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CMA: African Art

@cmaafrican.bsky.social

Sharing public domain works from the African Art department of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

2023 Posts545 Follower 3 Folgt

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 11h ago

Knife https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1021

Knife

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 13h ago

Hat https://clevelandart.org/art/1997.180

Among the Kongo peoples of west-central Africa, traditional village chiefs and rulers hold authority over political, judicial and economic spheres. They are also ritual leaders, expected to intercede with spirits and ancestors to maintain the well-being of the community. The chief's power is manifested through a variety of powerful implements, including fly whisks, execution swords, and ivory scepters. Among the most important symbols of a chief's authority is the cap. Power is transferred to the new chief along with the cap of his predecessor. In fact, the village leader's title means "Chief of the Cap." Crafted with a complex combination of looping and knotting, this cap formed part of a high-ranking chief's regalia, as indicated by its height and elaborate patterning. The presence of leopard claws on the crown confirms the high status of its owner, for the leopard is considered to be the ruler of the animal realm.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 17h ago

Pair of Figures https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.459

Although this pair has been attributed to the Ngbandi, many of the style characteristics identified as typical of that culture are in fact shared with its neighbors the Ngbaka- Minagende, among others. Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. But field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. Were all such Ngbandi-style couples created by Ngbandi artists for a neighboring Ngbaka-Minagende community or another Ubangi group? Or do they instead refer to a more localized tradition that was never documented by foreign observers?

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · yesterday

Plaque https://clevelandart.org/art/1999.1

Hundreds of brass plaques with figures in high relief once covered the wooden pillars of the palace courtyard. It cannot be confirmed whether the depicted scenes reflect rituals or ceremonies, or tell stories about historical events. Imported as a result of overseas trade with Europe, brass was the ultimate sign of wealth and the exclusive property of the king.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 2d ago

Male Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.59

Male Figure

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 2d ago

Ring https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.124

Ring

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 2d ago

Patten-type Shoe https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.566.1

Patten-type Shoe

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 3d ago

Staff of Office https://clevelandart.org/art/2004.85

The Luba kingdom flourished from about the 17th century to the late 19th century. The best-known Luba object types relate to ideas of kingship and the kingdom's ceremonial and ritual life. Staffs are among the most important Luba regalia. During the investiture ritual, the new ruler holds the staff when he swears his oath of office. Aside from being a symbol of rank and high office, a staff also serves as a historical document and archive that can be "read" like a sculptural map, memorializing important events, places, and people. The rendering of women points to their political and religious significance in history and society; although Luba rulers were always male, their mothers, wives, and sisters acted as advisors and diplomats behind the scenes. On this particular staff, the Janus heads and female figures probably represent one of the many Luba tutelary spirit pairs. The metal point alludes to the kingdom's stability and durability.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 3d ago

Divination Implement https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.455

Used in an intimate setting, this device helped contact an ancestral spirit who clarified misfortunes. Rather than relying on trance, the diviner awakened the ancestor by anointing the surface of the wooden figure, a rectangular frame surmounted by a female head, with pungent basil leaves. Sitting on a textured woven mat, the diviner held one side of the instrument while his client held the other. The diviner then posed questions to the ancestor who responded through movement: a movement back and forth indicated a negative response; a circular motion signaled affirmation. Revealing a lifetime of use and loving care, this divination device shows a heavily eroded base resulting from friction with the mat.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 4d ago

Neck Ornament https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.207

Typically such an ornament was worn by a woman in conjunction with other beadwork in complementary color schemes. In addition to making her own beadwork, however, a woman would also produce her husband’s beadwork and, before marriage, the beadwork worn by the young man courting her. Before the introduction of glass beads by European traders, southern African communities acquired beads of Indian manufacture from Arab traders.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 4d ago

Female Figure of a Pair https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.459.2

Although this pair has been attributed to the Ngbandi, many of the style characteristics identified as typical of that culture are in fact shared with its neighbors the Ngbaka-Minagende, among others. Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. But the field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. Were all such Ngbandi-style couples created by Ngbandi artists for a neighboring Ngbaka-Minagende community or another Ubgandi group? Or do they instead refer to a more localized tradition that was never documented by foreign observers?

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 4d ago

Carved Tooth https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.137

This is a fine example of art produced for sale to European visitors in the Lower Congo River area. A long history of cultural and artistic interactions between Africans and Europeans began in 1482, when the Portuguese first established diplomatic ties with the rulers of the Kongo kingdoms. Note the image of a foreign merchant pouring whiskey from a keg.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 5d ago

Male Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.199

Figures like this would have been used in rituals by the ancestors of the present-day inhabitants of the Inland Niger Delta. Representing the gods and kings or queens associated with the region’s former residents, the figures received prayers and offerings in exchange for their support. The seated position of this male has been interpreted as a harmful pose intended to bring death to an individual.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 5d ago

Female Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.154

Female Figure

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 5d ago

Dagger https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.724

Dagger

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 6d ago

Clapper https://clevelandart.org/art/1938.5

This clapper was played by striking the beak of the bird with a metal rod. It is used in a ritual called ugie oro, which commemorates an early 16th-century military victory of King Esigie. This festival illustrates the divine power of the Benin king to protect the kingdom and its inhabitants against natural and supernatural forces. The bird has been identified as a vulture, ibis, hornbill, eagle, or kingfisher.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 6d ago

Throwing Knife https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.333

Throwing Knife

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 6d ago

Gold Weight: Fish https://clevelandart.org/art/1961.399

The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom was derived primarily from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weight gold dust and nuggets. The royal court had the most elaborate store of weights, while commoners often had about a dozen. Their imagery falls into two broad cateogries: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 7d ago

Patten-type Shoe https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.566.2

Patten-type Shoe

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · 7d ago

Head https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.157

Head

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Figurine https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.443

The Delenne’s stumbled upon this group of seven anthropomorphic figurines (2010.437–43) in an antiques shop in Nice during a holiday in the south of France in 1961. The carvings carry paperboard labels with inscriptions in French that indicate their ethnic and geographic provenance as well as some other details. Stemming from the Kongo region in West Central Africa, these seven sculptures feature a variety of gestures and poses, the use of mirror or glass for the eyes, and a red-white-black color scheme. They belong to the broad category of <em>minkisi</em> (singular <em>nkisi</em>), containers for medicines in which an ancestral spirit was believed to reside. Two of the group are minkisi of the <em>nduda</em> type, characterized by the attached "guns" loaded with gunpowder and used to shoot witches. This figurine wears the <em>mpu</em> headdress of chiefs as he sits in a mental state of mourning, perhaps a reference to what the nkisi may induce in the person against whom its action is directed. It belonged to “the sorcerer of Tiétié on the Djoué River.”

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Whistle https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.443

Carved out of ivory or wood in a variety of shapes, Chokwe whistles often bear miniature, stylized renderings of masks. Cikunza, the "patron saint" of the boys' initiation into manhood, is depicted with a pointed extension imitating the horn of a road antelope, symbolizing the fertility spirit. Typically such whistles were used by men during the hunt to communicate with their co-hunters and to call their dogs. They were either worn attached to a string as a necklace or tied to a spear.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Leopard Caryatid Stool https://clevelandart.org/art/2006.138

Bead-covered wooden stools and thrones are one of the most prevalent art forms among the various kingdoms and chiefdoms in the Cameroon grasslands. This example, once part of the royal treasury, belongs in the category of "travel stools," usually used in conjunction with more private, minor ceremonies and rituals at the palace. The leopard imagery confirms the object’s royal status. It alludes to the belief that the king was able to temporarily transform himself into this feared predator.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Jewelry https://clevelandart.org/art/1935.310

Shared by different Akan and Akan-related peoples, including the Asante and Baule, gold ornaments indicate status and wealth and are worn at public festivals by titleholders, chiefs, and kings. Most pectoral disks are suspended over the chest by a white, pineapple-fiber cord. They are owned by the okra, a young official who purifies the chief’s soul--hence, the name akrafokonmu, meaning "soul-washer’s badges" or "soul disks."

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Knife https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.743

This beautifully-wrought knife served as a symbol of political authority among the Ngala. Quite literally it signified the power of life and death for its form was derived from that of an executioner's knife.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Female Figurine https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.429

Whether female or male, Beembe figurines generally have greatly detailed anatomical and decorative features—especially hairstyles and abdominal scarification marks—as well as a shiny, lustrous patina. The characteristic scars that were in vogue among Beembe men and women until the 1950s communicated their ideas about local beauty and ethnic belonging. Used to protect its owner’s well-being, such a Beembe figurine was charged with an ancestor’s spirit or life force through a mixture of resin and mostly human-derived ingredients taken from the corpse of the person it possibly portrays; the substance was inserted into a small cavity near the sculpture’s rectum. The staring eyes, made with shards of white porcelain, allude to the figurine’s ability to access the realm of the dead.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Pendant https://clevelandart.org/art/1976.189

Pendants like these were worn as symbols of protection.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/1974.205

A master female potter among the Asante created this clay sculpture to commemorate the departed. While not a naturalistic portrait, this figure depicts features associated with the dead person such as coiffure or facial marks. The rolls of flesh on the neck are a widespread artistic convention for beauty, prosperity, and well-being. After placing the memorial in a sacred forest clearing, family members invoked the spirit of the departed and asked it to accept the sculpture and facilitate communications with ancestors.

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Fragment of a Staff https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.11

Fragment of a Staff

CMA: African Art @cmaafrican.bsky.social · last wk.

Male Figure (Ofika) https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.33

Figures such as this, known as <em>ofika, </em>were central to the initiation practices and the enforcement of laws among the all-male Lilwa association, a hierarchical organization that served educational, judicial, political, economic, and ritual functions among the Mbole. Meant to instill a moral code and to act as a cautionary symbol during initiation for Lilwa novices, ofika figures are believed to represent criminals who were ritually hanged for transgressions against Lilwa laws. The figure’s encrusted surface imitates how members covered their bodies with a substance made of ashes and palm oil during burial rites.