Art forms in Africa date back to prehistoric times.  Among the earliest types of painting found in Africa are cave paintings showing men and animals on the walls.  These are believed to have been done by early Bushmen, better known as the San people, who now live in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa.  They once roamed the continent from south of the Sahara to the Cape of Good Hope.
          African art is deeply rooted in the magic of animistic religious rites.  Carved wooden figures often represent the homes of the gods who rule the tribesmen.  An African who has a carved figure [which is called a fetish] may address the spirit that lives in it.  He believed that the spirit would protect him.
          The great qualities of African art and music were not appreciated, recognized, or understood by people of the West until fairly recently.  There are many reasons for this.  African art and music were quite different from what Westerners were used to seeing and hearing.  Our knowledge of African culture was very limited.  Westerners did not realize that the art works were part of the religious and cultural life of the African peoples.  The music seemed to be without rhythm, and the sculpture seemed almost childish to them.   These art objects did not fit into the ideas of what Westerners considered "art."
         Only in the last seventy years have artists begun to recognize that the African forms and creations are related to their own experiences.  It should also be kept in mind that our knowledge of African art, sculpture, and music is still limited.  We do not have many objects that date back to much earlier than the 19^c.  Recently, discoveries have been made that give us information about earlier times.  Although early artists used stone, bronze, and terra cotta, the favorite material used was wood.  Unfortunately, the moist climate and hungry insects have destroyed all but the more recent wood carvings of the last two centuries.
          When European missionaries penetrated the interior of Africa for the purpose of converting Africans, one of the first things they did was to try to rid the tribes of their tribal gods and ancestral spirits.  these were represented by the carved figures and masks.  Thousands of sculptures and masks were burned by missionaries, and others were hidden away by the natives.  Some smaller tribes thus lost their religious art forever!  The artists of some tribes turned to making new carvings that represented the figures in the new Christian religion.  Since many of these figures still had the primitive style of the traditional cultures, they, too, were looked upon as pagan, primitive, and were not accepted in the mission schools and churches.
          African artists trained in European and American schools have returned and revised African styles in sculptured decorations for modern architecture.  Some Nigerian woodcarvers still make ritual masks but with designs that reflect the strength of modern African cultures.
          The settled farmer tended to develop a more permanent and impressive form of sculpture and other art forms than the nomadic herdsmen of the past.  The farmer, who has a permanent home near his work, had more time to do artistic work.  A nomad, always on the move, does not collect anything that might be heavy or easy to break.  His artistic outlet is seen in the decorations of his women mats, tents, clothing and other textiles, harnesses, basketry, ornaments, and other articles.  The nomadic herdsman, whether he makes his way across the sands of the desert or the grasslands of the savanna, does have time to make lightweight wooden masks which are used for ceremonial dances.
          Modern African artists and sculptors have developed a new realistic style of art for commercial uses.  They make beautiful carved heads and figures of wood, soapstone, and metal.  These are primarily for tourists and home decoration and are to be found in art and souvenir shops all over sub-Saharan Africa.
          African art is closer to modern art than it is to traditional art forms because the African artists often seek to express ideas or emotions rather than to imitate reality.  This is known as abstraction.  An African mask or figure is often created to express a religious idea, which may be clear to the artist and to his fellow villagers, but often is not understood by an outsider.
          Sub-Saharan art has never been a specialized activity separate from concerns of daily living.  Traditionally, an African artist is first of all a craftsman who makes useful objects.  Whether he produces a mask for a magical ritual, a piece of cloth for a ceremonial robe, or a necklace of bones to ward off evil spirits, the artist tries to give his work a beauty that would be appreciated.
          Most artists are farmers or herdsmen who are also able to turn out good tools or household articles.  They often produce carvings in their spare time at the request of the chief or anyone else who has a particular ancestor he wants to honor.  he might also be asked to create an original mask for a special religious holiday.
          Wood rots very rapidly in tropical climates.  Therefore, many wooden works of art from the past have been destroyed.  Some of the existing African art pieces now in Europe and America may be only a few decades or a century old.  Often, copies are made available of valuable pieces so that the form and design will not be lost.

THE HISTORY OF AFRICAN ART:
          Except for Egypt, the earliest sculpture that we know to be African comes from the Nok culture around 
500 BCE.  the distribution of Nok sculpture comes from northern Nigeria where is was first discovered in the course of tin-mining operations to the east of Lake Chad and west to the great bend of the Niger River.  Nok art, as we know it, is almost entirely a pottery or terra cotta art.  Working in terra cotta, as in casting bronze, the artist is working in the additive technique of sculpture in which he starts with a core and build out.  Nok art is done in fine pottery, excellently fired, hooled figures, three-quarter life size, in some cases.  Such an art is technically very demanding. Nok culture is now represented by several score of pieces.  By means of trade, these art objects moved throughout West Africa.
          Not far from Nok is the holy city of Ife.  A number of sculptured heads were found here.  They date from the 13c.  The heads of Ife were made of bronze.  The method used to make them was called the Lost-Wax Process.  This was a difficult and complicated method which only highly skilled artists could use.  This method is still used today.  The Lost-Wax Process consists of modeling the piece in wax, covering it with clay, then baking it.  After the wax has melted and run out, being 'lost' through holes at the bottom of the clay, the holes are then stopped up and liquid bronze poured in.
          The faces of the pieces seem almost alive.  The lines found on many of the faces are similar to marks still found on the people of Nigeria.  These skin patterns are called scarifications.  Such scars often showed the rank of the person and the tribe into which he or she was born.
          Another ancient art that deserves attention is that of Benin, some 80 miles east of Ife.  The people of Benin--who called themselves Bini--also made bronzes.  The Bini had a form of religion in which a royally sponsored art, made by highly organized craft guilds, was a major component.  The content of their religion embraced safety, salvation, fertility; sacrifice at altars played a major part.  The art was based on altarpiece heads of cast bronze, each of which had a place in the cap of the skull into which a carved elephant tusk could be inserted.  The other major component of Benin art was the bronze plaques which were set into mud walls and pillars of the house.  There are a large number of such plaques known.  Some are of historical importance, since they show Portuguese in medieval European armor with crossbows that we know about from other sources.  We can, therefore, reasonably assume that they show as accurately those aspects of African culture to which we have no other direct contemporary evidence.
          The bronzes of Benin show the great artistic skills of the West Africans.  Their pieces are so beautifully made that art experts today often compare them to the finest works by Western artists.  The Benin artists also made sculptures in ivory, a material reserved only for the king.  The ivory elephant tusks were carved and hollowed out to serve as cups for water, combs, serving spoons and ceremonial knives, as well as for pendants and small statues or figurines.

AFRICAN SCULPTURE:
          Simplicity and strength are perhaps the distinguishing qualities of much African woodcarving.  The traditional artist tried to take as little as possible from the round tree trunk upon which he worked.  For this reason, many of his carved figures were often very simple.
          Most of the wooden figures made by African tribal sculptors are for magical purposes.  For example, Ashanti women carried small wooden figures of babies inside their clothing in the belief that this would assure that their future children would be well formed.  These fetishes were believed to help the owner by protecting him and his family from harm and could also be used to cast a harmful spell over his enemies.
          Among some of the tribes of West Africa, human teeth, bits of metal, tusks, shells, cloth, feathers, beads, and animal horns were used to decorate carvings.  Some small fetishes are believed to protect people against thieves, lightning, and sickness.  Larger wooden statues placed in the center of the village or in front of the hut of the diviner [the tribal holy-man, sometimes called the "witch-doctor"] are supposed to protect the entire village.
          Today, most of the African sculpture found in museums and private collections originated in the western Sudan, the Congo, and along the Guinea Coast.  The tribes of eastern and southern Africa have no real tradition of sculpture.  Both Bantu and Sudanic peoples produced great sculpture.  Muslim influences came down the caravan routes across the Sahara but did very little to effect the life and art of the more isolated peoples.  Arabian art and design did not make its way into tropical African decorative arts.
          Most African sculpture is done in wood and consists of figurines, masks for rituals and dances, and decorations on wooden household objects such as furniture, spoons, doors, door handles, and stools.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN SCULPTURE:
          The sculptor tried to make the piece as beautiful as he could.  This did not mean that the statue necessarily had to resemble the ancestor, god or spirit.  Great naturalism was not considered proper.   Much of the sculpture was abstract.  The sculptor simplified the most important features of the figure, and then exaggerated these features for emphasis.  The increase of fertility was the most important concept of life.  The symbols of life and fertility used by the sculptor were the reproductive organs and the breasts, and he often exaggerated them to show their importance.  Artists also showed the navel as large and sticking out, as a symbol of the continuity of life.  The head was made oversized.  It was carved with great care, as it was the seat of intellect and the origin of power.  Artists preferred to show still poses, instead of poses showing movement.  They preferred front views of figures, rather than profiles and side views.
          Few portraits were carved or painted because Africans felt it was undesirable and lacked humility to make things too realistic.  Some figures, like the wood statues of the kings from Benin and Ife, were carved.  They were used as fetishes.  Figures of animals were also carved or cast in bronze to express certain admirable qualities.  For instance, speed was often characterized by the antelope, and strength was symbolized by the crocodile.  The lizard signified life, the tortoise, old age, the snake swift movement or death.  Birds were often thought of as intermediaries between the earth and the heavens.


MASKS:
          Tribal masks are probably the most familiar kind of African art.  Their use goes back to very early times.  For example, some of the figures on the prehistoric rock paintings are wearing elaborate masks.  Masks were worn mainly in religious ceremonial dances related to the growing of crops, celebrations of births, deaths, and important tribal and secret society ceremonies.  Masks were based on human or animal forms, or a mixture of both.
          Many masks were thought to be sacred, and were kept locked up when not in use.  Women were not permitted to wear them and, in many cases, not even to see them.  Some masks were deliberately terrifying so as to frighten women away from secret ceremonies.  Colors were often used as symbols.  To some tribes meant "the earth," and stood for strength and vitality.  "White" meant ghosts, spirits, and the supernatural.


TYPES OF MASKS:
          The most basic type is the face mask.  Often a stick was placed across the back of the mask and the man wearing the mask held it in place by holding onto the stick with his teeth.  A costume of some sort was usually attached around the edge of the mask, although few of the costumes remain today.
          Ivory was used by some tribes in the making of miniature masks.  These were often given to young boys to show their future rank in the tribe.  They were prized and worn by each boy under his clothing until he finally passed the initiation rituals.  Then he proudly wore them on his belt or arm, where they could be seen.
          Another type of mask is the helmet, which may partially or completely cover the hair.  The last type of mask sits on the top of the head.  the face would normally be covered by a costume.


THE PLACE OF ART IN AFRICAN SOCIETY:
          The forms in African art are by and large associated with religion.  African masks are one of the most common art forms and are worn as part of a religious costume.  In the court or the ritual, the symbolized forces of politics and religion can be made real, so that the drama of "justice of the mouth" can be reenacted.  The mouth is used to explain indeed, to communicate the here and now, the present reality.  Much African masked drama is a reincarnation of the basic myths of creation, the power structure of the society, the myths of history and religion, and even the myths of settlement patterns and the original establishment of a tribe in a particular area.
          Figurines are not really worshipped.  They may be used as symbols of forces, ideas, historical events, myths, which are very real in traditional African tribal society and are held to be sacred.  The people do not bow down to wood and stones.  Rather they stand for something important and holy.  Giving living reality to the myth through drama and art is the most vivid way of making people recognize their dependence upon the myth and upon the society whose members live more or less by it.


AFRICAN ART AND THE WEST:
          African art has had a decided influence on modern European and American artists.  At the beginning of the 20c, African carvings appeared in Paris, France, and influenced the works of a number of European artists.  Pablo Picasso, the famous Cubist artist, became so interested in some of the African carvings and masks he had seen, that he used the forms and styles in some of his paintings.  Picasso, for example, began to experiment in what is now called his "African Phase," and produced many modern paintings with African motifs and techniques.  Amedeo Modigliani, a modern sculptor and painter, carved and painted many works which showed that he was influenced by African art.