The Mystique of African Craft

African sculpture was admired first out of mere curiosity, then held in contempt, disdained and scorned, soon became worldwide data. Then suddenly through the interest of several modern painters, it was promoted to the dignity of an inspirational source. Today it is an object of trade and research to a number of connoisseurs. For more than five centuries before entering aesthetic hall of fame, African sculpture was regarded from contrasting points of view. This necessitated the study of the arts of black Africa.

In the last quarter of 15centuary and 2nd quarter of the 19th, the western world turned towards Africa. The attempts were so ruinous because of the circumstances that brought the two worlds together: lust for gold, European desire for power,the discovery of another civilization, economic crises etc. More than anything else Europe needed gold. Merchants knew that the gold they purchased from the infidels in the trading posts, the fonduks of North Africa came from the interior from Sudan. The decline of Hungarian mines provoked the worst economic crisis of the 13th century. The desire to find the source of the precious metal, to compete with Arab markets and awaken European economy to a life of trade was the essential motivation behind the first encounter between Africa and Europe.

It's doubtful that an inventory of what the Renaissance knew of the products and goods of Africa could be compiled. The interest was probably just a fad, but it lasted until 17th century and was strong enough to create a market in Africa itself Black craftsmen working under Portuguese merchants, fashioned ivory pieces,ivory spoons, forks and horns were eagerly sought by the royal courts of Europe. Carved horns,covered cups, salt cellars and cutlery ordered directly from artists in Africa were collected by museums in Madrid, Brunswick, Leyden and the Vatican.

Mythical accounts say that when the blacks of central Africa settled in the regions they now occupy,about 5000B.C, they found a population of small men probably ancestors of pygmies. They survived on hunting in equatorial forests. They were sometimes taken captive and sent to the Pharaoh's courts to serve as buffoons and acrobats.

Information is also available on the demographic movements that that populated Africa with blacks and their contacts before they penetrated further into the center of the continent. Sahara, at the time of Roman empire,was not a desert and was inhabited by small black communities. Mighty rivers flowed down from the Atlas and Hogger mountains. Zoological and botanical remains indicate that a residual flora and fauna,including crocodiles and elephants, still existed in the 19thcentury.Technological discoveries of massive equipment e.g polished axes, stationary millstones and crushers, suggests that their ancestors were agricultural people. Light weight tools probably used by shepherds, hunters and warriors and including blades, knives and arrow and spearheads,were found in the north.

Finally artistic traces include frescoes and engravings located in the rocky relief of the Sahara, the Hoggar, tibesti and Ennedi. Some of the paintings prove the antiquity of institutions and customs still surviving in traditional Africa.

Maria Mbura writes for http://www.kenyamarketplace.com an African online store dealing with a variety of African arts and crafts.