[img]http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/africa/denham/denham4.jpg[/img]

“Reception of the Mission. By the Sultan of Bornou”

From Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824

[img]http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/africa/denham/denham3.jpg[/img]

“Body Guard of the Sheikh of Bornou”

"The sheikh’s negroes, as they were called, meaning the black chiefs and favourites, all raised to that rank by some deed of bravery, were habited in coats of mail composed of iron chain, which covered them from the throat to the knees, dividing behind, and coming on each side of the horse: some of them had helmets, or rather skull-caps, of the same metal, with chin-pieces, all sufficiently strong to ward off the shock of a spear. Their horses’ heads were also defended by plates of iron, brass, and silver, just leaving sufficient room for the eyes of the animal." - Dixon Denham (1786-1828), Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, in the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824

"The King's Sleeping Room, 1817"

From Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee: With a Descriptive Account of that Kingdom by Thomas E. Bowditch



"Part of the Piazza in the Palace, 1817"

Also from Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee: With a Descriptive Account of that Kingdom by Thomas E. Bowditch

Both of these images are drawings of parts of Kumasi, the capital of the former Ashanti Confederacy.

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/1/4/19397_images_image_1448_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1906. Vortisch, Dr. H. "Die Neger der Goldküste." Globus: Illustrierte Zeitschrift für Länder-und Völkerkunde, Vol. 90, No. 15.

Original language: German

Caption translation: Fig. 9 a and b. Golden breast shield of the king of Akra. Dimensions: 17,6 cm. Fig. 11. The load-bearer of the King of Akropong. Globus XC Nr. 15. Fig. 12. "Ntiri", king's sword from Nsabã. Blade 1 m, gilded wood handle 33 cm long. Fig. 13. "Afananta", double sword from the king of Nsabã. Blade 1 m, gilded wood handle 34 cm long. Fig. 14. Swords of the Asare fetish in Duakwa. Show piece at festivities. Iron with wood handles. Smeared with blood and iron. Each is ca. 47 cm long.

Illustration technique: studio engraving; studio drawing; b/w studio photograph

Keywords:
• Ghana (Country, region, place)
• Gold Coast (Country, region, place)
• gold (Materials and techniques)
• openwork (Notable features)
• feathers (Notable features)
• figurated blade (Notable features)
• royal load-bearer (Notable features)
• snake (Notable features)
• regalia (Object name, type)
• breastplate (Object name, type)
• scepter (Object name, type)
• sword (Object name, type)
• Akan (Style, culture group)
• Asante (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/6/3/58646_images_image_6332_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1874. Soden Smith, R.H. "Notes On Specimens Of Wrought Gold, Forming A Portion Of The Ashanti Indemnity." Archaeological Journal, Vol. 31.

Caption:

Griffin-like Bird, part of the decorations of the throne of the King of Ashanti. Entire height 6-3/4 inches.

Illustration technique: b/w context engraving

Keywords:
• Ghana (Country, region, place)
• Gold Coast (Country, region, place)
• gold (Materials and techniques)
• griffin (Object name, type)
• regalia (Object name, type)
• bird figurine (Object name, type)
• throne ornament (Object name, type)
• Akan (Style, culture group)
• Asante (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/5/6/20768_images_image_5640_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1873. "The Ashantee War." The Illustrated London News, Vol. 63, No. 1784.

Caption: Specimen of Ashantee Sculpture

Illustration technique: studio engraving

Keywords:
• Ghana (Country, region, place)
• pyroengraved ? (Materials and techniques)
• carved wood (Materials and techniques)
• bald (Notable features)
• figurated (Notable features)
• tribal marking (Notable features)
• staff finial ? (Object name, type)
• bottle stopper ? (Object name, type)
• Akan (Style, culture group)
• Asante (Style, culture group)

abbk000: Garden Party in Government House Marina

Old Marina

Do you happen to know who the people in those pictures are, by any chance? Just wondering.

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/6/3/98603_images_image_6331_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1874. Soden Smith, R.H. "Notes On Specimens Of Wrought Gold, Forming A Portion Of The Ashanti Indemnity." Archaeological Journal, Vol. 31.

Caption:

Head, sent as a symbol with "Messenger" Sword. Height of original, 8-1/2 inches.

Keywords:
• Ghana (Country, region, place)
• gold (Materials and techniques)
• mask (Object name, type)
• effigy head (Object name, type)
• pendant (Object name, type)
• Akan (Style, culture group)
• Asante (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/5/1/26585_images_image_5129_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1901. Webster, W.D. Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnological Specimens. European and Eastern Arms and Armour. Prehistoric and Other Curiosities, Vol. V, No. 31.

Caption: "AFRICA. 167. ( x 47) Finely carved wood stool, 13 inches high, 20 1/2 inches long, 10 3/8 inches broad. (Ashanti)"

Illustration technique: b/w studio photograph

Keywords:
• Ghana (Country, region, place)
• carved (Materials and techniques)
• wood (Materials and techniques)
• concave (Notable features)
• fish (Notable features)
• rectangular (Notable features)
• bird (Notable features)
• headrest (Object name, type)
• stool (Object name, type)
• Akan (Style, culture group)
• Asante (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/4/8887_images_image_434_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1892. Binger, Louis. Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée par les pays de Kong et le Mossi. vol. I, Vol. I of II.

Original language: French

Caption translation:

Helmet from Katon

Text translation:

"Among the men participating in the funeral for the Katon people, I saw a young man wearing a quite original headdress. It was a fire-blackened wooden helmet made of one piece of wood. On the front there was a type of niche, in which a a relief had been carved of a man with arms and legs spread. On each side of this niche protruded a large wing or antler of about 40 cm. On these were painted white squares forming a checkerboard design with the black wood. The summit was topped by a sculpure representing a knight and his steed. The whole was roughly worked and symmetrical enough. Katon is composed of two villages separated by a pleasant brook, a tributary of the Banifing from Loufiné. The total poulation, composed of Dioula and Siène-ré reaches about 800 to 900 inhabitants." (p. 225)

Illustrator: Édouard Riou, Artigas: engraver; Riou: artist based on Binger's sketches.

Illustration technique: studio engraving

Keywords:
• Katon (Country, region, place)
• Mali (Country, region, place)
• pigment (Materials and techniques)
• wood (Materials and techniques)
• buffalo horns (Notable features)
• equestrian figure (Notable features)
• funerary (Notable features)
• headdress (Object name, type)
• helmet (Object name, type)
• Jula (Style, culture group)
• Senufo (Style, culture group)
• Syenara (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/2/5/98617_images_image_2556_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1892. Binger, Louis. Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée par les pays de Kong et le Mossi. vol. I, Vol. I of II.

Original language: French

Caption translation:

View of Bassa

Illustrator: Édouard Riou, Maynard: engraver; Riou: artist based on Binger's sketches.

Illustration technique: field engraving

Keywords:
• Mali (Country, region, place)
• West Africa (Country, region, place)
• Bassa (Country, region, place)
• French Guinea (Country, region, place)
• clay (Materials and techniques)
• earth (Materials and techniques)
• lizard (Notable features)
• cayman (Notable features)
• serpent (Object name, type)
• wall reliefs (Object name, type)
• Bamana (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/5/6/89837_images_image_5613_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1908. Powell-Cotton, Major P.H.G. "A Journey Through the Eastern Portion of the Congo State." The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 3.

Original language: English

Caption translation: Wall of burnt clay surrounding a village near Timbuktu, Africa.

Illustration technique: field photograph

Publication page: 162

Keywords:
• Mali (Country, region, place)
• Timbuktu (Country, region, place)
• bas-relief (Materials and techniques)
• burnt clay (Materials and techniques)
• crocodile (Notable features)
• lizard (Notable features)
• animals (Notable features)
• architecture (Notable features)
• curvolinear designs (Notable features)
• wall decoration (Object name, type)
• Songhai (Style, culture group)

[As one of the researchers commenting on the RAAI website noted, this image is from Mali, from somewhere near Timbuktu, despite the title of the article that the image is from referring to Congo.]

shymexx: TIMBUKTU - the great city of legends!!!!

I'm so proud of these ancient African men!!!!

Thanks Physics, the pictures of Timbuktu made my day...

Glad to hear it. Here's another drawing of 19th century Timbuktu that I came across. This drawing below is by the German explorer Heinrich Barth, who visited Timbuktu in the 1850s. The drawing gives a view of the city as seen from the rooftop of one building. Unfortunately, the only site I found that was hosting the image was some random blog, rather than a more official site, so I don't know how long the image will stay up. But if the image goes down or something and you want to find the image again, the source is Heinrich Barth's book Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa. I'm pretty sure that digitized copies of the book are available to download online.

[img]http://stevekemper1.files./2012/05/timbuktu-view-from-terrace.jpg?w=1024&h=731[/img]

The image is from this blog entry by the way: http://blog.stevekemper.net/2012/05/10/barth-slept-here-uneasily/

That blog entry has a few modern pics of Timbuktu (but from before the current Malian crisis) as well and also some background information on the Western explorers that visited the city.

[img]http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/africa/caillie/caillie4.jpg[/img]

“1, 2, 3: Details of the Great Mosque of Timbuctoo; 4, 5: Plan and Front of the House of Sidi Abdallah Chebir, in Which Mr. Caillié Resided”

"On the eastern wall, in the interior of the building, there are some ornaments made of yellow clay. They are in the form of a chevron or triangular festoon, two feet high, with an opening of a foot and a half. They commence about eighteen inches above the ground. The pillars supporting the arcades in the front, have some ornaments of the same material tolerably executed, but very much defaced. A kind of niche, in the centre of the eastern wall, is destined for the marabout who officiates at prayers." - René Caillié (1799-1838), Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828, Vol. 2, pp. 73-74. London. 1830

"Each house forms a square, containing two inner courts, round which are ranged the chambers, each of which is of a narrow oblong form and serves at once for a magazine and bed-room. These rooms receive light only from the door of entrance, and another very small door opening into the inner court." - René Caillié (1799-1838), Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828, Vol. 2, p. 77. London, 1830.

[img]http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/africa/caillie/caillie3.jpg[/img]

“Sketch of the Plan of the Great Mosque of Timbuctoo, and View Taken from the E.N.E.”

"I visited the great mosque on the west side of the town; it is larger than that on the east, but it is built in the same style. The walls are in bad repair, their facing being damaged by the rains, which fall in the months of August and September, and which are always brought on by easterly winds, accompanied by violent storms. Several buttresses are raised against the wall to support them; I ascended the tower, though its staircase, which is internal, is almost demolished. . . . The western quarter of the mosque seems very ancient, but the whole facade on that side is in ruins. There are also some vaulted arcades, from which the whole of the plaster facing is detached. This mosque is constructed of sun-dried bricks, of nearly the same form as those made in Europe. The walls are rough-cast with a kind of coarse sand, similar to that of which the bricks are made, mixed with the gluten of rice. . . . The eastern part is composed of six galleries. . . . The walls of the mosque are fifteen feet high and twenty-five or twenty-six inches thick." - René Caillié (1799-1838), Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828, Vol. 2, pp. 71-72. London, 1830.

[img]http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/africa/caillie/caillie5.jpg[/img]

“View of the City of Timbuctoo” [This is the first view of Timbuktu drawn by a European visitor.]

'From the tower I had an extensive view over an immense plain of white sand, on which nothing grows except a few stunted shrubs, the mimosa ferruginea, and where the uniformity of the picture is only here and there broken by some scattered hills or banks of sand. I could not help contemplating with astonishment the extraordinary city before me, created solely by the wants of commerce, and destitute of every resource except what its accidental position as a place of exchange affords.' - René Caillié (1799-1838), Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828, Vol. 2, p. 71. London, 1830.

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/3/4/2504_images_image_3479_image.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1882. "Berichte der Reisenden der Gesellschaft. Die Buchner'sche Expedition." Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland, Vol. III, No. 2 (April).

Original language: German

Caption translation: Report of the African Res. (?) in Germany. Volume III, plate 5. [Above, left:] King Umóru’s home in Bida (as seen by Flegel)… low, carved columns [Above, middle:] Front building of Umóru’s home in Bida. [Above, right:] Entrance to the houses of the Great One in Bida. [Below, left:] Wood columns, 3.2’ – 4’ high that support the overhanging straw roofs in the homes of the great one in Bida. [Below, middle:] Barber hall at the market in Bida. [Below, left:] Part of the western wall of Bida, seen from inside. Straw roofs at some parts as shelter from rain.

Text translation: “Plate 5. Ground plan of King Umóru’s home in “Bida”, the capital of “Nupe”: 1. Surrounding wall. 2. Connecting wall in the interior [of grounds]. 3. Entrances. 4. Front and entrance hall, waiting hall. 5. Roofed front room, the usual place of the King and the folk during daily activities. 6. Place for horses. 7. Courtyard. 8. Main house. 9. An armory. 10. Passage hall, the roof of which is decorated with ostrich eggs. In this hall one often sees numerous tailors busy making robes and other garments. Carved wood columns that support the straw roof of the main building are indicated by small squares on the ground plan. Five examples of these wood columns are depicted below; they are about 3 ½’ – 4’ high and used only in “Yoruba” and “Nupe”, called “opo” in both lands. A room is formed between these columns and the wall of the house. It should also be noted in the reproduction of the walls from “Bida” that these walls are surrounded by a 8-10’ deep, and up to 7’ wide ditch. The barber hall is at least 40’ in diameter.” (p. 144)

Keywords:
• Bida (Country, region, place)
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• architecture (Notable features)
• plans (Notable features)
• palace (Notable features)
• column (Object name, type)
• house post (Object name, type)
• Nupe (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/4/4/75980_images_image_4483_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Caption: Utensils of Ifa worship. Cups for keeping palm nuts, with figures depicting the court-life of the nobles. For size see index of illustrations. (Drawn by Carl Arriens)

Illustrator: Carl Arriens Carl Arriens

Illustration technique: engraving

Keywords:
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• carved wood (Materials and techniques)
• faces (Notable features)
• warrior (Notable features)
• caryatid figure (Notable features)
• high relief (Notable features)
• container (Object name, type)
• divination bowl (Object name, type)
• agere Ifa (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/2/8/76525_images_image_2813_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1875. Bastian, Adolf. Die deutsche Expedition an der Loango-Küste - nebst älteren Nachrichten über die zu erforschenden Länder, Vol. II.

Original language: German

Illustrator: "N.d Nat. gez. u. lith. o. W.A. Meyn, Berlin "N.d Nat. gez. u. lith. o. W.A. Meyn, Berlin, Verlag v. H. Constable

Illustration technique: studio engraving

Keywords:
• Angola (Country, region, place)
• Congo-Kinshasa (Country, region, place)
• Congo-Brazzaville (Country, region, place)
• copper (Materials and techniques)
• sand casting (Materials and techniques)
• bas-relief (Notable features)
• figurative (Notable features)
• Lemba healing (Notable features)
• bracelet (Object name, type)
• ring (Object name, type)
• Yombe (Style, culture group)
• Kongo (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/2/8/56111_images_image_2812_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1875. Bastian, Adolf. Die deutsche Expedition an der Loango-Küste - nebst älteren Nachrichten über die zu erforschenden Länder, Vol. II.

Original language: German

Illustrator: "N.d Nat. gez. u. lith. o. W.A. Meyn, Berlin "N.d Nat. gez. u. lith. o. W.A. Meyn, Berlin, Verlag v. H. Constable

Illustration technique: studio engraving


Keywords:
• Angola (Country, region, place)
• Congo-Kinshasa (Country, region, place)
• Congo-Brazzaville (Country, region, place)
• sand blasted (Materials and techniques)
• copper (Materials and techniques)
• Lemba healing (Notable features)
• seated figure (Notable features)
• bracelet (Object name, type)
• rollout detail (Object name, type)
• Kongo (Style, culture group)
• Yombe (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/2/0/10604_images_image_2072_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1831-34. Ferrario, Giulio. Aggiunte e Rettificazioni all'Opera. Il Costume Antico e Moderno di Tutti i Popoli. Cogli Analoghi Disegni del Dottore Giulio Ferrario, Vol. II.

Original language: Italian

Caption translation: The Queen's Palace.

Caption: Palazzo della Regina

Text translation: “The population of Tandi a Vua may be estimated at 15,000 individuals, of whom two-thirds are women. The homes of the nobles are elegant and vast. The exterior walls of the Queen’s Palace are covered by a sort of moss which preserves them from the humidity of the rainy seasons, while their interior attics are ceiled with smooth posts set one against the other so as to appear as a single board: the reception room is vast and lit up by four windows whose squares are glazed with sheets of transparent mica. Five hundred Negroes constantly surround this palace: the beautifully sculpted main door is guarded by only three men, two are seated on their heels, one on one side and the other on the other side, are armed with a club, and the third is fully armed (see Table 44).” (p. 402).

Illustrator: , unsigned

Illustration technique: field lithograph; color

Keywords:
• Angola (Country, region, place)
• Cassange (Country, region, place)
• antelope ? (Notable features)
• elephant (Notable features)
• textured skin (Notable features)
• hunter (Notable features)
• palace door (Notable features)
• plinth (Notable features)
• squatting guardians (Notable features)
• winged figure (Object name, type)
• decorative sculpture (Object name, type)
• statuettes (Object name, type)
• Lunda (Style, culture group)


There are interesting comments on this image from researchers on the RAAI website, for anyone who is interested:

http://raai.library.yale.edu/site/index.php?globalnav=image_detail&image_id=2072

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/7/59658_images_image_747_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: Found in excavation. Handle of a vessel of quartz, from Ife. The original is three and 3/16 of an inch in height. (Drawn by Carl Arriens)

Illustrator: Carl Arriens Carl Arriens

Illustration technique: studio engraving

Keywords:
• Ife (Country, region, place)
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• quartz (Materials and techniques)
• hands on face (Notable features)
• squatting figure (Notable features)
• vessel handle (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

Collections:
• Berlin Museum für Völkerkunde; acquired from Leo Frobenius in 1913. (Collection at time of publication)
• Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, III C 27548. (Current collection)

shymexx: Physics

The architecture looks splendid...

Have you got pictures of precolonial Timbuktu and Great Zimbabwe

I ready do want to see what does place looked like back then...

I don't think anyone has images of what Timbuktu looked like centuries ago when it was flourishing. All we have are centuries old descriptions praising the city. But there are some late 19th century drawings and photographs of a few parts of Timbuktu and places near Timbuktu, long after the city had declined from its former position of economic and scholarly eminence. I'll post a few of those images, even if they obviously aren't going to be representative of the glory days of the city.

As for Great Zimbabwe, there also aren't any images, to the best of my knowledge, of the city when it was flourishing. But there are many modern photos of the stone remains of the city of course. There are a few old archaeological images relating to Great Zimbabwe that I came across that I'll probably post, but as for precolonial images of the city, I've had no luck finding anything close.

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/7/10003_images_image_745_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: a decorative tray from the grave of a Shango priest, 1/4 life size...from Ojo.

Illustration technique: b/w photo

Keywords:
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• Oyo (Country, region, place)
• carved relief (Materials and techniques)
• wood (Materials and techniques)
• face (Notable features)
• tray (Object name, type)
• priestly accoutrement (Object name, type)
• Shango plaque (Object name, type)
• tomb object (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/7/13674_images_image_743_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: Utensils for Ifa worship. Caskets with partitions for sulphur, charcoal, chalk and redwood. For sizes, see index of illustrations. (Drawn by Carl Arriens)

Illustrator: Carl Arriens Carl Arriens

Illustration technique: engraving

Keywords:
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• carved wood (Materials and techniques)
• animal (Notable features)
• equestrian (Notable features)
• quadruped (Notable features)
• serpent (Notable features)
• tortoise (Notable features)
• Eshu face (Notable features)
• figurated (Notable features)
• standing figure (Notable features)
• bowl (Object name, type)
• container (Object name, type)
• lidded vessel (Object name, type)
• box (Object name, type)
• Ifa utensil (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/4/4/16194_images_image_4493_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: Furniture of Shango ritual. ... 5. Shango-priest's tiara, meteorite sewn in on its left.

Illustrator: Carl Arriens Carl Arriens

Illustration technique: studio engraving

Keywords:
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• cowries (Materials and techniques)
• fabric (Materials and techniques)
• Shango crown (Object name, type)
• House for the head (ilé ori) (Object name, type)
• priest's hat (Object name, type)
• tiara (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/7/22103_images_image_724_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: The God of Thunder's Temple in Ibadan (from a water colour drawing by Carl Arriens)

Text: "The exterior of the courtyard was characterized by some wooden pillars, embellished with carving, which supported the overhanging roof; the doorway, some nine feet in height, was boldly sculptured with figures in relief of a mythological character; but the fact that the door no longer hung upon its hinges, but was propped against the lintel, was significant of decay. On entering, a spacious courtyard met our view in which the intermediate roofs, supported on carved beams, jutted out over a veranda. Some women in pretty headdresses and some men in handsome flowing garments were standing here and there and gazed in amazement at the first Europeans - as I afterwards heard say to my own surprise - whose feet had trodden this holy place. We slipped underneath a curtain-cloth, and I am bound to say that for a moment's space the originality of the building in front of me, whose straggling black façade was broken up with many colors struck me dumb. A lofty, long and very deep recess made a gap in the row of fantastically carved and brightly painted columns. These were sculpted with horsemen, men climbing trees, monkeys, women, gods and all sorts of mythological carved work. The dark chamber behind revealed a gorgeous red ceiling, pedestals with stone axes on them, wooden figures, cowrie-shell hangings, and sad to say, also some empty spirit bottles, which already play a part in sacrifical rites. On one side of the dark wall a small niche, like a passage, had been cut, in which sat a wily-looking old fellow surrounded by a row of men and women squatting on skins and mats spread upon the floor and doing reverence to the aged man. This old chap was our future friend, the priest of the God of Thunder, Shango." (p. 46-47)

Illustrator: Carl Arriens, unsigned

Illustration technique: watercolor; offset print; color

Keywords:
• Ibadan (Country, region, place)
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• carved wood (Materials and techniques)
• polychrome (Materials and techniques)
• female (Notable features)
• male (Notable features)
• stacked figures (Notable features)
• house post (Object name, type)
• pillar (Object name, type)
• Shango shrine (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/7/49864_images_image_748_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: Objects found in the ruins of old Ojo. An Ifa tray [...] about 1/2 life size

Illustration technique: b/w studio photograph

Keywords:
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• Old Oyo (Country, region, place)
• face of Eshu (Notable features)
• asymmetrical (Notable features)
• divination tray (Object name, type)
• container (Object name, type)
• opon ifa (Object name, type)
• plate (Object name, type)
• Oyo (Style, culture group)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

Collections:
• Leo Frobenius. Discovered by him(1910-1912) in the ruins of Old Oyo (which was destroyed ca. 1850) & acquired from him in 1914 by the Museum für Völkerkunde, Hamburg, Germany.
(Collection at time of publication)
• Museum für Völkerkunde, Hamburg, Germany, inv. no. 14.135.5 (Current collection)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/7/98714_images_image_731_medium.jpg[/img]

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/3/1/94210_images_image_3113_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1913. Frobenius, Leo (transl. Rudolf Blind). The Voice of Africa, Being an Account of the Travels of the German Inner African Exploration Expedition in the Years 1910-1912, Vol. 1 of 2.

Original language: English

Caption: Images of Shango ritual. The god in the centre; Ojas to left and right - respectively 22, 28 3/4 and 20 3/4 inches high. (Drawn by Carl Arriens.)

Text: "Shango descends quite unexpectedly upon some man or woman dancer's head. The inspirationist rushes madly to the Banga, seizes an Osé-Shango, a beautifully carved club, or a Sheré-Shango, that is, the holy rattle. This individual begins to caper before the others. The afflatus is patent. All agree in this: a being possessed by Shango or any other Orisha dances quite differently from ordinary folk." (p. 214)

Illustrator: Carl Arriens

Illustration technique: studio engraving

Keywords:
• Nigeria (Country, region, place)
• wood (Materials and techniques)
• equestrian figure (Notable features)
• weapons (Notable features)
• catfish motif (Notable features)
• double-headed axe (Notable features)
• female (Notable features)
• janus heads (Notable features)
• maternity (Notable features)
• ceremonial axe (Object name, type)
• dance wands (Object name, type)
• Oja figure (Object name, type)
• ose shango (Object name, type)
• Yoruba (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/2/5/27384_images_image_2545_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1914. Rohrbach, Paul. Die deutschen Kolonien: Ein Bilderbuch aller deutschen Kolonien mit 168 photographischen Aufnahmen, Karten und Text. Herausgegeben mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft.

Original language: German

Caption translation: Chief in festive decorations. The horse, and frequently the rider, are protected against the strike of a lance with strong, padded covering.

Text translation: "Here there are important native rulers, Sultans, or as they say in the Fullah region, Lamidos. The natives have long been under the influence of the Arab culture that penetrated into the Lake Chad region, and are also to a large extent Muslims. There are important cities, like Garua, which one can reach by steamboat from the English Niger during high tide; Marrua, north of Benue; and the most distinguished of the Fullah sultanates: Rei Buba. In the part of Adamaua separated by the French are Lere and Binders, at the border of German-taxed Kusseri. (illustration page 5)" (p. 13)

Illustrator: J. Eberhard, photographer

Illustration technique: b/w field photograph

Keywords:
• Adamawa (Country, region, place)
• Cameroon (Country, region, place)
• Kousseri (Country, region, place)
• festival (Notable features)
• sultan (Notable features)
• equestrian (Notable features)
• feathered finial (Notable features)
• costume (Object name, type)
• headdress (Object name, type)
• helmet (Object name, type)
• regalia (Object name, type)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/8/13664_images_image_842_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1874. Skertchly, J.A. Dahomey as it is; Being A Narrative of Eight Month's Residence in that Country with a full account of the notorious annual customs, and the social and religious institutions of the Ffons. Also an appendix on Ashantee, and a Glossary of Dahoman Words and Titles.

Original language: English

Caption: Tombs of Agajah, Tegbwesun, Mpengula and Agongolu

Text: “On the left we discovered a long whitewashed barn, whose sides were ornamented with rude figures of men, animals, and inanimate objects in relief…A gorgeous cloth spread over the roof, and three umbrellas, marked the king’s seat, the captainesses and Dahkros being seated on either side. Immediately opposite the king was the mausoleum, containing the ashes of four kings—Agajah, Tegbwesun, Mpengula, Agongolu. The tomb was a long barn with a high-pitched roof. On the ridge were four silver ornaments belonging to the respective monarch. To the left was the monument of Agajah—a silver cock standing on a globe, supported by an Asen which rose from the centre of a silver wheel, from the circumference of which four fetiche hearts of silver were suspended by chains. The wheel rested upon the top of an extinguisher surmounting a skull, all being wrought out of silver dollars. The next ornament was that of Tegbwesun—a silver acorn, supporting a wheel and skill, on the top of which was a silver tree with two straggling branches, each supporting a cock. To the right of this was a peculiar double-globed cylinder, supporting a silver coronet, from the lower edge of which silver hearts were hung. Above this, surrounding the top of the cylinder, was a circlet of knobbed ogoh, and on the apex a man with his left arm akimbo brandished a sword in his right. This was Mpengula’s ornament. On the extreme right was the elaborate monument belonging to King Ogongolu. Two silver soldiers, armed with guns, supported on their heads a square framework hung with silver hearts. Above this two other soldiers bore a smaller framework, on the top of which two Dahoman warriors stood in warlike attitudes. Through the centre, a tall cylinder with globe-like ornaments helped the soldiers to support the frames. The whole of this elaborate affair was of silver, and about four feet high. The hearts swung about in the wind, and clinked together with a peculiar tinkle, and the polished silver glittered in the sun, showing that these valuables were only set up upon state occasions.” (pp. 399-400)

Illustrator: "E.W." after J.A. Skertchly "E.W." after J.A. Skertchly, E.W.= engraver JAS= author

Illustration technique: field engraving

Keywords:
• Dahomey (Country, region, place)
• silver (Materials and techniques)
• acorn (Notable features)
• cock (Notable features)
• coronet (Notable features)
• hearts (Notable features)
• multi-layered (Notable features)
• skull (Notable features)
• wheel (Notable features)
• figurated (Notable features)
• globe (Notable features)
• rooster (Notable features)
• umbrellas (Notable features)
• asen (Object name, type)
• memorial sculpture (Object name, type)
• roof finial (Object name, type)
• grave ornament (Object name, type)
• Fon (Style, culture group)

[img]http://raai.library.yale.edu/web/art/8/69980_images_image_838_medium.jpg[/img]

Publication: 1874. Skertchly, J.A. Dahomey as it is; Being A Narrative of Eight Month's Residence in that Country with a full account of the notorious annual customs, and the social and religious institutions of the Ffons. Also an appendix on Ashantee, and a Glossary of Dahoman Words and Titles.

Original language: English

Caption: The So-Sin Pavilions

Illustrator: "E.W." after J.A. Skertchly "E.W." after J.A. Skertchly, E.W.= engraver JAS= author

Illustration technique: field engraving

Keywords:
• Dahomey (Country, region, place)
• fabric (Materials and techniques)
• carved wood (Materials and techniques)
• pavilions (Notable features)
• drums (Notable features)
• figurated textile (Object name, type)
• roof ornament (Object name, type)
• sculpture (Object name, type)
• elephant figure (Object name, type)
• Fon (Style, culture group)