African Art and Leadership

by Fraser, Douglas; Cole, Herbert M.

• ISBN13: 9780299058241
• ISBN10: 0299058247
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-16
• Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Pr

Summary

A series of fourteen thought-provoking essays by art historians, anthropologists, and historians analyzes the complex interactions between art and leadership in sub-Saharan Africa. Amply and carefully illustrated throughout.

Author Biography

Herbert M. Cole, author of Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa, is emeritus professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Douglas Fraser is emeritus professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	ix
Maps	xiii
Preface	xv
Contributors	xvii
Introduction	3	(4)
The Kindi Aristocrats and Their Art among the Lega	7	(14)
Daniel Biebuyck
Chokwe: Political Art in a Plebian Society	21	(20)
Daniel J. Crowley
Ndop: Royal Statues among the Kuba	41	(16)
Jan Vansina
Gon: A Mask Used in Competition for Leadership among the BaKwele	57	(22)
Leon Siroto
Ibo Art and Authority	79	(20)
Herbert M. Cole
Humorous Masks and Serious Politics among Afikpo Ibo	99	(24)
Simon Ottenberg
Royal Sculpture in the Cameroons Grasslands	123	(14)
Suzanne Rudy
The Symbols of Ashanti Kingship	137	(16)
Douglas Fraser
The Diffusion of Ashanti Political Art	153	(20)
Rene A. Bravmann
Kwahu Terracottas, Oral Traditions, and Ghanaian History	173	(12)
Roy Sieber
Gold-Plated Objects of Baule Notables	185	(24)
Hans Himmelheber
Ife, The Art of an Ancient Nigerian Aristocracy	209	(18)
Frank Willett
The Sign of the Divine King: Yoruba Bead-Embroidered Crowns with Veil and Bird Decorations	227	(34)
Robert F. Thompson
The Fish-Legged Figure in Benin and Yoruba Art	261	(34)
Douglas Fraser
Art and Leadership: An Overview	295	(34)
Douglas Fraser
Herbert M. Cole
Index	329