
Senior 1 · Fine Arts
Introduction to World Art
Lesson 4 of 5
25 min
In the 1500s, the palace of the Oba (king) of Benin, in what is now southern Nigeria, had wooden pillars covered with hundreds of brass plaques like this one. Look at the figures. Who do you think is the most important, and how can you tell?
Worked example
Reading an artwork: a Benin plaque
Step 1. What you see. A tall warrior chief in the centre, wearing a tall helmet, a necklace and a patterned wrap, holding a sword and a spear. Two soldiers with shields stand beside him; smaller figures fill the spaces. The background is covered in a fine pattern of leaves.
Step 2. How it is made. The plaque was cast in brass by the lost-wax method (Figure 1). The figures stand out in high relief, some almost free of the background. The holes near the corners were for nailing it to a palace pillar.
Step 3. What it means. Like Egyptian art, Benin plaques use hierarchical scale: the chief is biggest because he is the most important. Together the plaques recorded the court, its ceremonies and its wars, a history in brass. Brass itself was precious and controlled by the Oba, so the plaques also showed royal wealth and power.
Definition
Lost-wax casting: a method of making metal sculpture in which a wax model is covered in clay, the wax is melted out, and molten metal is poured into the space it leaves.
Guild: an organised group of craftspeople who share a skill and train the next generation, such as the brass-casters of Benin.
In 1897 a British military force attacked Benin City and took thousands of brass and ivory works from the palace. They are now in museums around the world. Nigeria has asked for them to be returned, and some museums have begun to give them back.
Across Central and West Africa, many communities perform masquerades, in which a dancer wearing a mask and costume becomes a character, an ancestor or a spirit. A mask in a museum is only part of the artwork: it was made to be worn, danced, heard and seen with music.
Worked example
Reading an artwork: a Chokwe chihongo mask
Step 1. What you see. A red-brown carved wooden face with half-closed eyes, an open mouth showing teeth, a jutting carved beard and marks on the cheeks, framed by a large ring of dark feathers on a raffia and cloth headdress.
Step 2. How it is made. The face is carved from wood and coloured with pigment; the headdress is built of raffia and cloth on a frame, with feathers from the turaco and guinea fowl. A net of fibre once hung from it to hide the dancer.
Step 3. What it means. The Chokwe use masquerades to bring the ancestors among the living, to guide and teach them. Chihongo is the male partner of the female mask mwana pwo. Museum experts read its red colour, beard, cheek marks and feathers as signs of wisdom, leadership, wealth and high status.
Definition
Masquerade: a performance in which masked dancers, with costume and music, act as ancestors, spirits or characters.
Scarification marks: patterns of small scars made on the skin as signs of identity or beauty, often copied on masks and figures.
| Textile | Where | How it is made | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kente | Ghana (Asante and Ewe peoples) | woven on narrow looms in long strips, which are sewn together | bright geometric blocks; many patterns have names and meanings |
| Bògòlanfini (mud cloth) | Mali (Bamana people) | cotton dyed with leaves, then painted with iron-rich mud | dark background with pale geometric signs |
| Adire | Nigeria (Yoruba people) | indigo dye resisted by starch paste or tied threads | blue and white patterns |
| Kuba raffia cloth | Democratic Republic of the Congo | palm-fibre cloth, embroidered and appliquéd | maze-like patterns that change as they go |
| Kitenge (wax print) | East and Central Africa, including Rwanda | cotton printed in factories with wax-resist designs | bold repeated motifs; many designs are given names |
In Rwanda, imigongo panels bring the same love of geometry to walls: ridges of cow dung mixed with ash are modelled into zigzags, spirals and diamonds and painted black, white and red. The art is traditionally linked to Prince Kakira of the kingdom of Gisaka, in eastern Rwanda, and is still made by cooperatives in Kirehe District.
From the 600s CE, Islam spread from Arabia across North Africa, into Spain and far into Asia. In mosques and religious books, Islamic art usually avoids pictures of people and animals. Instead, artists developed three great kinds of ornament: calligraphy (beautiful writing, above all of the Qur'an), arabesque (flowing, endlessly branching plant forms) and geometric pattern, built with a compass and ruler.
Definition
Tessellation: a pattern of shapes that fit together with no gaps or overlaps and could go on for ever. Example: the stars and polygons of the minbar doors, or the hexagons of a honeycomb.
Calligraphy: the art of beautiful writing. Arabesque: ornament of curving, branching plant stems and leaves that repeat without end.
Worked example: sizes in a star
Ishimwe draws the circle with a radius of . How long is each side of the squares, and how far apart are the star's points?
A square with its corners on a circle has a diagonal equal to the diameter, . By Pythagoras, its side satisfies , so
The eight points are spread evenly round the circle, so the angle between neighbouring points, measured at the centre, is
That is why the second square is turned through exactly .
<em>Female (pwo) mask (Chokwe peoples)</em>, from Smarthistory. This is the female partner of the chihongo mask above. Watch for what the mask's features say about ideas of beauty and wisdom, and how it was performed by a male dancer.
Warning
Respect living traditions. Many masks and objects are still sacred to the communities that made them. Describe them with respect, never call them “primitive” or make fun of them, and remember that a mask in a museum has lost its dance, music and costume.
Compass safety: the point of a compass is sharp. Carry it closed, keep it pointed at the desk, and hold the paper still with your other hand away from the point.
Tip
Three questions for any African or Islamic artwork: What was it used for? Who made it (a guild, a workshop, a woman weaver)? What does its pattern or form signify? Use them in the “what it means” step.
Practice
Put the lost-wax steps in order: pour molten brass; make a wax model; break the mould; cover the wax in clay; heat to melt the wax.
On the Benin plaque, which figure is largest, and why? Name the convention.
Why is a mask in a museum “only part of the artwork”?
Name the three main kinds of ornament in Islamic art, and give an example of each.
A circle has a radius of 4 cm. How long is the side of a square with its corners on the circle? How far apart, in degrees, are the points of a twelve-pointed star?
Construct an eight-pointed star (Figure 2), then repeat it in a row of three, filling the gaps between them with small squares, to start a tessellation. Colour it with two colours only.
1. Make a wax model; cover the wax in clay; heat to melt the wax; pour molten brass; break the mould.
2. The central warrior chief: he is the most important person. This is hierarchical scale.
3. A mask was made to be worn by a dancer, with a costume, movement and music, in a performance with meaning for the community. In a museum we see only the carved part, standing still.
4. Calligraphy (verses of the Qur'an on a mosque wall), arabesque (branching plant stems in tilework or carving), geometric pattern (the star patterns of the minbar doors).
5. . .
6. Practical. The points should all touch the circle, and the two squares should be turned exactly to each other.
Sources and credits
