The Kingdom of Ife

 

Shrine Head, Yoruba, Nigeria 12-14th century 

The Yoruba people are an ethnic group of Western Africa, and these individuals trace their lineage to the site of Ife, the place of all creation in the Yoruba religion. For hundreds of years, the Yoruba people have held onto the belief that the person's Iwa, the character, reflected the person's inner energy, the Ase. This inner energy resided in the head of the body, which is a reason why so many remaining ancient art pieces are of the head and neck rather than a whole body. Because of this belief, people who held high amounts of power such as kings or chiefs had to wear veils, to conceal what was believed to be a dangerous level of Ase. Outside of the face covering, the Ase is represented in a cone shape, which is reflected in the headdresses that Ife sculptures wear. This background brings us to the sculpture presented above. 

This sculpture is of a semi-tranquil person, their expression neutral and calm looking, representing the character of the individual, a reflection of the Iwa. Lines decorate the face but avoid the lips, which leads us to the misconception that often surrounds African art. These lines are commonly misinterpreted as scarification, a religious rite of passage symbol in the culture. However, the Yoruba religion does not involve scarification, but despite this, people still believe that scarification is the meaning behind the lines. Looking past this misconception and into the Ife way of life, these lines weren't scars but semi-permanent markings that indicated the status of the elite in this society. The artwork itself for a long time was misinterpreted by Europeans, who believed that African individuals could not make beautiful realism, which is why it was often mistaken as pieces of European art left behind from the Trans-Saharan trade. The individual of this sculpture was very important to the Yoruba religion and to the Kingdom of Ife, providing us insight into the past and present beliefs in this religion. 

Today, Ife remains one of the major religious places for the Yoruba people. The art that remains from the Kingdom of Ife is not only a historical object for achievements of the past, but continue to serve as a regional and religious unifier amongst the Yoruba people that are spread across West Africa, proving it's importance to society and the world around it. Not only does it symbolize a change in the art world from 'what is expected' for African based art, but it also shows how advanced kingdoms such as the Ife get erased from our history books, another reason why it is important to the historical narrative. 

Sources:

Dr. Christa Clarke, "Historical overview: to 1600," in Smarthistory, September 21, 2016, accessed October 30, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/historical-overview/.

"Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa," in Smarthistory, September 19, 2016, accessed October 30, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/kingdom-of-ife-sculptures-from-west-africa/.

“Shrine Head, Ancient Yoruba |  Minneapolis Institute of Art.” Minneapolis Institute of Art. Minneapolis Institute of Art. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://collections.artsmia.org/art/4866/shrine-head-ancient-yoruba. 

The Stelae of Axum

Stelae of Axum, landmark of Axum, Ethiopia.

The Kingdom of Axum was founded in the early first-century common era, flourishing until the ninth century in the horn of Africa, now known as modern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, and southern Yemen. The heart of this kingdom was in Axum, Ethiopia. The Stelae of Axum are a series of granite monoliths in the heart of the Kingdom of Axum. The stelae range from heights anywhere from seventy feet to well over one-hundred feet, an achievement in itself because the stelae are singular shafts of granite. The slab of granite is carved in a peculiar fashion, with fake doors carved at the bottom, log-like flooring carved above it to symbolize a new floor of the tower, then several tiers of carved windows.  Each stela is oblong, not square like at all, with a crescent and disk symbol adorning the top.  While it is well documented that the carved symbols are religious, the meaning of the symbols can only be speculated. The Axum people were pagans up until the fourth century when the new king declared the kingdom Christian. Because of this, we cannot speculate the symbols in terms of Christianity, but rather paganism.  Looking at the symbology of ancient paganism, the symbol of the crescent is a symbol commonly used to represent the phasing from life to death. While a disc symbol can either represent a sun or the shift from mortality to divinity. The true purpose of these stelae is unknown but given the symbology and the placement of them the stelae are widely accepted and believed to serve as grave markers or memorials to important members of society in the third to the fourth-century common era. 

Obelisk of Axum, Henry Salt (1809)

The Axumites put a lot of time, effort, and capital into the creation of the stelae. Each stelae was designed around the person who was being buried. For example, when a king was buried he would have a stelae that were around thirteen stories tall, while a lord would have one that was around two stories tall. The grander the stelae, the grander the title of the individual. That is why the stelae of Axum hold importance to the overall historical narrative. Grave markers are important to society, they are symbols of remembrance for loved ones and have been used for thousands of years. The way people are buried and how their grave is decorated gives an insight into the culture and society that the person once lived in. Across the world, we all have different cultures and ways of doing things such as celebrating our dead. Latin cultures have holidays such as Dia De Los Muertos (the day of the dead) where they go visit the graves of loved ones and make altars for them, while in India they celebrate their ancestors' souls through a holiday called Shradh, not visiting a grave because in Hindu culture most bodies are cremated. These stelae give an insight into the culture of the Axum kingdom before it fell under Christian control, how they remembered their dead, making it vital for it to not be buried under the narrative of Christian gravemarkers. These monoliths are one of the last remnants of this ancient Kingdom and its practices. 

Citations: 

Butzer, Karl W. “Rise and Fall of Axum, Ethiopia: A Geo-Archaeological Interpretation.” American Antiquity, vol. 46, no. 3, 1981, pp. 471–495. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/280596.

Lipsky, George A. (George Arthur). Ethiopia: Its People, Its Society, Its Culture. HRAF Press, 1962, accessed October 28, 2020, https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/62/247/172/75627?redirectedFrom=fulltext.

The British Museum, "The kingdom of Aksum," in Smarthistory, September 23, 2016, accessed October 28, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/the-kingdom-of-aksum/.

Wu Zhen

The Fisherman (Wu Zhen 1350 C.E.,)

The aim of Chinese paintings are to evoke inner essences, emotions, energy, and life. Contrary to what one might think, to accomplish this, the painter would choose to not use color. Each brushstroke is considered a piece to a balanced yet dynamic whole of the painting. This is a reflection of Chinese calligraphy practices, each brushstroke matters and requires a disciplined hand. China during the 1300s didn't necessarily have regular artists. Most artists were scholars that shifted from calligraphy to painting, using the same brushes and ink they would use for calligraphy for painting. These scholar-artists would use their calligraphic training and brushwork to express symbolism, style, and their own beliefs and feelings of the world around them.

A great example of how scholar-artists would do this is 'The Fisherman' painting, painted by a man named Wu Zhen in 1350. Wu Zhen was slightly different compared to other artists at the time. He was a recluse, fond of poetry and cartoon-ish styled figures in his paintings. Most of his paintings were either landscapes or landscapes with fishermen. The fishermen tend to be alone, depicting his reclusive nature. This painting follows the pattern, seemingly to be a reflection of himself, a lone fisherman in the water alone with himself and his thoughts. Accompanying the artwork is a poem Wu Zhen created, reading as: "Red leaves west of the village reflect evening rays, yellow reeds on a sandy bank cast early moon shadows. Lightly stirring his oar, thinking of returning home, he puts aside his fishing pole, and will catch no more."
  
Poetry being added to paintings wasn't an uncommon practice, but Wu Zhen didn't follow the traditional way of adding poetry to paintings. Most often, Chinese paintings had poetry on them, but it wasn't the artist that would typically write on the painting, but rather the recipient of the painting to show appreciation or their response to the painting. Wu Zhen would write the poems himself, another example of his reclusive nature that he would not pass the paintings on to another individual to appreciate.

Sources: 

Hearn, Maxwell. “Chinese Painting | Essay.” metmuseum.org, June 2008. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chin/hd_chin.htm.

“Wu Zhen | Fisherman.” metmuseum.org. Accessed October 23, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/41468.

“Wu Zhen: Chinese Painting.” China Online Museum, August 12, 2017. https://www.comuseum.com/painting/masters/wu-zhen/.

Goryeo Celadon

Melon-Shaped Ewer with Bamboo Decoration, 12th century Korea

The Goryeo dynasty in Korea was considered Korea's age of enlightenment. Lasting a total of five centuries, this dynasty had several advancements in things such as papermaking, architecture, printing, and ceramic making. While all of these were great achievements, the one that is most noticed by Western countries is the ceramics that were produced at this time period. These ceramics are known as celadon and were only made in China and Korea during the 9th century. These ceramic pieces were distinctively colored, thanks to their natural iron level in the clay along with the firing glaze that had a mix of manganese oxide, and quartz particles. To create a celadon ceramic pot or cup, you need an extremely hot kiln to create a reduction-based atmosphere to make the distinct texture of the celadon ceramics. If oxygen gets inside the kiln, it creates different textures of the clay and will also affect colors which is something that celadon potters wouldn't want since the green-ish blue tones of the pottery are what celadon is known for. 

As discussed in our weekly intro video, there was a lot of communication between China, Korea, and Japan, so this type of ceramic making spread through the three countries, each having their own distinctive looks and aesthetics to them. Korean celadon specifically is known for its naturistic design. These designs would have decorations beneath the glaze, incisions filled with black and white liquified clay (used as paint). While ceramics don't really strike the average person as significant, what makes celadon so important to Korean history and culture is because it signifies a cultural and technological shift in Korea. The technology for the kiln and the glaze production for celadon was something that previous Korean dynasties were getting towards, but without political connections to China, Korea would have taken a lot longer to develop the technology on their own to create such artwork. Alongside this technological shift, we can also view the ceramic pieces to determine what was appreciated during this time and why. For example, the Goryeo dynasty was the last Buddhist dynasty of Korea, which can explain the naturistic art decoration on their ceramics as well as the reason why print and papermaking were so important, to produce Buddhist texts for the public.

Sources:

“Korea, 1000–1400 A.D.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=07&region=eak (October 2001)

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Celadon.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/art/celadon.

“Melon-Shaped Ewer With Bamboo Decoration.” metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42268.

Warefare, Looting, and the Art Market (Ethical Question Blog-Post)

Remnants of a looted statue, Koh Ker Cambodia

Ethical Questions to Answer: How has warfare looting affected Cambodia's cultural heritage? How has the history of looted continued to hurt Cambodia to this day?

Please note: The Vietnam Conflict is what people commonly know as the Vietnam War. War was never declared on Vietnam nor the Viet Cong, thus, we cannot call it the Vietnam War and must call it the Vietnam Conflict.




Warfare destroys communities and families within them. Separation, destruction of economic and social fabrics, and the destruction of cultural past are just a few examples of what occurs because of war. Cambodia is a country that has felt all of these and then some. The Vietnam conflict was a pivotal point for Cambodia's culture. The Khmer Rouge, a title given to members of Cambodia's communist party, provided protection to cultural and heritage sites.

When the Vietnam conflict began and Vietnam began to invade Cambodia, these places lost their protection from looting and destruction when the Khmer Rouge fled to Thailand. Heritage sites filled with cultural stories and statues became a place of destruction and looting. This not only affected Cambodia's culture but their economic system. These sites were considered not only archaeological evidence that provided context for research on the history of Cambodia, but they were also considered places for tourist revenue. With the lack of safety at these sites along with the looting, less money was produced from these sites and became difficult to fund in terms of upkeep and safety provision measures. Because of the direct effect on the economic system of Cambodia, the looting halted the preservation and continuation of the knowledge of Cambodian culture.

Despite the ending of the Vietnam Conflict, the looting of Cambodia hasn't stopped. Khmer antiquities are considered valuable collectibles, and while looting is no longer done on an extreme level like the amounts taken during the Vietnam conflict, these artifacts are still looted to fund organized crime organizations. People are told that if they wanted any piece of a temple that they can take a picture of it and the organizations will arrange for it to be looted and delivered to them. This ongoing looting of these sacred temples is not only harming Cambodia culturally but economically. Fewer artifacts within temples mean fewer tourists who want to pay to travel to them, thus hurting Cambodia's economic growth (That still hasn't fully recovered from the Vietnam Conflict). Culturally, Cambodia's youth cannot learn from the past, the temples are not safe for active worship, nor are they able to provide insight into the culture's past for archaeological purposes.

Sources:


Overton, Leonard C., and David P. Chandler. “Vietnamese Intervention.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., December 9, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Cambodia/Vietnamese-intervention.

Seiff, Abby, and Phnom Penh. “How Cambodia's Temples Fell to Looters: DW: 25.06.2014.” DW.COM, June 25, 2014. https://www.dw.com/en/how-cambodias-temples-fell-to-looters/a-17735835.

Tess Davis and Dr. Steven Zucker, "The Looting of Cambodian Antiquities," in Smarthistory, October 27, 2017, accessed October 7, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/looting-cambodia-2/.

Meenakshi Amman Temple

 

Lord Shiva (Left) and Ganesh (Right) South tower, Meenakshi Amman Temple (6th Century B.C.E.,). Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Temples are structures designed for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer, worship, meditation,   To understand the importance of each temple, we must understand the history behind the creation of each temple. This temple, in particular, is named Meenakshi Amman. Meenakshi Amman is a temple built in the 6th-century B.C.E., in Madurai, a major historic city in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. According to Hindu legend, the royal couple King Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife, Queen Kanchanamalai prayed to Lord Shiva for a son to pass their throne down to. Instead of a son, Lord Shiva sent them the Hindu Goddess Parvati (goddess of fertility, love, beauty, harmony, marriage, children, devotion, divine strength, and power) in the form of a three-year-old, three-breasted girl whom the couple then named Meenakshi. The royal couple was told by a divine voice that the daughter's third breast would disappear when she would meet her husband. Later on in life, Meenakshi met Lord Shiva, and her third breast went away. Knowing that this was her destined husband, the two married in the temple now known as Meenakshi Amman Temple. 

Meenakshi Amman Temple, 6th Century B.C.E., Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

Because this temple is known as the marriage site for Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the temple is very sacred. It is one of the oldest and most important temples in India, not only providing religious insight but cultural insight with the structure itself. Temples in the Hindu religion, like temples of other religions, hold great cultural importance. Designed to look like mountains, the temples are believed to be the linkage of heaven and earth, for mountains are believed to be the top of the world's axis. The symbolism in their structure designed to bring humans and gods together. The art decorating the temples are designed to not only tell the stories surrounding the Hindu religion but to reinstall the beliefs and ideas of Hinduism to the followers of the said religion. The way the structure was created and the materials used provides insight into the daily lives of the people of the past, how they thought to use certain items and how they learned to craft things in such a way to last a long time. 

Temples hold various reasons for importance, whether it be a place of religious significance such as a wedding between to gods or a place where a god was believed to descend from, they all hold cultural importance to the society where the temples remain in. Decorated with art that re-instill the beliefs of this culture, the temples from years ago reinforce a sense of connection to the past, their religion, and their culture. 

Sources: 

“Meenakshi Amman Temple Madurai - History, Architecture, Timings.” Cultural India. Cultural India. Accessed October 6, 2020. https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-temples/meenakshi-temple.html.

Asian Art Museum, "Beliefs made visible: Hindu art in South Asia," in Smarthistory, January 27, 2016, accessed October 5, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/beliefs-made-visible-hindu-art-in-south-asia/.

Art Shift from Paganism to Christianity

Adam and Eve Reproached by the Lord, bronze panel from the doors commissioned by Bishop Bernward,  at St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, Germany (1015 C.E.,)

    Key Takeaway- Italicized

As Europe shifted from Paganism to Christianity, the world of art began to shift as well. Art began to shift from realism and naturalism to forms of abstract art, focusing on gestures and facial expressions over muscles and depiction of the illusion that realistic art created. This wasn't a shift from intellect or forgetting how to create realistic art, but a way to convey a different message. Previously art was designed to showcase the beauty of humanity, to showcase precise and accurate details to show the public an ideal way of being human. St. Augustine believed that creating realistic art of figures such as God or Jesus was a way to lie to the public, for they were divine and unnatural beings and to create art of human beings was a symbol of idolatry. To avoid this, the art of the Medieval time period was designed to communicate religious stories, things that are deemed not of this Earth and unnatural. This was a method to not only allow artists to continue to produce art, but to avoid being denounced by the Church, as well as separating what was viewed as Pagan art from Christian art.

The sculpture above depicts the change between art styles. This sculpture is known as "Adam and Eve Reproached by the Lord", it is a bronze panel for doors commissioned for St. Michael's Church in Germany.  In contrast to naturalist/realistic artwork, there is no emphasis on Eve's woman-like features or the muscles of Adam, but instead, the focus is placed on the gestures to share the story of God interrogating Adam and Eve about eating the apple, before the expulsion from paradise. The passing of the blame of God pointing to Adam, Adam pointing at Eve, and Eve pointing to the serpent for why they ate the apple. A simplified art style serves the purpose of storytelling and communication, for you aren't looking at the artwork as if they are real people, allowing you to grasp the larger picture of the story instead. This method was a way to further spread the theology of the Christian church, which is why it is important to Art history as a whole. Art influences our society, not only reflecting the change of views of the society but during these changes art is used as a tool to further the change of views, instilling values that weren't there before. 

Sources: 

Dr. Nancy Ross, "A new pictorial language: the image in early medieval art," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed October 3, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/a-new-pictorial-language-the-image-in-early-medieval-art/.

Dr. Nancy Ross and Dr. Jennifer Freeman, "Bronze doors, Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim (Germany)," in Smarthistory, December 11, 2015, accessed October 3, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/bronze-doors-saint-michaels-hildesheim-germany/.

Ship Burials

The Sutton Hoo ship excavation in 1939, early Anglo-Saxon, early 7th century, Suffolk, England 

Ship burials were common in paganistic cultures, commonly seen in Germany, Norway, and other Germanic/Scandanavian societies. These ships would be fully equipped with money, jewelry, personal items, and other things that are deemed necessary for the person to have a good afterlife. Boats are a vessel of travel for many individuals, and during this time period, they were believed to be a trusted safe passage for many. Because they were believed to be so safe and so reliable, they symbolized a safe passage to the afterlife. Not only were they buried in ships, but they were buried in ships that they have used to travel during their days amongst the living. 

Because of the origin of these burial rituals, it is rare to see them outside of Scandanavian and Germanic countries, however, Sutton Hoo was an exception. Believed to be buried in the early seventh century, Sutton Hoo has several mounds of grassland that were designed as gravesites. Buried in one of the mounds was King Raedwald. His burial was unlike the others, instead of being in a normal tomb-like grave with his belongings, he was buried in a ship. This is important to note because of the fact that Raedwald was pagan before converting to Christianity, making it seem like he reverted back to his original belief system. 

The ship Raedwald was buried in was 88 feet long, the longest to date for Ship Burials. This provides insight into his role as a king and how the people around him viewed him as a political figure.  The larger the ship was, the more important and renowned by the people they were. Within the burial site were Byzantium silver dishes, solid gold coins, a bronze bowl from the Middle East, along with cups and spoons inscribed with Greek lettering. These were all placed in the site to show the contacts this king held across the world, how important they were seen to other cultures. Because Medieval Anglo-Saxon kings were predominantly Christian, the way this king was buried is important. When Christianity began to sweep its way across Europe, Paganists were viewed as heathens who were not tolerated by the church, especially the Byzantine, who had laws describing punishments for those found out to be pagans in secrecy. 

So why is any of this important to history? Why should we care? The main answer to both of these is the insight provided by examining burials and how the individuals were treated. Burials were always a symbol of importance to society. Whether it be something as simple as cremation, or the act of burying your dead in a tomb, there is significance to the act of caring for the dead. Rituals provide ways for individuals to express their grief in culturally acceptable ways, it provides a sense of support for the mourners and allows the beliefs of the dead and the living to carry on. The key takeaway for this is how beliefs are carried on through burials, but also finished with them. This was one of the last kings to be buried in a paganistic fashion while the rest of Europe converted to Christianity.

Citations: 

 The British Museum, "Sutton Hoo Ship Burial," in Smarthistory, March 3, 2017, accessed October 3,                  2020, https://smarthistory.org/the-sutton-hoo-ship-burial/.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Sutton Hoo.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., March 13, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sutton-Hoo.