AFRICAN ARTIFACTS

People from Africa did not make art for art’s sake! Everything was carefully crafted for a reason – to fulfil a purpose – to create a remedy.

Many of these pieces you see here are quite aged and have  actually been used by villagers, some are even antique.
The areas that these pieces come from include, Zambia, Ivory Coast W. Africa, Nigeria, Togo and Ethiopia. Africa, is one of the most exciting and culturally varied continents in the world and the cradle of civilization.

Unlike the western culture, most of us admire and treasure nature,  but many African tribes fear it as a potentially evil force. Most bad things that happen to the people living in the villages are blamed on the “wildness spirits”. When a villager is having some problems such as a family member is sick etc., he/she will go to a ‘diviner’ (a type of Shaman) who will give advise as to the type, shape and size of sculpture that should be made to ward off the evil spirits. The information is taken to a master craftsman who will make up the sculpture according to the Diviner’s specifications, which could eventually form the fetish figurine.  Sculptures are also made to remember dead relatives, manifest good fortune or fertility.

Head rests are used by everyone particularly nomads in Ethiopia. They are put under the neck area to sleep on so that elaborate hairstyles are not disturbed during the night. Each one is made to the unique specifications of each individual for comfort.

Copic is an old form of Christianity practiced in Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. The hand held crosses are held by priests to bless the congregation or held in quite repose while reading the bible.

When the dark continent became more accessible to the rest of the world, artists such as Picasso, Braque, Matisse, and Mondigliani, were overtly or inadvertently influenced by African Art.

Tribaldart