What are the possible functions that have been proposed for the Ife heads? The Ife head exudes naturalism, it is characterized for its large stature, as well as being the most elaborate finished part of a typical figural sculpture. Portrait like realism displays the importance of the head for the Yoruba culture of southwest Nigeria. “One of the fundamentals of this worldview is that the visible head (ori ode) is no more than an enclosure for the inner, spiritual head, called ore inu, which localized the ase that empowers the physical self.”(501) Essentially, the heads from Ife is associated with motions, emotions and earthly being, all necessary functions in basic existence. A free standing brass head, the Ife is believed to represent the Ooni, or ruler of the Yoruba. The Ife head represents power, it is the vessel of decisions and guide in seeking the Yoruba people …show more content…
“Because African approaches to portraiture often substituted idealism for realism, images of rulers carved within a particular stylistic tradition tended to look very much alike.” Perhaps the most prominent similarity is the attention to detail in the facial features, even in Nok portraiture, and understanding of basic structural layout is evident. Another contributing factor is the idealized beauty for that culture, each has different qualities they register as beautiful, thus placing increased emphasis on that attribute. The Ndop is representative of a particular king and recognizable by an item of significance placed in front of them, thus modeled of an individual and not a generalized portrait. The Ife represents Ooni, a significant ruler for the Yoruba people, essentially both are representative of
Information from the textbook and Hays’s article help illuminate the events depicted and their significance in culture and art of the New Kingdom, and how the style ties into the art of the time.
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
In the Ibo culture a man should be a man, war loving, aggressive, made by their own, Nwoye just isn’t that in his father’s eyes. He’s felt that some of the customs his people had were disgusting and did not agree with them at all. Some of these traditions was the beating of women and children, the beating
The New Kingdom in ancient Egypt, from 1550 – 1070 BC, was a time of extraordinary wealth, power, and the continuation of the arts in the classic ancient Egyptian style. Characterized by the abstract and impersonal depiction of humans, along with the strength of the Egyptian Empire, the New Kingdom is considered the peak of power and prosperity in ancient Egypt. “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” is a piece created in this time period that was originally part of a portrait located on the top of the king’s coffin. Because the coffin would carry the king’s mummified body in his tomb, the portrait depicts the pharaoh as being prepared for the Underworld, as well as being the ideal body for the spirit of the king to flow through. The objective of the coffin’s portrait is also to convey the power of the kingdom, putting emphasis on the king’s image and the immense wealth that accompanies him. In addition to the piece’s function as a coffin, “Fragmentary lid from the coffin of Wadj-shemsi-su” embodies the strength and wealth of the New Kingdom through the piece’s human face, use of bright colors, and geometric detailing.
The Warka Vase is a uniquely large piece that was laboriously built, and carefully decorated. The images on the Warka Vase are significant and have iconographic meanings unique to the Uruk people and the cult of Inana. The images reference common practices in cuneiform and iconography of the time and place the Warka Vase was made and can be cross compared with other pieces from the time to understand the symbolism of this brilliant piece of art. To understand who is in the images, what they are doing and how they relate to one another may bring unique insight to the practices of the cult of Inana.
Another important aspect of the Narmer Palette are the carvings and what they symbolize. According to Dr. Amy Calvert, some have interpreted the battle scenes as a historical record of the initial unification of Egypt under one ruler, supported by the general timing, as this is the period of the unification, and the fact that Narmer sports the crown connected to Upper Egypt on one face of the palette and the crown of Lower Egypt on the other, this is the first preserved example where both crowns are used by the same ruler. Other theories suggest that, rather than an actual historical representation, these scenes were purely ceremonial and related to the concept of unification in general
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
Compare and contrast the imagery of the Egyptian Palette of Narmer with the Akkadian Stele of Naram-Sin. How do they represent their respective kings, as rulers and also as human figures? How are the other figures represented? How do the artists approach the narrative (storytelling) process?
The figures, both seated and standing are depicted according to traditional Egyptian conventions. Nebamun is painted as the largest figure in the painting because he is the most significant . He is standing in perfect balance with a youthful, well proportioned and defined body. The artist has painted Nebamun in a way that emphasises what the Egyptians believed to be the most important parts of a man’s body. Teeter expands upon this.
Over the history of man, there have been many prosperous empires that ruled in different parts of the world. Babylon and Egypt are two of these empires that ruled almost 500 years apart, but had one thing in common, great artistic works. Wall paintings such as the Babylonian work Investiture of Zimrilim, and the Egyptian Queen Neferati Making an Offering to Isis are examples of the great works of their times. Both pieces are rich in meaning and background, share many similarities, but differences can be seen in their style due to the time periods.
Nigerian Ibo culture in the village of Umoufia. Like the Ibo, many other nations are strongly rooted to
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Achebe did a excellent job portraying how the life of Igbo was before they were forced to oppose their own culture. To support this theme, Achebe included detailed descriptions of social rituals within each family, the justice system, religious practices and consequences, preparation and indulgence of food, the marriage process and the distributing of power within the men. Achebe shows how every man has an opportunity to prove himself worthy to achieve a title on the highest level, based merely on his own efforts. One may argue that the novel was written with the main focus on the study of Okonkwo’s character and how he deteriorates, but without the theme that define the Igbo culture itself, we would never know the universe qualities of the society that shaped Okonkwo’s life. The lives of the Igbo people was no different to the actual lives of the Ibos people back in the early days of Africa. Just like in Things Fall Apart, in actual African tribes there was never a ruler. “Very interesting thing about these villages is that there is no single ruler or king that controls the population. Decisions are made by including almost everyone in the village” (AfricaGuide). Using the theme, Achebe educated readers on by mirroring real African life in her
Yoruba is one of many tribes located in Africa and is one of the largest ethno- linguistic groups. Majority of the native people of Yoruba are a part of Southwestern Nigeria and Benin. However, a great percentage of Yoruba is populated by modern day Nigeria. Moreover, the Yoruba culture was an oral tradition, and majority of the people were native speakers of the Yoruba language. The native name of the Yoruba language is ‘Ede Yoruba’. The language originated through the Yoruba people because they were believed to be descendants of Oduduwa. Oduduwa, was the son of a powerful God named Oludumare. And the Yoruba people referred to themselves as ‘Omo Oduduwa’ meaning Oduduwa’s children. The Yoruba language is the pride of the Yoruba people and over 22 million people speak it. The Yoruba language had been spoken within other languages in neighboring countries such as Benin and Togo. Other traces of the Yoruba language has been spoken in Sierra Leone, where it’s referred to as “Oku” and Cuba known as “Nago”.
middle of paper ... ... In a conversation with Olunde, Jane confesses her confusion of the Yoruba culture, “It has to be more than that. I feel it has to do with the many things we don’t really grasp about your people. . . ” (38).