Brett Smith
Kongo Information
Kongo is the ethnic group in lower Zaire, Congo Brazzaville and Angola
Congo colonial term used for Belgian Congo (now Zaire)
Christianity arrived in 1490 King Baptized Alfonso I
Christian symbol of the cross almost certainly
The Kongo
Lightning over the
Zaire
* Nkisi of the below
*Nkisi Nduda
Nkisi
Mandombe
* Nkisi with Mfunya (bits of
cloth) attached. These were
called dogs and were told to
find the person who had
committed the injury against the
client of the nganga who own
The Kongo
Map showing
the extent of
the Kongo
ethnic group
in purple
1668, Court of
the King of
Loango
*Court of the
King of Kongo,
1884
Chiefs
assembly
within the
town
enclosure,
northern
Kongo, 1882
Chiefs Luumbu
with its maze
Kongo, Bembe subgroup, fem
The Discovery of African,
Precolumbian and Oceanic art
Special permission numbers will only be given out at the
beginning of the 2nd week of classes. Please bring a
form which you can obtain from Cathy Pizzi in the Art
History main office for me to sign.
The Asmat
New Guinea/Irian Jaya
Oceania
Asmat, New Guinea/Irian Jaya, Oceania. New Guinea
in relation to Australia.
Asmat, New Guinea/Irian Jaya, Oceania. The different
Asmat regions.
*Asmat, New Guinea/Irian Jaya, Oceania, Sago palm
Asmat, New Guinea/Iri
THE ASMAT
Sago palm basis of life / not cultivated but grows by chance
o Believed in order to thrive, the sago groves had to receive human skulls obtained
in headhunting
o The human body compared to a tree / head of a human equivalent to the fruit of a
tr
NEW IRELAND NOTES
-Example of inaccuracy of term: Ancestor Figure
New Ireland is the Island of Bismarck archipelago of Oceania, now a part of Papua, New
Guinea
o Colonized by the Germans at the end of the 19th century, rapid cultural change
since then
o
PreColumbian Art; Miscellaneous facts
-Aale
-from Yoruba, Africa
-sculpture with spiritual energy that warns intruders not to venture further
-created at edge of farmers field to mark boundaries
-could be considered altar/offering
-Masqueraders inside Sac
The Mandak
of the Lelet
plateau
Northern New
Guinea
Malanggan
Detail of Oceanic map showing New Guinea and
New Ireland
Malanggan tableau from Basel Museum fur
Volkerkunde
Mandak - Corpse
displayed for mourning
Mandak - Malanggan
representing
a dead man
M
Body Art
Part 2
Gaanda, north
central Nigeria, NgumNgumi vessel enshrined
at Xwerungubla (Wetu
clan), Boka. 1981.
Map of Central Africa from Visona textbook
*Republic of Congo,
Central Africa, a Tabwa
woman with extensive
scarification, unknown
photograp
1Batammaliba (Somba) architecture: the Humanization of Space
Batammaliba live in a mountainous (Atacora mountains) savanna area along the
border between the modern states of Togo and Benin
Thought to have arrived in their present location in the 17th or 1
250, Final
Exam, 5/9/08
1a) What ethnic group is
this woman from?
1b) Name one of the
countries they are located
in?
1c) She has just helped
someone to accomplish a
certain activity what is
this activity?
1c) The woman is making
a small, round clay ball.
Introduction to Africa, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art
Study Guide 1 METHODOLOGIES, DOGON COUNTRY, AFRICAN ART AND CONCEPTS
Themes of the course (overall): image of the body, ecology, life cycle
Life, birth, death
Art made for the human body and on the hu
Introduction to African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art
Notes on Maya Long Count Date
Pre-Columbian Maya (0-800 ce) needs writing and numbers
Fantastic pyramids and took Olmec architectural skills
Invented a special writing and used glyphs
o
Each glyph ha
Introduction to African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art
Notes on The Olmecs: The Art of MesoAmerica from Olmec to Aztec (Diehl)
La Venta one of the greatest centers of monumental stone sculptures in the Olmec
World
La Ventas sculptors created flat, single
Introduction to African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art
Notes on Primitivism and Modern Art (Rhodes)
ZURICH DADA
Dada modern movement grew out of horror of WWI
o
Accused expressionism of false spirituality and ridiculed Utopian Dreams of
revolution throug
Introduction to African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian Art
Notes on Primitivism and Modern Art (Rhodes)
WESTERN GAZE AND PRIMITIVISM
Primitivism: recent set of ideas arising in Western Europe in 18 th century at the time of
the Enlightenment
o
Coincided with
