Art Forms of Ancient Africa

Identified as the first continent inhabited by the human species the African continent is home to the first forms of artistic expression. African Art has played a significant role in helping us understand the history of humankind. Considering that most of the materials used during this time were highly perishable few of the artworks were able to survive over an extended period.

 African art forms are just as diverse as the cultures and languages on the continent; they are unique expressions of the visual cultures of the tribes that produce them. It would be difficult to give an all-encompassing summary of the main characteristics of early African art due to the variety of forms and practices. The artworks had different levels of significance to the people, some of them were solely for entertainment, others were of political or ideological importance, some were of aesthetic value, and others were of spiritual significance. Most cultures depicted humans, animals, and plants in abstract forms but used different materials and techniques to render them.

 To gain a better understanding of the early art forms of ancient Africa, we will be looking at the most prominent ones:

Human Forms: Human figures have always been the leading subject of African art and served different purposes as well as signified several aspects of the people’s cultural beliefs and traditions. Human figures either symbolised the living or the dead and most of the subjects were chiefs, dancers, drummers or hunters. Some were anthropomorphic representations of gods, ancestors or deities and served votive functions. Abstract was the preferred style of some cultures and other cultures preferred natural depictions

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Rock Art: Ancient Africans used rocks as their canvas before any other medium was being used to produce artworks. The oldest images of rock art in Africa come from the Apollo 11 caves and are scientifically dated to have occurred around 24-27,000 years ago. The earliest preserved rock art dates back to around 6500 BC found in the Saharan sands in Niger. The carvings known as petroglyphs depict animals that have gone extinct or no longer exist in that area. The images found at rock art sites displayed how ancient tribes perceived the world around them and depicted some of their cultural and religious practices.

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Sculptures: The earliest sculptural pieces are attributed to the Nok people of Northern Nigeria and date to around 500 BC to 200 AD. They consisted of terracotta pottery heads and were mostly abstract figures made from grog and iron-rich clay. The sculptors had a strong sense of style, and the artworks usually have strong formal elements and expressive qualities.

At around 500 AD fired earthenware heads were excavated at the Lydenburg district of South Africa. Not much is on the records about the culture that produced these works but the manner in which the group of seven heads were buried shows that they were significant to the people of this area. These heads were in abstract form and had large furrowed rings around the neck which are thought to signify power and prosperity.

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Metal Works: The Igbo-ukwu tribe of Eastern Nigeria are the pioneers of the bronze casting tradition in Africa. Excavated sites revealed bronze regalia and other bronze works. The bronze casting tradition reached its plateau with the Ife tribe of Western Nigeria who produced fine brass and bronze works. They specialized in making heads, busts and miniature full body figures. These artworks were more realistic than the abstract works of other traditions and were the forerunners of the realism art movement. In both cultures sculptures were made for their kings who were also of spiritual significance to the people, these works were made to reflect the cultural beliefs of the people, the socio-political climate, and chiefdoms which existed under the rule of the divine king.

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Wood Carvings:  Wood sculptures are one of the most common forms of ancient African art, the earliest surviving wooden sculpture was a zoomorphic found in 1928 in central Angola. Wood carvings became the most practiced at artform at one time due to the ease with which African sculptors could manipulate the medium; they also had different styles which they used to portray human figures and other works of cultural relevance. Classical examples of African wooden sculptures include the ancestor figures of the Bari culture which is roughly fashioned and the tall pole structures of the Azande people of eastern Sudan.

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Studying the art of ancient Africa is vital to understanding the early human cultures and the origins of artistic expressions. The art forms practised served as an influence to other cultures who came in contact with Africans during the pre-colonial period and vice versa; it also facilitated an exchange of cultures.

References

African art history. Retrieved from https://www.contemporary-african-art.com/african-art-history.html

B. Hess, J., A. Carey, M., Picton, J., Willett, F., & Wagner, P. African art | visual arts. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/African-art#ref220379

Clarke, C. African art, an introduction | Art of Africa |Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/african-art-intro