African cultures have been forging metals such as copper, bronze, brass, and iron for over 2,500 years. Once they developed the technology for extremely hot furnaces that enabled the smelting and refinement of different metals, blacksmithing and other forms of metalworking became highly respected professions in many different cultures. African blacksmiths and metalworkers … [Read more...] about African Metal Weapons and Ceremonial Objects: Researched and Conserved by Madison Baker and Diana Kosinska
As the homeland of the Fon culture, the Dahomey kingdom was located in the southern part of what is today the country of Benin. The Dahomey kingdom is well-known historically for the Agojie, the elite female “amazon” military unit that guarded the king, as well as for the participation of the Fon in the African slave trade. The Dahomey kingdom came to an end after they were … [Read more...] about The Dahomey Kings Quilt: Researched by Mckenna O’Connor
Among the Kabyle Berber cultures of northern Algeria, traditional handmade ceramics are a female artform. These vessels were developed to be primarily functional, for cooking, serving, and storing food, but they illustrate aesthetic sensibilities in their graceful, well-proportioned forms. The ceramics are also hand-painted with a variety of intricate geometric motifs and … [Read more...] about African Pottery: Researched by Mollie Williams
This group of objects exemplifies a contemporary form of African visual culture: Jewelry, created for the tourist-trade market, that is based on traditional ceremonial, spiritual, or symbolic art objects. These works are not typically precise reproductions of the African artifacts, but commercially produced adaptations by artists who are responding to global demand as they … [Read more...] about African Jewelry Inspired by Traditional African Art: Researched by Laira Marshall
Traditional imbenge baskets are made of ilala palm and grass fibers, using a tight coiling technique, and they are made with loops on one side so that they may hung up when not in use. Imbenge may be woven with swirling zigzag patterns, and they are often embellished with beads. Both men and women learn to make imbenge, which are used for serving food as covers for beer pots; … [Read more...] about African Basketry: Researched by Amilya Frogge