https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp Where African art came from en-us 2021-11-16 13:12:43 UTC 2025-11-09 07:50:09 UTC hello@padlet.com fine1499 https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1894081571 The Musical bow, a wood rod fitted with a string and tapped with a stick, is one of the oldest instrument types. The sounds of the vegetal, metal, or cord string may be enhanced by a gourd resonator held against the chest or resonated in the mouth. It is widely distributed and African versions were brought to the Americas by enslaved peoples who in Brazil used it (berimbau) to perform capoeira, a martial art dance.]]> 2021-11-16 13:24:10 UTC https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1894081571 fine1499 https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1894091849 When works from Equatorial Africa began to enter Western consciousness in the early twentieth century, they were a great enigma to art critics. Many speculated about the sources of their exotic aesthetic and even proposed possible Asian influence, though the art form was in fact indigenous to southern Gabon. Such masks were worn by virtuosic male performers of a stilt dance called "mukudj," which involved towering impressively while executing complex choreography and astonishing feats of acrobatics.
The creator of a "mukudj" mask would attempt to capture the likeness of the most beautiful woman in his community. The subject of this particular idealized and stylized portrait was embellished in classic nineteenth-century fashion with a coiffure composed of a central lobe and two lateral tresses and with cicatrization motifs on the forehead and temples. Kaolin taken from riverbeds, which was associated with healing and with a spiritual, ancestral realm of existence, was applied to the surface of the face. By using this material, the artist both celebrated the beauty of a mortal woman and transformed her into a transcendent being.

]]> 2021-11-16 13:28:01 UTC https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1894091849 fine1499 https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1902203574 It and its African forerunner have vertically notched bridges that align the 24 color-coded strings in a harp-like fashion and allow the player to pluck them with the fingers while holding the handles at each side. The electronically amplified instrument features a variable pitch device operated by a crossbar under the bridge.
Bob Grawi, the designer and maker of the Gravikord, describes the variable pitch mechanism as follows:
"The bridge is stably supported by four knife-edge pivot. When the right-hand bridge handle is pulled the bridge platform rocks to the right on the two right-side pivots, resulting in the left-hand rank of strings rising in pitch, while the right-hand rank lowers in pitch. When the left handle is pulled the opposite occurs. This allows the player to easily raise or lower the pitch of any string desired. The string tension on the bridge is quite high so that the rank of strings lowering in pitch actually contributes to their pressure in helping to reduce the force needed y the player to vary the pitch. This is a unique pitch-bending system found only on these instruments.”]]> 2021-11-19 14:33:08 UTC https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1902203574 fine1499 https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1902207893 Tropical Costa Rica is the habitat of an enormous number of bird species, many of which acquired symbolic dimensions in depictions in stone. This pendant, made of jadeite of great clarity, features a toucan. Yet its upright stance and folded arms indicate that the figure is anthropomorphic, implying perhaps that it is a masked or transformation figure. Adding to the complexity of the image is a trophy head where the figure's feet should be. Disembodied heads are frequent in Precolumbian Costa Rican art. This pendant is said to be from the Atlantic Watershed region, one of the two primary areas of jade used in ancient times. The other is the northwestern province of Guanacaste. Each area is generally associated with characteristic stylistic features in jade and other antiquities. ]]> 2021-11-19 14:34:47 UTC https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1902207893 fine1499 https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1902214146 This saltcellar is both an extraordinary example of skilled workmanship and an artifact that epitomizes a singularly important convergence of cultures. In the second half of the fifteenth century, Portuguese explorers and traders were impressed by the considerable talent of ivory carvers along the coast of West Africa. As a result, they were inspired to commission works of this kind for their patrons, which ingeniously combine both European and African aesthetics and forms. During this period, salt and pepper were costly commodities and elaborate receptacles were appropriate for their storage in princely homes.
This work contains imagery relating to indigenous Sapi belief systems. The four snakes, associated with mystical wealth, appear to confront four growling dogs. According to regional traditions, dogs are considered spiritually astute animals able to see spirits and ghosts that are invisible to humans. This depiction of the dogs, with teeth bared, hair bristling, and ears laid back, may relate to that ability. However, the level of animation in this scene could also derive from chivalric hunting scenes in European woodcuts, which were furnished to local African artists by their European patrons.]]> 2021-11-19 14:37:15 UTC https://padlet.com/fine1499/942ph06rvutilayp/wish/1902214146