LibGuides: Art History Resources: African & Greek Sculpture Research Project

Books in the Library - African Art

These books have been placed ON RESERVE in the library, along with others relevant to African sculpture, masks, and their historical or cultural context. You can find the books in the Reading Room, around the corner to the right, on Ms. McKim's office windowsill.

Africa, the Art of a Continent : 100 works of power and beauty by Henry Louis Gates; Anthony Appiah
Call Number: OVR 709.6 PHI
Spectacular sculptures in wood, bronze, and stone, as well as mural painting, ceremonial pieces, ceramics, jewelry, and textiles -- although these works were not made to be "art," they can be enjoyed by viewers purely on their aesthetic merits. This text touches on well-known aspects of African art, as well as works from the Guinea Coast, Sahel and Savanna, and Northern Africa.
Loot : Britain and the Benin bronzes by Barnaby Phillips
Call Number: 730.966 PHI
In 1897, British soldiers and sailors invaded Benin (in what is today Nigeria), exiled its king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa's greatest works of art. This is the story of the "Benin Bronzes": their history before the British took them, their fate since 1897, and the intense debate about their future. When first displayed in London, their splendor challenged the view of Africa as a continent without culture or history. The Bronzes are now among the most admired artworks in the world. But seeing the Bronzes in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like "visiting relatives behind bars".
Memory : Luba art and the making of history by Mary N. Roberts (Editor); Allen F. Roberts (Editor)
Call Number: OVR 709.67 ROB
Many African groups have created visual objects to assist in the process of recording history and memory. The Luba peoples of southeastern Congo have done so with a stunning array of mnemonic devices ranging from memory boards to beaded emblems, wooden figures to body arts, ornamented staffs and axes, and divination devices. These objects and art forms can only be "read" by the specially trained who have learned their skills through initiation. Luba kings, royal titleholders, and outlying chiefs turn to these "readers" to interpret the mapped details of origin myths, protocol and prohibitions of the royal court, and other deeply encoded information. Although Luba arts are well known for their astounding beauty, this the first study of their intellectual complexity, aesthetic impact, and social contexts.
African Forms : Art and rituals by Laure Meyer
Call Number: 730.96 MEY
African sculptures and art can be difficult to decipher because they are more than tokens of "art for art's sake." African art is often based on religious and philosophical values. It is created not just for one patron but for the entire community, using a language of form to help the society to understand what often cannot be put into words. Through an enlightening analysis of the continent's most emblematic artifacts, this book decodes African art by putting it in the context of the broader culture.
The Tribal Arts of Africa by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart
Call Number: OVR 709.6 B129t
Many African tribal art objects were created and valued for their usefulness in acknowledging social status, curing illnesses, recording memory and history, and more. This book covers 49 specific cultural regions, the indigenous tribes and the art they produce, and the ceremonial usages of that art (e.g., masks to announce the death of important chiefs; ladles to honor the most generous women in the village). Today, with so many of the arts and artifacts in the collections of museums or private parties, they are removed from their cultural contexts, losing their original significance. This book, with more than 850 beautiful photographs, helps to recover some of that cultural significance.

Books in the Library - Greek Art

These books have been placed ON RESERVE in the library, along with others relevant to Greek sculpture and its historical or cultural context. You can find the books in the Reading Room, around the corner to the right, on Ms. McKim's office windowsill.

The Greek Body by Ian Jenkins & Victoria Turner
Explores the sculpted human figures of ancient Greek civilization and the interest, in later Greek art, in experiments with the representation of various ethnicities, ages, social standings, and character, with photographs and discussions of marble, bronze, and terra-cotta pieces across six centuries.
Theories of Art: From Plato to Winckelmann by Moshe Barasch
Offers an analysis of major trends in European art theory and the development of that theory from the time of Plato up to the early 18th century. Art theory may have changed in philosophical outlook and artistic goals during the pre-modern period. However, it remains a whole where different attitudes and traditions are tightly interwoven. This is a comprehensive book valuable to art historians, and will serve as an introduction to art theory for the general reader as well.
Coming of Age in Ancient Greece by Jenifer Neils & John Howard Oakley
Analyzes imagery and artifacts relating to childhood in ancient Greece, showing that the Greeks were the first culture to use art to depict children and their activities naturalistically.
The Greek Miracle: Classical Sculpture from the Dawn of Democracy, the 5th Century BC by Diana Buitron-Oliver
Celebrates the birth of humanism in Greece, which produced an outburst of creativity that has not been surpassed in 25 centuries. This catalog features 34 original Greek works of marble and bronze sculpture, displaying the development of the Greek classical style. Relatively few fifth-century originals survive today amid the wealth of ancient works of art from all of antiquity; but luckily, architectural sculpture from four great temples of this period are still partially preserved. An example from each is included, as well as freestanding sculpture, both large-scale marbles and small bronzes, dedicated as votive gifts in sanctuaries. A series of gravestones takes the story to the end of the fifth century. Essays examine classical art, politics, thought, architecture, and drama.
Greek Art by John Boardman
A history of Greek art, discussing the characteristics that distinguish it from that of Roman copyists and the Renaissance, contrasting styles, and including photographs and illustrations of sculptures, architecture, and paintings.
These Were the Greeks by H. D. Amos; A. G. Lang
Discusses the land, history, government, economy, culture, and people of ancient Greece. For this project, see Chapter 11, on "Architecture, Sculpture and Pottery".

Library Databases

Artstor
A database of images for artworks from every time period and region. Try searching by type of object (for example, "nkisi").
Oxford Art Online (including Grove Art)
A great first step into an art history research topic, this reference database provides entries on individual artists as well as articles on a certain movement or theme. Articles like "Africa: Art and aesthetics" and "Africa: Mask and masquerade" provide a historical and general overview, while more specific articles such as "Nok" and "Igbo" present deeper coverage of a specific region, tribe, or practice.
JSTOR
Full-text archive of scholarly journal articles in all subject areas. JSTOR contains decades of full-text coverage from journals such as "African Arts" and "Archaeology". Since the scope and language of these scholarly articles are often complex and esoteric, JSTOR is most useful after gathering sufficient background knowledge on the topic from a reference source (such as Oxford Art Online).

Recommended Internet sites

Khan Academy

Khan Academy's African Art sections include introductory articles offering thematic and historical overviews, followed by topic collections arranged by region: East Africa, West, Central, North, and Southern Africa.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, created by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is browsable by time period or geographical region. Strong coverage of both Greek and African works, with articles such as "The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece" and "Nok Terracottas (500 B.C.–200 A.D.)."

Art History Resources

Created by art history professor and scholar Christopher Witcombe, Art History Resources provides a carefully curated collection of links to other websites with information on various art history topics.

The British Museum: Benin Bronzes

A case study in the controversy around private and museum ownership of objects from the African continent, often rooted in colonialism. The British Museum describes the history and current status of their claim to the Benin Bronzes. The famous Bronzes were taken during the violent invasion and occupation of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, in 1897 by British forces. Today, the British Museum holds 900 Benin objects in their permanent collection. Over the past five years, Oba Ewuare II, the descendant of the line of Benin Kings, has submitted written and diplomatic requests for the Bronzes to be returned to Benin City, Nigeria.

Accessing the Library Databases

For off-campus access to the library's databases, please email the librarians for the list of passwords. The one exception is JSTOR, which does not require a school-wide username and password. Instead, for off-campus access, you must first make a personal account in JSTOR while still on campus; then use that account to sign in.

Art History Resources: African & Greek Sculpture Research Project

Assignment Description

Books in the Library - African Art

Books in the Library - Greek Art

Library Databases

Recommended Internet sites

Accessing the Library Databases