Africa,+1100+-+1980+CE



Read "Ways of Recording African History," from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

View this list of resources, provided by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, which includes videos and curricula related to art.

Visit Conversation: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue, another resource from the Smithsonian, which investigates art and objects from Africa and the African diaspora.

Some important works:
Ndop (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul. Kuba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo). c. 1760-1780 CE. Wood.

Power figure (Nkisi n'kondi). Kongo peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo). c. late 19th century. Wood and metal. Read about another sculpture made by the Kongo, Male (Nkisi).

Female (Pwo) mask. Chokwe peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Late 19th to early 20th century. Wood, fiber, pigment, and metal. View another Pwo mask.

Lukasa (memory board). Mbudye Society, Luba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo). c. 19th to 20th century. Wood, beads, and metal. View another example of a Lukasa.

Aka elephant mask. Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region). c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, woven raffia, cloth, and beads.

View another elephant mask from Cameroon.

Elephant masks in action:

Reliquary figure (byeri). Fang peoples (Southern Cameroon). c. 19th to 20th century. Wood. Watch a video about another Fang reliquary, and get a 360º view of the sculpture. Learn more about this reliquary here.

Other resources:
Watch contemporary artist Nick Cave discuss a cloth made by the Kuba peoples.