ART 110 - Ch 18
Which is a possible occasion for an African masquerade?
- A communal need for spiritual guidance - The funeral of an important community member - Young girl's initiation into adulthood
What characteristics are common to all mosques?
- A crier calls the faithful to prayer five times a day - They are oriented toward Mecca
Which are aspects of an African masquerade?
- Dance - Music - Costume
The Berber people occupied which areas?
- Spain - Algeria - Morocco
What elements of art can be seen?
- Symbolic role of head through proportion - King's centrality through symmetry - Importance through hierarchical scale
In some African communities, considered to be "in between" young girls and boys are taken away for what purpose?
- To learn the secrets of adulthood - To undergo physical ordeals
What did Muslim scholars and thinkers do?
- To study ancient text and explore questions beyond religions - To preserve knowledge - To explore questions which may have disappeared
When did conditions that nutured the growth of a new artistic culture occur?
- When Islam transformed the Arab peoples from a collection of warring tribes to people united by faith - When Islam transformed the Arab peoples from a collection of warring tribes to people anchored by the written word
In what ways does this piece show unity?
- male figure has his hand on female's shoulder - seated side by side - seated on the same stool - both tilting their heads, and have tubular torsos with angular limbs
Carving of the Dogon people may have been kept in a shrine, where it served as an alter. This would have been considered an area of communication between what realms?
- world and world of spirits - world and spirits of ancestors
It is believed that the Nok culture influenced the art producing culture of ________.
Benin
Which artistic pursuits do Islamic cultures hold in high esteem?
Book arts
In the center is a ____ statue along with two smaller attendants. This shows hierarchal scale and represents the king's importance.
Brass
______ arts were held in high esteem in the Muslim world.
Ceramic
Through Nubia, the rich resources of Africa such as : ebony, ivory, gold, incense, and leopard skins flowed into ________.
Egypt
Christianity became the first religion of ______ in the 4th century.
Ethiopia
Africans first learned about photography when ____ explorers brought camera to document their trips.
European
True or False : The Islamic culture feels that only religious objects are deserving of praise and attention.
False
Upon assuming his new position, the new Benin king would commission an alter to his ______.
Father
Because Qur'an forbids the worship for idols, what did artists feature in their mosaics?
Geometric patterns and stylized plant forms
What images ornamented the Qur'an?
Geometric patterns and stylized plant forms
In this work, how does the artist convey that the man is speaking?
He speaks for the couple through his gestures
Of whom are the most famous minkisi outside Africa?
Hunters of witches and wrongdoers
Which statement describes the origins of Islam?
Islam arose during the 7th century C.E. when the angel Gabriel was believed to have revealed the word of God to the Prophet Muhammad.
Along with the smooth surfaces and D-shaped eyes, what else would adorn the sculptural head?
Jewels and ornaments
How is Muhammad's emigration from the city of Mecca to the city of Medina is honored and remembered?
Known as the hihra, this marks year one of the Islamic calendar
_______, a disciple of Jesus Christ, brought Christianity to Africa very early and established himself in Alexandria, Egypt.
Mark
African Islamic art can be seen the _____ at Djenn'e, in Mali
Mosque
Islamic art in the form of monumental __________ were created for people to worship in.
Mosques
What is one of the most distinctive Islamic architectural ornaments "muqarnas?"
Niche-like scoops reminiscent of honey combs
Nok was named after the town _____.
Nigeria
Haft Manzar tells of Bahram Gur's infatuation with the portraits of seven princesses. What does he build for them?
Pavilion decorated in a different color
Written by Dioscorides, "De materia medica" is the most authoritative ________ book in the ancient world.
Pharmacological
What characteristic is NOT associated with a mosque?
Residence of holy men and home for travelers
In comparing the rulers of ancient Egypt and kings of Benin both are considered ____.
Sacred beings
This work reflects the life of a woman in ____.
Sengal
Through contact with ______ powers, art in Africa often serves as an agent to bring about a desired state affairs.
Spirit
Many times in African sculpture, abstraction is used which indicates the work does not represent people but _____ and ideas.
Spirits
What structure was dedicated to translating and preserving texts from throughout the known world and is open to scholars of all faiths?
The House of Wisdom in Bagdad
What supported Nubia which was linked by a trade networked to African lands south to Sahara?
The Nile
To what does the four small figures under the stool refer?
The support they get from ancestors or other spirits
How is strength depicted by the figures shown here?
They carry guns
How did textile designers create Ardabil carpets?
They knotted various tufts of wool onto a woven ground
Why is much of the art from Africa lost?
They were made from perishable materials as wood.
True or False: One of the most gifted calligraphers was Yaqut al-Mastasimi.
True
What is the purpose on art in many African societies?
Used to dramatize and support sacred kinship
Regardless of where they are in world, the followers of Islam face the _________ wall during prayers, which is oriented toward the city of ________ .
qibla, Mecca
How did art dramatize the Yoruba ruler in this piece?
- Abstract work represents his inner spiritual head - A naturalistic work represents the ruler's outer physical head
What describes the ornamentation used in the Qur'an?
- Geometric patterns and stylized plant forms were used - Calligraphy of words in text were used
How is art used to dramatize the exceptional nature of the sacred Yoruba ruler?
- He holds a beaded staff - He wears a beaded crown with abstracted faces of the king's ancestors - The robes are regal
What does this bronze sculpture of a Yoruba king intended to represent?
- Outer, physical reality that can be perceived through the senses - The masculinity of the king
What characteristics are associated with a mosque?
- Place of worship and congregational prayer - Reference to an open porch made of palm trunks supporting a roof of palm - Sun-dried brick construction around a central courtyard
Minkondi are statues of ferocious hunters who hunt down and do what?
- Punish wrongdoers - Punish witches
__________ arts were held esteem in the Muslim world
Ceramic
Why does the photographer only show the woman's hands uncovered?
She is following local customs. Women are required to cover all but their hands and feet.
Wearing a crown brings forth the idea that the Yoruba ruler is one with his godly ____ for his head merges with theirs.
ancestors
What are common media African sculpture?
- Clay - Wood - Fiber
What was the most highly regarded art in Islamic lands?
Calligraphy