Introduction

African Art

The size and diversity of the African continent are reflected

in the artwork produced—from the prehistoric rock art of
Southern Africa to the political street art of contemporary
North African artists. Whatever the medium, African art
expresses many aspects of the rich cultures of the continent,
from personal identity, community entertainment, and
communion with the divine, to power, leadership, and
collectors’ tastes. While at any given time this gallery
exhibits less than five percent of the Michael C. Carlos
Museum’s African collection, along with key loans, the
installation attempts to explore the extraordinary scope of
artistic traditions throughout Africa. Though displaying
these dynamic objects in a gallery space removes them from
their original context, we have incorporated elements from
the continent, such as the tablet stands, made from Iroko, a
hardwood from West Africa. Navigate the tablets that are
available for each section to learn more about the works of
art and the themes into which they are organized. Each
object could fit into multiple sections, so consider them not
in isolation, but part of a larger conversation about
material culture in Africa and throughout the museum.

  1  
Section: Christian, Islamic, and Hindu Tradition

Hanuman Figure Group

Nigeria, Ibibio or Ogoni
mid 20th Century
Wood, paint
Gift of William S. Arnett. 1994.3.8

East Africa saw Islamic traders from

the Arabian Peninsula and Hindu
sailors from South Asia as early as
the eighth century, bringing their
religious traditions with them, and
creating a distinct culture along the
Swahili coast. It would take another
millennium for Hinduism to find a
place in West Africa, arriving in Nigeria in two waves: first,
in the early twentieth century, with the arrival of Sindhis, an
ethnic group from present-day Pakistan. The Sindhis sought
economic opportunity building the railroads in Nigeria as
they had done in India, both of which were British colonies
at the time. Another Indian community came when
missionaries from the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness first arrived in 1979 with guru Bhakti Tirtha
Swami.

Hanuman is the simian-god, a key character in the

Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic that recounts the life of Rama,

  2  
an avatar of Vishnu. Rama and Hanuman meet in the fifth
book of the Ramayana, when Rama is exiled from
Ayodhya, the capital of his father’s kingdom. Rama and his
brother Lakshmana search for Rama’s wife Sita, who was
kidnapped by Ravana. In sculpture and print Hanuman is
often depicted holding a scepter and Mount San Jeevani
and standing with one leg on a rock, but here he appears
carrying Rama and Lakshmana and trampling the giant
Kalanemi, who was sent by Ravana to kill Hanuman.

As a sculpture enshrined, Hanuman is typically coated with

offerings of ghee and painted with vermilion, which has
antiseptic and healing properties, and demonstrates his
fearlessness and assertiveness. This Hanuman has evidence
of blood poured over it, suggesting that it was appropriated
for another use.

  3  
 Hunter’s Shirt
Mali, Malinke
late 19th - early 20th Century
Cloth, leather, shells, animal
claws, horns
Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
1994.4.111

Malinke hunters of West Africa

hold an important position
within their communities,
possessing the knowledge and training to travel across
hazardous areas and hunt dangerous animals. Hunters are
distinguished by the shirts they wear; each is unique and
tells the hunter’s story through the items collected and
attached to it. Every hunter constructs his own shirt over
the course of his life to reflect his skill controlling the
powerful life force called nyama, with which everything is
imbued. He will dye the fabric with herbs; attach talons,
horns, and teeth of animals he has killed; include medicine
in pouches affixed to the shirt with leather strips; and add
mirrors to reflect light and deflect negative spiritual
energies. These shirts are worn during festivals and public
occasions rather than while the hunters are at work, where
practical attire is more appropriate.

  4  
For over a millennium, West Africa has seen the presence
and influence of Islam, and for Mande-speaking hunters,
these shirts are an important part of their protection and
power. The apotropaic leather packets contain small pieces
of paper with verses from the Qur’an, the holy book of
Islam. Though the packets on this hunter’s shirt have not
been opened, typically blacksmiths and teachers of Islam,
who hold a special status within society, choose and write
the words of God to protect and empower the hunter.

  5  
Processional Cross
Ethiopia, Gondar
late 18th Century
Brass
Museum purchase. 2005.65.1

Christianity spread throughout Ethiopia as early as the

fourth century with the founding of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tawahido Church in 333 CE. The Ethiopian
Coptic Church has a unique artistic practice influenced by
Byzantine and medieval art, and is centered around the
Ethiopian cross. As seen here, the Ethiopian cross is
intricate and abstract in design, with geometric and often
lace-like patterning ornamenting the central cross. Large

  6  
brass crosses are mounted on wooden shafts, accented by
colorful ribbons and processed during the service.

The processional cross displayed here is full of imagery: The

scene of “mother and child enthroned” was informed by
the Byzantine icon of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani
located in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Prints of this icon were circulated throughout Ethiopia by
Jesuit missionaries beginning in 1570. Transformed in the
local context, the Santa Maria Maggiore icon is known as
Our Lady Mary with Her Beloved Son. Another common
scene of St. George slaying the dragon accompanies this
depiction. Alternatively, certain Christian elements, such as
the seraphim, are transformed into an Ethiopian vernacular
of a face with wings.

On the opposing side of the cross the Crucifixion is placed

at its apex. The patron who commissioned the cross
incorporates himself into the scene and makes visible his
devotion, lying prostrate beneath the scene of the
Crucifixion. At the donor’s head is an icon of Christ,
depicted as the Man of Sorrows, wearing the crown of
thorns and holding his hands up in acceptance. This is
called the Kwer’atä Reesu. The words incised below the
icon of Christ are written in Ge’ez, an archaic language still
used in Ethiopian liturgy. The inscription reads, “How
Arkä Mär’awi made supplication,” identifying the donor
and implying that he commissioned this cross to donate to
the church.

  7  
 Icon
Ethiopia, Gondar
late 17th Century
Wood, pigment
Lent by Charles S.
Ackerman. L2007.11.1

Christianity became an
official religion in Ethiopia
around 330 CE, making the
Coptic Church the oldest
Christian sect in Africa. The artistic traditions that came
with it, particularly the making of icons, resemble
Byzantine and Medieval art in medium, subject matter, and
form. Icons are images of saints, Christ, the Madonna, and,
as seen in the object displayed here, narratives such as the
Crucifixion. Though icons can be monumental in scale,
they are more typically smaller, personal ones, that can
easily be closed and easily carried by the owner.

Painted icons and Madonna imagery became popular

beginning in the fifteenth century, but it was Jesuit
missionaries who arrived from Europe beginning in the
mid-sixteenth century who brought with them prints and
other visual material that would influence the artistic
production in Ethiopia. This small diptych icon and the
processional cross share imagery such as the Madonna and
child, known in the Ethiopian church as Our Lady Mary

  8  
with her Beloved Son; St. George on horseback slaying the
dragon, found in the register beneath the mother and child;
and the crucifixion scene in the upper register of the right
panel of the icon, which corresponds to a scene on the back
of the cross.

  9  
 Do Muso Mask
Côte d’Ivoire, Dyula
1770 – 1890
Pewter, brass
Lent by Charles S. Ackerman.
L2007.11.2

Islam became the official religion of

the Mali Empire in the thirteenth
century, but came to prominence
during the fourteenth-century reign
of Mansa (king) Musa Keita I, who
famously made a pilgrimage to
Mecca, or Hajj, in 1324. In some cases the imagery and
practices described by Islamic traditions remain intact; in
other cases they mix with cultural customs, beliefs, and
stories, creating distinct religious institutions. Objects such
as the do muso mask, displayed here, are a fusion of Mande
culture and Islamic elements.

The Dyula, meaning “trader,” are a subset of the Mande

ethnic group, known primarily as traders and merchants.
They originated in the Mali Empire and began to settle in
the Kong region of Côte d’Ivoire in the sixteenth century.
Kong was well-situated as a trading point between the
savannah and forest, becoming a commercial center as well
as a center for Islamic study – scholarship networks are

  10  
often closely linked to trade networks. As a trading post,
blacksmiths had access to imported European metals, which
feature prominently in this Do muso mask.

The Do society was originally established by Sonongui

warriors and Muslim ritual specialists to protect the trade
routes around the city. Do, meaning secret knowledge, was
an exclusive organization, open only to initiated men. The
Do society changed greatly after the fall of Kong in 1897
and the widespread conversion to Islam. Today it serves as
an entertainment society that performs for the public, rather
than as a warriors’ secret society. Do Muso is known as the
beautiful maiden and is one of fifteen early metal masks
known to exist. The maiden mask has an idealized feminine
face, characterized by fine modeling and exceptional
casting. The delicate ornamenting includes flat eyebrows,
small protuberances near the ear, scarification, and horns, a
Mande feature associated with containers for secret
knowledge, perhaps similar to the horns featured on the
Malinke hunter’s shirt nearby.

  11  
Section: Objects for Personal Use and Adornment

Beaded Blanket
(Irari)
South Africa,
Ndzundza
Ndebele.after
1940
Wool, glass and
plastic beads,
cotton
Gift of Norma Canelas Roth and William D. Roth.
2005.88.4

Forced from their land by the British in the late nineteenth

century, the Ndebele people from northeast South Africa
worked as indentured servants on white-owned farms. The
Ndebele aesthetic permeates all aspects of domestic arts.
Women painted their homes in bright geometric patterns,
the same designs found in their beadwork. Beaded blankets,
jewelry, and aprons are ceremonial ornaments that double
as decorative art. The ceremonial garb signifies a woman’s
station in life: prepubescent girls wear short fringed aprons,
while married women wear larger Mapoto aprons
underneath the blanket wrapped around her shoulders,
along with copper or brass rings worn around their arms,
legs, and neck (idzila) and necklaces made of grass fiber and
beads (isigolwani).

  12  
 Older aprons are embroidered on leather and use
larger white spaces, while more recent examples utilize
thick, durable canvas and often illustrate more figurative
beadwork, reflecting trends in house painting. Similarly, the
blankets, worn by married women, replace leather capes,
and are brightly colored woolen blankets, called
“Middleburg blankets” for the South African city in which
they are mass produced, embellished to individualize them.
The tradition of beading blankets to mark significant events
in a woman’s life continues. The beadwork on the blanket
displayed here does not say anything in particular, but uses
the design quality of the alphabet to adorn the blanket,
creating a complex pattern when added in horizontal strips
over the vertical stripes of color.

  13  
 Headrest
Zimbabwe, Shona
early 20th Century
Wood
Museum purchase. 2013.2.1

Headrests are highly personal

items, made for a particular
person and kept for a lifetime.
Indeed, over time the top of
the headrest is worn down in
the shape of the owner’s
neck—a custom fit. Moreover,
the oils from the owner’s skin and hair create a patina on
the wood, and ultimately the headrest becomes an
extension of owner. The Shona of eastern Zimbabwe and
Mozambique typically adorn their headrests with geometric
designs—chevrons, lozenges, and spirals—carved in deep
relief. These designs are referred to as nyora, the same word
used to describe a scar or cicatrix.
The negative space reinforces the geometric composition,
creating visual interest on the back of the headrest as well.
The concentric circles at the center of the headrest are based
on the ndoro, the shell of a mollusk that is ground down
into a flat circle. The ndoro washes up on the east African
coast and was traded by the Portuguese. As prestige objects,
they are a symbol of wealth, leadership, and divination.

  14  
 EXAMPLE (1 of 6)

Textile
Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Kuba
20th Century
Raffia, pigment
Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
1994.4.521, 810, 519, 522,
524, 510

Kuba cloths are made of felted barkcloth created by both

men and women. Traditionally, men grow a variety of palm
trees (Raphia tectilis welw.) that yields particularly long
fronds. Once harvested, the men weave the fiber culled
from the outer layers of the fronds on diagonal looms,
resulting in the small square panels. Then both men and
women decorate the squares with embroidery, applique,
patchwork, and dye. The examples displayed here are all
made by women using cut-pile embroidery.

Here the cloths are displayed separately, but in their

traditional context the individual squares would be sewn
together to create one long textile, often as long as nine
yards in length. The effect is a patchwork-style textile
combining diverse designs by individual members of the

  15  
community, both uniting and contrasting with the border
designs that link the sections together.

The geometric patterns and stylistic designs seen repeated

throughout the textiles resonate with patterns found on
Kuba architecture, as well as functional and prestige
objects. The patterns speak to Kuba notions of social status
and spirituality, but the cloth squares themselves served a
variety of functions such as currency that could be used as a
dowry and as a way of settling disagreements. It played a
part in court ceremonies, and, perhaps most importantly,
these textiles are seen as clothing of the ancestors and, once
sewn together, serve as burial cloth demonstrating the
status of the dead.

  16  
 Seydou Keïta (Mali, 1921 -
2001)
Untitled Portrait
1956-1960
Gelatin silver print
Gift of the Art History
Department. 2000.7

Seydou Keïta (1921-2001) was

a Malian photographer who
captured cosmopolitan
Bamako society from 1948,
when the country was under
French rule, through
independence in 1960, and as the official photographer for
the socialist government installed in 1962. His studio
provided elaborate backdrops, clothing, and props from
silk flowers and eyeglasses to scooters and cars—anything
the subject might need to create the character he wanted
imprinted on film. Keïta retired in 1977, but continued to
print and promote his archive of nearly 10,000 negatives
until his death.

This portrait depicts a Fulani matron and the intersection

between traditional and contemporary worlds. Her face is
adorned with Fulani scarification patterns on her chin,
temples, and forehead and she wears henna on her palms,

  17  
complemented by the traditional gold pendant and ear
ornaments given to her at marriage. This adornment
provides a counterpoint to the modern wristwatch, which
was probably borrowed from Keïta’s studio, and the
fashionable m’boubou decorated with stenciled
flowers. While the photograph was taken around 1957,
based on the background, the artist printed it in 2000.

  18  
Section: Masks and Movement

Kanaga Mask
Mali, Dogon
mid 20th Century
Wood, raffia, paint, hide with fur
Gift of Dr. Jay S. Friedman.
1982.16

The Dogon migrated to present-

day Mali beginning in the
fifteenth century, settling along
the Bandiagara escarpment. The
harsh, remote terrain of central
Mali protected the Dogon and
shaped their culture. The Kanaga
mask honors the dead and
connects them to the living, in
much the same way as the long cliff on which they live
connects the earth and sky, and the vertical strip of the
mask connects the two horizontal bands. Young men wear
the Kanaga mask during the Dama ceremony, a funereal
festival that occurs every twelve years in which the masks
lead those who died during the cycle to the afterlife. The
masks are painted with white, black, and often washer’s
blue, a chalky material traditionally used to whiten clothes
in the laundry. A brightly colored raffia mane surrounds the
face and complements the raffia bands along the arms and
feet of the dancer. The dancer also wears a kilt and

  19  
suspenders. The masquerader secures the mask by biting
down on a bit, though there is netting in the back to keep it
upright. Though the wood is not heavy, his dance includes
whipping his body around and scraping the tip of the mask
to the earth, making it a dynamic and audible procession.

  20  
 Von Gla Mask
Liberia, Wè, Bété-Guere
ca. 1970s
Wood, metal, hair, fiber,
pigment, bullet casings
Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
1994.4.607

Perhaps the most well known

art forms on the African
continent are masks and
performances. Practiced by
many cultures, masking
encourages discussions about
secrecy, knowledge, and
entertainment. Masking in
Africa is about revealing and giving shape to spirits,
ancestors, and forces that otherwise cannot be seen. The
Wè, which encompasses several ethnic groups that live in
Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, have a diverse masking tradition
that is visually similar to the neighboring Dan group. The
Von Gla mask gives form to a bush spirit and incorporates
wild boar tusks, bullet casings, and a mane of aluminum
and wood faux leopard teeth to create a mask of actual and
figurative power objects. The bold colors and protruding
tubular eyes bring to life a dangerous and wild character
from the spirit realm that can enter the human space of the

  21  
town or village. These masks serve a judicial function but
their aggressive appearance also repels negative energies.

  22  
 Mask (Nwamba)
Burkina Faso, Bwa
mid 20th Century
Wood, pigment
Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
1999.3.58

The Bwa people from Burkina Faso

have a prominent spiritual society
called Do. Do is both the religious
society and the spirits themselves,
who are the sons of the creator god,
worshipping and embodying the
energies and powers that create life.
Two types of masks make their
appearance just after crops are
planted: the first type of mask
called bieni, is ephemeral, made of
leaves, grasses, feathers, and vines
to represent Do who will celebrate
the cycle of life and replenish
nature. Covered in flora and feathers the masker is
distinctly inhuman, accented with a conical nose and dorsal
fin crest at the top of the head, this spirit is about life,
fertility, regeneration, and reintroducing man into nature.
The second type of mask called nwamba, an example of
which is displayed here, varies in size, shape, patterning,
and animal imagery, but is made of wood and represents

  23  
auxiliary nature spirits. Painted with red, black, and white,
the geometric designs expose spiritual, political, moral, and
economic messages when read and interpreted by initiates.
The plank masks (nwantantay) are completed by a large
raffia costume and dynamic interactive choreography.
Nwamba dance after the harvest when the farmers return to
the village and integrate back into society.

  24  
 Cap Crest Mask
Nigeria, Cross River region
19th – 20th Century
Wood, pigment
Museum purchase. 2005.69.1

The Cross River region of

Nigeria has a tight cluster of
many ethnic groups such as the
Igbo, Idoma, Boki, and
Ejagham, among others.
Though each culture is distinct,
crossover exists in language,
culture, and artistic style.
Moreover, artists were often
itinerant, traveling from town
to town to fulfill commissions.
So, while we know that this mask is from the Cross River
region, the specific culture that commissioned the work is
unknown, due in part to the blending of traditions and the
incomplete record keeping of early explorers and collectors.
Similar examples are covered in animal hide and were used
for entertainment and funerals by elite male societies.
Though it is not known for whom this mask was made and
under what context it was performed, the mask would have
been attached to a woven basketry cap that would sit on
top of the performer’s head. His face would likely have

  25  
been covered, and the face of the mask, with its long neck
and crest hairstyle, would have made the performer a
towering presence above the spectators.

  26  
 Agbogho Mmuo
Nigeria, Igbo
Wood, pigment, yarn
mid 20th Century
Gift of Graham and
Maryagnes Kerr. 2015.5.44

Throughout Africa, masking

is an art form typically
created by men; they are in
charge of producing,
performing, and caring for the
mask. In the Agbogho Mmuo,
or maiden-spirit mask, men
portray female spirits. The crest at the top signifies the age
of the spirit and ranges from large, complex structures
representing the eldest maiden spirit to smaller crests, like
the one exhibited here, which suggests a younger sister.
These masks offer a contrast to mgbedike masks, which are
fierce, horned, aggressive and generally masculine masks.
Known as the “beauty/beast” opposition, these contrasting
characteristics are one way in which moral, political, and
entertaining messages can be explained.

A colorful appliqué costume would cover the masker’s

entire body, giving no indication that human flesh exists
beneath. The white face indicates she is a spirit and
provides a base for the linear marks on her face. Her

  27  
features are delicate, embodying the concept of beauty, and
her crest contains geometric designs and chameleons at the
top. The blue pigment is washer’s blue or laundry blue, a
pigment used to whiten in the laundry, but often used to
simulate indigo. The dance that would play out is flirtatious
and allows the maidens to compete among each other.

  28  
 Nyau Society Mask
Malawi, Chewa
mid 20th Century
Wood, fabric, twine, human
hair, pigment, beads
Gift of Sally and Joe Gladden
in honor of Charles S.
Ackerman, 2015 Woolford B.
Baker Service Award recipient.
2015.20.1

A Chewa boy in Malawi must

undergo a three-day initiation
in order to achieve full status
as an adult. This rite concludes
with a masquerade called Gule Wamkulu, organized and
performed by the semi-secret Nyau Society into which he
has been inducted. There is evidence suggesting that the
Nyau initiation ceremony, which takes place after the July
harvest, dates to the seventeenth century and Gule
Wamkulu is protected as a UNESCO masterpiece of
intangible heritage. Masks, such as this one, may be
commissioned from a recognized carver by a friend or
relative, or by the initiate himself. Nyau masks can
represent spirits of the deceased, wild and unruly spirits,
animals, or even caricatures of personalities from the

  29  
community. The mischievous characters interact with and
perform for the audience to teach moral lessons and enforce
social norms. This extraordinary example is carved from a
dense, oily hardwood and sparingly decorated with red
European paint. Its commanding presence is marked by a
strong brow, varying textures and materials in the beard,
and a rather wild full head of hair.
This particular mask was collected by Dr. Donald Brody,
the official biographer to Hastings Banda, the first President
of the Republic of Malawi, who ruled from independence in
1964 until 1994.

  30  
 Mask (detail)
Liberia, Dan-Kran
1930s
Brass, fabric, cowrie shells
Lent by Dr. Larry J. and
Barbara Schulz. L2015.20.1

In African cultures, masks are

not hung decoratively on the
wall, motionless and
separated from the rest of
their attire. All of these masks
would have been part of a
larger costume made of
embroidered or embellished
fabric or raffia. The Dan
mask presented here is
unusual because its costume remains intact and many of the
accessories, the cowrie shells, brass ornaments, fur, mirrors,
and medicine packets, are still affixed. The smaller
“passport masks,” affixed to the front of the costume, are
commonly made as amulets worn by the owner or carried
in a leather purse. Here the two small holes on their
forehead hold an embellishment and they are affixed openly
to the front of the costume, perhaps suggesting that they are
witnesses during initiation rites.

  31  
Made in the West Africa nation of Liberia, this mask is
aesthetically related to the Wè mask presented in this
group, and was probably commissioned by a Poro society,
a male group into which one must be initiated. Brass masks
often represent especially important spirits and ancestors,
marked by the permanence of the material. This mask,
however, raises more questions than answers: was the brass
face made at the same time as the costume or was it re-
appropriated? With such a heavy facemask, how would it
have been worn and danced? Are the textiles used for the
costume contemporary to its production or were they
scraps from earlier garments? What is known from the
Carlos’s conservation efforts is that the mask is a composite
of brass, lead, and copper and the costume was repeatedly
worn and repaired.

  32  
Section: Materiality

Kono Society Mask

Mali, Minianka, Koutiala
region, Bamana
late 19th - early 20th Century
Wood, fiber, copper wire
Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
1994.4.95

Power associations,
predominantly run by men,
oversee many aspects of West
African communities, from
education and initiation to
judicial administration and
civic morality. The associations are also responsible for
commissioning and executing a range of artistic projects,
from performances and festivals to masks and sculptures. In
Mali, one such organization is Kónó, the members of which
are highly knowledgeable in the ways of nyama, the energy
or life force that imbues everything. Nyama can both create
and destroy and therefore must be protected. Like the Kónó
member’s knowledge, which is built up over time, the
surface of the mask is also made more powerful through the
accumulation of surface material. This mask has an
application of a mud-like material, but it is also an object
that was used and repaired multiple times. The repairs were
integrated into the ritual use of the mask, making it

  33  
stronger; the twine and wire reinforce a crack and create a
bundle-like amulet at the top of the trunk. The acts of
applying material and using the mask activates and
increases its potency.

  34  
 Storage Vessel
Mozambique, Makonde
20th Century
Ceramic
Anonymous gift. 2004.16.57

Clay pots are frequently used

for storing food and water
because the material keeps the
contents cool. Makonde
women commission these hand-built ceramic vessels and
keep them for their entire lives; then they are used to mark
their graves. Each pot is embellished with individualized
incised patterns and designs, often corresponding to the
tattoos and keloids that cover their bodies. Indeed, the
Makonde word for incising designs on pottery, nkova, also
refers to tattooing, once a widespread practice. The
decorated pot carried on a woman’s head thus becomes a
visual extension of her body. This idea is further reinforced
by the visual similarities between the designs of the vessel
on display and the hairline of the Makonde Lipiko helmet
mask displayed nearby.

Once the pot has dried, the potter applies a coat of slip, a
slurry of clay and water, before burnishing the pot to make
it shiny. The design is then incised on the surface and fired.
Once cooled, the surface is covered in a kaolin wash, which

  35  
wears away from the surface over time, leaving behind a
whitened pattern.

  36  
 Lipiko Mask
Mozambique, Makonde
ca. 1940
Wood, human hair, beeswax,
recycled tin, pigment
Gift of the Advisory Board.
2014.38.1

The Lipiko mask, created by

the Makonde of northern
Mozambique, is performed
during festivals and
masquerades that mark the
completion of both boys’ and girls’ initiation. As the
initiates sit in a line, the masked dancer tilts his head back,
which parts the raffia or cloth to expose his identity,
revealing to the young initiates a paradox, seemingly
opposing concepts that the masks are at once ancestral
spirits and living men portraying a character. Though only
men perform, the carvings depict men, women, foreigners,
and animals. The male masks are accented by a bedazzled
raffia or cloth costume. Female masks are complemented by
a wood body mask depicting a pregnant belly.
This expressive and sculpturally dynamic mask is from the
1940s based on the hair and scarification patterns as well as
the sensitivity of the carving. The mask fits atop the
dancer’s head like a helmet, covering his ears, eyes, and

  37  
nose. Carved from one piece of wood, the mouth is a
stylized diamond formed by two triangular lips; the nose is
subtle, protruding slightly from the plane of the face,
emphasizing the nostrils; the eyes are open, but articulated
as simple slivers; and the ears are spirals that unravel like a
fern. The beeswax keloids are still affixed and the complex
geometric coiffure is made of human hair. Notice the way
in which the scalloped hairline is reflected in the design of
the Makonde ceramic vessel also on display. The wood is
extremely thin and a rectangle of metal sheeting has been
used to repair a broken section. The delicacy and
expressiveness of this mask and its age are unusual.
Consider the other media such as drumming and
choreography that accompany and activate mapiko (plural).
These masks are still made today and speak to both an
historic culture and aesthetic in the face of a changing, but
ever present tradition.

  38  
 Feathered Tunic
Cameroon, Bamileke
mid 20th Century
Burlap, chicken feathers
Gift of Dr. Larry J. and
Barbara Kaylor Schulz in
memory of Mr. and Mrs.
Dungan Edwards Kaylor.
2015.1.1

The grasslands region of

Cameroon is known for its
elaborate and diverse masquerades. Feather tunics found in
this region are often worn by the members of the Kwifoyn
society during ceremonies and funerals, and are
accompanied by a hat or a helmet mask. Depending on the
circumstance the helmet mask may depict a bird, a buffalo,
or a human face. The most prominent is Mabu, a lictor
mask in service of the Fon (chief), who dons a feather
vestment as he performs his duties. This embellished tunic
increases the size and presence of the wearer, and, adorned
with chicken feathers of different sizes, creates textual and
colorful variation and interest. In some cases the burlap
substructure may be adorned with human hair or porcupine
quills rather than feathers, demonstrating the power and
strength of its wearer.

  39  
 Botolo
Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Ekonda
mid 20th Century
Fiber, brass, feathers
Museum purchase.
2015.21.1A/B

Botolo, a woven tiered hat,

was initially worn by an
nkumu (chief) among the
Ekonda of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. A
botolo would be
commissioned by a leader and then, along with other
regalia, passed down to his descendants. The hats are made
of tightly woven grass fibers covered with a thin application
of camwood powder and oil, giving it a reddish hue, or a
mixture of soot and a binder, which could be egg, vegetal
gum, or manure. The botolo is then accessorized with a
brass disk, called losanja, demonstrating wealth and power,
and red feathers. Sometimes, the surface material is thick,
hiding the basketry frame and looking much like a finial.
The parrot feathers at the top are unlikely to be original,
but the fact that the hat is so well preserved speaks to the
delicacy with which the basketry was handled and the
fineness of the geometric sculptural form.

  40  
Section: Power Figures

Beaded Bowl Figure

Cameroon, Kom
late 19th - early 20th Century
Wood, fiber, beads, metal
Gift of William S. Arnett.
1994.3.3

The Kom of northwest Cameroon

created statuary figures
symbolizing the royal family and
the chisendo, elite attendants of
the fon (king). This chisendo
reflected the power and status of
the king, but it also served to
assist him by welcoming royal
guests to court with offerings of
kola nuts or palm wine in its bowl. The figure’s seated
posture illustrates its authority. The legs of the figure are
also the legs of its chair, reinforcing the way in which the
chisendo supports the king. This particular sculpture was
probably carved during the later part of the reign of Foyn
Yu who ruled from ca. 1865 to 1912. In African Art in
Motion, African art scholar Robert Farris Thompson
poetically describes another throne figure, said to represent
Foyn Yu’s great-great grandmother, but can be applied to
all such figures—“for all the historicity and magic presence,
the figure strikes a calmly reassuring gesture, because the

  41  
ancestor in traditional Africa is an extension of the living
elder.”

This work is rare because it still has its indigo beads, which
are often removed from old sculptures to adorn new ones.
Beads like this were imported from Europe and create a
work of striking color and texture: the smoothness of the
wood on the face contrasts with the bugle-beads, which add
length along the arms and legs and dynamism in the upper
breast. A third texture is found in the small white beads,
representing ivory bracelets and anklets, which
compositionally create separation so that the arms do not
get lost in the bowl and the feet do not get lost at the base
of the chair. The warmth of the wood is complemented by
the cool blue, but also reiterated by the red band at the
bottom. Indigo is an important color in West Africa; it is a
symbol of power, prosperity, and fertility. In the grasslands
a resist-dye indigo cloth called ndop is worn by royalty and
hung to distinguish royal spaces.
Gilbert Schneider, an American Baptist Missionary Society
member, worked in Laikom (where the Fon lives) in the
1950s. By the mid-twentieth century bowl figures were no
longer used in Laikom court ceremonies, so Foyn Law-aw
used this figure to pay Schneider for his help in acquiring a
new tin roof for the palace.

  42  
 Mami Wata
Nigeria, Ibibio
early - mid 20th Century
Wood, kaolin, pigment
Gift of William S. Arnett.
1994.3.9

The potential for creation and

destruction, protection and
cruelty, bestowing blessings and
good fortune or inflicting pain
and wreaking havoc lies in
many spirits—these
dichotomies are the very attributes that make them
powerful. Mami Wata, a pidgin term for a water spirit, is
particularly powerful, but also impulsive. Though the water
spirit is an old concept, scholars suggest that twentieth-
century Nigerian depictions of Mami Wata are based on a
nineteenth-century German lithograph of Maladamatjaute,
a Samoan snake charmer. Some examples imitate her wild
hair and performance costume, but the Mami Wata
displayed here is more abstract. The red base coat reflects
her hot, aggressive temperament, but the thick layer of
kaolin, applied by her devotees, cools her down. Pythons,
which constrict their prey to death, wrap around her. The
snakes are revered in Nigeria as unpredictable and
powerful; it is good fortune to find one in your house and
bad luck to remove it. Mami Wata would have been placed

  43  
on an altar and offered alcohol, perfume, jewelry, and other
luxury items to encourage her favor and win her loyalty.

  44  
 Byeri Guardian Figure
Gabon, Fang
late 19th – early 20th Century
Wood, palm oil, pigment
Lent by Lewis M. Dubroff.
L2010.4.1

Byeri reliquary figures are

guardian figures that stand
atop cylindrical bark boxes
(nsuk byeri) filled with
powerful medicine and the
skulls of ancestors. Thus, they
are not powerful in and of
themselves, but indicate that
something powerful lay
beneath. The figures, however,
were of great interest to
western collectors and readily sold by the Fang, who
considered the relics to be the most important part. This, in
addition to colonial laws imposed during the twentieth
century that outlawed byeri practices, meant that byeri
tradition was virtually extinct by the middle of the century.

Byeri figures are known for their animated quality. They

are not naturalistic, but they are dynamic; the face is often
carved with a relaxed expression, while the arms and legs
are active and engaged, bent as though the figure is about

  45  
to leap into action. The figure is further animated by the
reflective surface that vibrantly responds to light. The goal
of the Byeri cult was to connect living and deceased so the
Fang kept the guardian figures and relics happy and
nourished with the application of camwood oil, giving the
figure a reddish sheen.

  46  
Colonialism in Africa

Pair of Engraved Nguni

Cattle Horns
South Africa, Zulu
19th Century
Cow horn, soot, wood
Gift of Charles S. Ackerman.
2015.35.1

This pair of Nguni cattle horns is engraved with scenes of

the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The Anglo-Zulu war was
instigated by the British, who wanted to unite the South
African Republic founded by the Dutch Boers and the
independent Kingdom of Zululand ruled by King
Cetshwayo in order to control the diamond mines in region.
In 1878, without the knowledge of the British government,
Sir Henry Bartle Frere, high commissioner for the British
Empire in South Africa, issued several ultimatums to
Cetshwayo, deliberately provoking him to fight a war they
were confident he would lose. The British were astonished
to find that the Zulus were powerful and disciplined
fighters. The Zulu army caught the British unprepared and
won the first encounter of the war, the battle of
Isandlwana. Though the British eventually won the war, the
victors at Isandlwana garnered enormous popular respect
and intrigue for the Zulu.

  47  
The horns are rich with imagery that can be read on a
variety of levels and the artist plays with perspective and
the contours of the horns as well. See, for example, the way
the British soldiers appear to be lying down, but if you
follow the line up they seem to be standing, looking up –
which is interesting in light of the actual attack: British
intelligence suggested that the Zulu would simply approach
their camp head on when, in fact, they had ascended the
hills behind the camp and attacked from behind and above
using a three-part formation made famous by Shaka Zulu
in which warriors form the chest, horns, and loins of a bull:
the chest attacks the enemy head on, the horns scoops them
up from the sides and back, and the loins turn their backs
to the skirmish to protect against any reinforcements that
are sent. Also notice the integration of Zulu imagery: look
for the snake facing the direction of the British soldiers,
which follows the Zulu tradition that a snake can be sent to
the household of your enemy.

This work, which remains on its original nineteenth-century

crest mount, was made specifically for a colonial audience,
though engraved horn was a common medium used by the
Zulu. There are about a dozen horns incised with images
from the Anglo-Zulu war, but this set is among three that
remain in their original pair—the other two are in the
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and the
British Museum.

  48  
Sculpture with Six Figures
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Loango, Vili
mid - late 19th Century
Ivory
Museum purchase. 2007.18.1

From the middle of the nineteenth to the early twentieth

centuries there was a strong market for work of Vili artists,
who created wares to sell to travelers and export to Europe.
In some cases entire tusks would have been carved with
figures and scenes; in other cases small trinkets were
produced as a souvenirs. This ivory sculpture is carved on
all four sides and could easily fit in the pocket of a tourist.

  49  
On two of the sides the artist depicts exchanges between
men dressed in European clothing and a man and woman
dressed in Loango attire. One side depicts an rural African
trader closing a deal with an urban African, wearing
elements of Scottish attire including a kilt, sporran, and a
tam o’Shanter. On the opposing side, the man in European
apparel greets the woman with his hand to his chin, a Vili
gesture of respect. The figures flanking the narrow sides of
the ivory are not as easy to interpret. Art historian Jessica
Stephenson reads the figure through a Christian lens as
Adam obscuring his genitals, perhaps informed by
missionaries, who would have been the primary market for
such an object. The other figure is a naked man hanging
from a wall, alluding to escape from slavery, which had
been abolished, but was still a widespread practice.

  50  
 Colonial Figure Puppet
Nigeria, Ibibio, Annang
mid 20th Century
Wood, paint
Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
1994.4.110

Africa was not an isolated

continent and had contact with
explorers and traders from
Europe, the Middle East, and
Asia for millennia before
formal colonial governments
were established by the Berlin
Conference of 1884-1885. It was then that Africa was
formally divided among twelve European nations, based on
their resources and politics. Though each country ruled
their colonies differently, colonialism is a structure that
oppressed Africans on their own soil and disregarded
millennia of cultures and kingdoms. Innumerable artistic
practices were lost as a result of colonialism, but the
exchange also brought artistic variations to long-established
traditions.

The British governed Nigeria by a system called indirect

rule, in which they were concerned with the economy,
education, and the enforcement of laws, but left the day-to-

  51  
day issues to locally appointed Nigerians. Colonial officers
were often assigned with little training in the cultures and
customs of the people where they were stationed, making
their behavior the subject of local satirical plays and social
commentary. This figure is easily recognizable as a colonial
officer in his uniform and is also a puppet used in Ekon
plays. On a seven-year cycle, the Anang Ibibio men’s Ekon
drama society in southeast Nigeria created public
performances that were not only entertaining, but also
allowed them to communicate social and political messages.
In this case, they are revealing the hypocritical paradox that
the officers who are trying to enforce the law and stamp out
corruption are the very same officers who are holding out
their hand demanding a monetary bribe.

  52