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Art of Africa

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A beginner's guide
Peoples and cultures
Historical overview: to 1600
Historical overview: from the 1600s to the present
Aesthetics
The human figure, animals and symbols
Form and meaning
Religion and the spiritual realm
Art and politics
Rites of passage
Art and the individual
African art and the effects of European contact and colonization
The Reception of African Art in the West
Western appreciation of African art
East Africa and the Horn of Africa
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About East Africa
Ethiopia
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Christian Ethiopian art
An Ethiopian icon
The kingdom of Aksum
Aksumite Coins
Illuminated Gospel
Julie Mehretu, Stadia II
Tanzania
Kilwa Kisiwani
West Africa
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About West Africa
Burkina Faso
Mask (Bwa peoples)
Ghana
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Golden Stool (Sika dwa kofi), Asante Peoples
Linguist Staff (Asante peoples)
Kente cloth (Asante and Ewe peoples)
Memorial Head (Akan peoples)
Akua'ba Female Figure (Akan peoples)
Asafo Flags: Stitches Through Time
El Anatsui
Untitled
Old Man’s Cloth
Guinea
Headdress: Female Bust (D'mba) (Baga peoples)
Ivory Coast
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Owie Kimou, Portrait Mask (Mblo) of Moya Yanso (Baule peoples)
Pair of Diviner's Figures (Baule peoples)
Mali
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Saving Timbuktu's manuscripts
Seated Figure (Djenné peoples)
The terracotta sculpture of Djenné-Djenno
Great Mosque of Djenné
Couple (Dogon peoples)
Mask (Dogon peoples)
Male and Female Antelope Headdresses (Dogon peoples)
Kòmò Helmet Mask (Bamana peoples)
Seydou Keïta, Untitled (Seated Woman with Chevron Print Dress)
Nigeria
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Benin Plaques
The Kingdom of Benin
Benin Art: Patrons, Artists and Current Controversies
The Imagery of Power on Benin Bronze Plaques
Benin and the Portuguese
Benin Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Edo peoples)
Benin Ivory Mask (Edo peoples)
Benin plaque: Equestrian Oba and Attendants
Ere Ibeji Figures (Yoruba peoples)
Kingdom of Ife: sculptures from West Africa
Ife uncovered
Olowe of Ise
Veranda Post (Yoruba peoples)
Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife
Male Figure, Ikenga
Uche Okeke
Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (After Fragonard)
Republic of Benin
Buffalo figure (Fon peoples)
Sierra Leone
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Lidded Saltcellar (Sapi peoples)
Stone head (Kisi peoples)
Helmet Mask (Mende peoples)
Helmet Mask (Mende or Sherbro peoples)
Cotton Hammock (Vai peoples)
Ceremonial Ladle (Dan peoples)
Central Africa
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About Central Africa
Cameroon
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Palm Wine Vessel
Elephant Mask
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Crucifix
Female Mask (Chokwe peoples)
Power Figure (Kongo peoples)
Portrait of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul (Kuba peoples)
Lukasa (Memory Board) (Luba peoples)
Buli Master, Prestige Stool: Female Caryatid (Luba or Hemba peoples)
Double Prestige Panel (Kuba peoples)
Figurative Harp (Mangbetu peoples)
Gabon
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Kota reliquary (mbulu ngulu)
Female Reliquary Figure (Fang peoples)
Male Reliquary Figure (Fang peoples)—video
North Africa
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About North Africa
Algeria and Libya
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Rock Art in North Africa
Rock Art in the Green Sahara (Africa)
Running Horned Woman, Tassili n’Ajjer
Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus
Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Tunisia
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The Great Mosque of Kairouan
Kairouan (from UNESCO)
Southern Africa
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About Southern Africa
Namibia
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Origins of rock art in Africa
Apollo 11 Cave Stones
South Africa
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Married Woman's Apron (Ndebele peoples)
William Kentridge, drawing from Tide Table (Soho in Deck Chair)
Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe

Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania

by Steven Zucker, World Monuments Fund and Stephen Battle

A conversation with Stephen Battle, World Monuments Fund and Steven Zucker, Smarthistory about the history and architecture of Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania

Cite this page as: Steven Zucker, World Monuments Fund and Stephen Battle, "Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania," in Smarthistory, February 5, 2016, accessed September 26, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/kilwa-kisiwani-tanzania/.

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Editor's pick

Did you know that just one painting...

Virgin of the Navigators

... can (begin to) tell the stories of colonization, evangelization, and slavery in the Americas?

Art history is better history!

The Virgin of the Navigators
Part of our "Expanding the Renaissance" Initiative Close

At Smarthistory we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures. We believe that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background. Smarthistory’s free, award-winning digital content unlocks the expertise of hundreds of leading scholars, making the history of art accessible and engaging to more people, in more places, than any other provider.

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