Ife Akan and Benin: Awest African Art from 2000 Years - Hardcover

West Africa has produced much of the most impressive art from the African continent. The West African objects depicted in this volume (which accompanied an exhibition at Germany's Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim) are an odd combination of ancient Nigerian metal and terracotta sculpture from the Nok, Ife, Igbo-Ukwu, and Benin cultures; recently produced ornaments from the Akan peoples of Ghana; and goldwork from the Guinea coast. No convincing explanation is offered as to what ties this disparate group of items together other than their geographic proximity. Each section of the book has an introductory essay by a noted expert, and while these essays address various aspects of the art that follows, they are far too short to allow the interested lay reader to develop an understanding. As a picture book of fine color photographs, this volume is certainly valuable, but unfortunately the limited text offers too little information to make it useful for anyone but specialists. Robin Poynor's African Art at the Harn Museum (Univ. Pr. of Florida, 1995) or Monica Visona and Herbert Cole's chapters in A History of Art in Africa (Abrams, 2000) both provide better introductions to West African Art. Recommended only for academic libraries with strong holdings in African art. Eugene C. Burt, Data Arts, Seattle
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.