Unajua? – It is impossible to remake Benin Bronzes (it’s a West African art that is one of the best in the world).

Hundreds of years ago, people from the Benin Kingdom made Benin Bronzes for royalty and to record history.

Over time, peoples from across West Africa made all sorts of artifacts, now seen as West African art, with which we can learn about history and culture.

This article is about West African art.

You will read about of West African art and artists as well as the times and places from which they comes from.

This article is part of the West African Art series

WEST AFRICAN ART

MUHTASARI

West African art has been made ever since humans have lived in West Africa! It is most popular for its artifacts that were usually made for royal, religious and everyday use or simply as art.

Click to Read: African Independence Movements in Summary

What is West African Art?

West African art is mostly made up of artifacts that are often wood, metal or clay objects, that people used across West Africa, like Takouba swords, Yoruba crowns and Akan gold weights.

Other forms of West African art include architecture, literature, oral tradition, dance, music and more recently canvas paintings.

AKAN GOLD WEIGHTS

Akan gold weights are small and heavy brass objects that were used to weigh gold-dust for business in the Akan region for hundreds of years.

The Akan people are a large ethnic group, made up of peoples like those of the Ashanti Kingdom, that made gold weights and other artworks like stools and kente.

People used Akan gold weights ever since the 1400s but they had to stop using them during colonialism. Akan gold weights were part of the artifacts that were stolen by the British during the Anglo-Asante Wars.

Muséum de Toulouse, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What Was West African Art Used For?

Before West African artifacts got to museums they had many different uses. Some were important items often used in spiritual ceremonies, like the Baule Mblo mask and the Bambara Chiwara.

Other artifacts were objects like the Tuareg Tafadis (sugar hammer) and the Tellem headrests that were most probably used as pillows and to keep hairdos looking good.

The original use of uncountable artifacts are unknown.

Theft and carelessness caused so much West African art to lose its original meaning. Today people mostly appreciate West African art for its beauty. By studying it we can learn about history and culture.

AFRICAN MASKS

Masks are a form of art that many cultures across Africa have been making for thousands years.

African masks are not all the same. Some like the Mende helmet masks were used to celebrate young women while others like the Bamileke Elephant masks were often used in secret society meetings.

Many African masks are not used for what they were made for but as art. Today copies of popular African masks like the Punu and Maasai masks are sold around the world.

Royal Museum for Central Africa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Who Made West African Art?

There are different types of artists throughout West Africa. In Mali artists of the Bambara and Dogon peoples, or those of the Kingdoms of Ghana and Mali, did not make art the same way.

West African artists each make art in a unique way that was often passed down from father to son. The Inadan are Tuareg peoples that have been artisans for generations.

Information about most West African artists was lost during colonization.

THE BAMBARA

The Bambara are known for making art like the N’tomo mask and the Chiwara (pictured above) which is used to teach young men about values and agriculture.

Like many types of African art Bambara artifacts greatly inspired European artists like Picasso and Matisse in the early 1900s, in the modernism movement.

The Bambara are a large ethnic group from West Africa. They used to be part of the Bamara Empire. Today Bambara is the most common language in Mali.

François-Edmond Fortier (1862-1928), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

3 Popular Types Of West African Sculptures For You To Identify On Your Next Visit To The Museum

What Time Period Is West African Art From?

Art has been made in West Africa ever since people started living there.

When colonialists took objects, like drums and musical instruments, out of West Africa and sold them in Europe they started to be seen as West African art.

Today many artists make Modern West African art.

BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION

During the Scramble for Africa Britain took control of Nigeria after multiple wars. One of such conflicts was the Benin Punitive Expedition of 1897.

In 1897, British soldiers burned down the Benin City and palace. The fire destroyed the Walls of Benin. They broke into ancient ancestral shrines and stole more than 900 artifacts from the Benin Kingdom.

Benin Bronzes went for sale around the western world and today the largest collections are found in Europe.

Much of the same happened around Africa. Lots of African art, like that of the Kingdoms of Dahomey or Zimbabwe, was taken to western museums, usually without any African sending it there.

Reginald Kerr Granville (d.1912), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Where Is West African Art From?

West African art is from the region of West Africa. West Africa is a region of 16 countries including Nigeria, Mali, and Ghana on the west of the continent of Africa. It has large parts of the Sahel and the Sahara desert.

Popular art usually comes from large ethnic groups and kingdoms that took part in the Trans-Saharan trade like Mali and Ashanti Kingdoms and the Amazigh peoples.

Today most of West African art is in museums across Europe and America.

NIGERIA

Nigeria is a country in West Africa that is home to a great number of art forms. It has the largest population in Africa and more than 300 different ethnic groups.

Among the art from Nigeria is Ife, Benin, Hausa and Nok art. The country’s textiles, architecture and music are also historically important.

Today Nigerians make art, especially music like Afrobeats which is one of the most listened to genres in the world!

FundacionArellanoAlonso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Today

West African art is very unique and diverse. Over time its meanings change a lot.

What were once, for the most part, objects of the daily lives of West Africans are now seen as art that can teach us about history and culture as well as inspire us in our own lives.

What type of art is from your area?

Usually, people that joined in trade with other peoples made beautiful art.

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”

~ African proverb ~

Word Bank📚🧑🏿‍🏫

Artifact

References

Akan Gold Weights

“Gold Weights from Ghana.” n.d. National Museums Scotland. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/global-arts-cultures-and-design/gold-weights-from-ghana/. 

“Asante Gold Regalia | British Museum.” n.d. Www.britishmuseum.org. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/asante-gold-regalia#:~:text=Items%20of%20regalia%20and%20other. 

What Was West African Art Used For?

Klemm, Dr. Peri. n.d. “Owie Kimou, Portrait Mask (Mblo) of Moya Yanso (Baule Peoples) (Article).” Khan Academy. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/africa-apah/west-africa-apah/a/mblo-baule. 

African Masks

Dr. Peri Klemm. 2015. “Elephant Mask (Bamileke Peoples) – Smarthistory.” Smarthistory.org. 2015. https://smarthistory.org/elephant-mask-kuosi-society-bamileke-peoples-cameroon/.

Who made West African art?

“Inadan (African Caste).” 2023. Wikipedia. March 17, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inadan_(African_caste). 

Bambara

———. 2019b. “Bambara People.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. October 22, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambara_people. 

Benin Punitive Expedition

Contributors, Wikipedia. 2020. “Benin Expedition of 1897.” Wikipedia. February 10, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Expedition_of_1897. 

———. 2024. “Benin Moat.” Wikipedia. June 13, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Moat. 

The British Museum. 2022. “Benin Bronzes.” The British Museum. 2022. https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/benin-bronzes. 

Contributors, Wikipedia . 2021. “Art of the Kingdom of Benin.” Wikipedia. March 3, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_the_Kingdom_of_Benin. 

Mawuna Koutonin. 2018. “Story of Cities #5: Benin City, the Mighty Medieval Capital Now Lost without Trace.” The Guardian. The Guardian. May 11, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace. 

Where is West African art from?

———. 2024a. “African Art in Western Collections.” Wikipedia. May 29, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_art_in_Western_collections#:~:text=These%20objects%20entered%20the%20collections. 

Savoy, Bénédicte. 2018. “Felwine Sarr the Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics.” https://www.about-africa.de/images/sonstiges/2018/sarr_savoy_en.pdf.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength – Isaiah 26:4