Central and West African Visual Arts An Overview Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Major Visual Arts of Central and West Africa Ü Architecture Ü Sculpture Ü Painting Ü Calligraphy Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Mbari House Ü Time: 20 th century CE Ü Source Culture: Igbo Ü Purpose: mud houses constructed as sacrifices to major deities, most typically the goddess of the earth, Ala Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Female head Ü Time: 500 BCE-200 BCE Ü Source Culture: Nok Ü Purpose: clay portraits of possibly high-ranking persons or the ancestral dead Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Standing Oni Ü Time: ca. 950 CE 1400 CE Ü Source Culture: Ife Ü Purpose: bronze depiction of an Oni, divine king, which emphasizes the ideal of the head over the body Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Bronze Plaque Ü Time: ca. 1550 CE 1680 CE Ü Source Culture: Benin Ü Purpose: bronze relief depiction of the Oba, divine king, in which size and location indicates social status Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Akuaba Ü Time: late 19 th and early 20 th century CE Ü Source Culture: Asante Ü Purpose: a fertility object depicting the ideal baby Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Ere Ibeji Ü Time: before 1877 Ü Source Culture: Yoruba Ü Purpose: painted wood statue intended as the vessel for the spirit of a deceased twin child Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Primordial Couple Ü Time: late 19 th and early 20 th century CE Ü Source Culture: Dogon Ü Purpose: wood and metal statue depicting the primordial couple who created the Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle Dogon people
Great Mosque at Mopti Ü Time: 20 th century CE Ü Source Culture: Mali Ü Purpose: Islamic Mosque Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle