Category: Arts and History
The Moors who ruled Europe for 700 years
Granada – the word in Spanish means pomegranate – a fruit brought to Spain by Moslem tribes from North Africa in the 8th century. They were known as the Moors and they came to Europe from what is now known as Morocco. For nearly 800 years the Moors ruled in Granada and for nearly as long in a wider territory of that became known as … Continue reading The Moors who ruled Europe for 700 years
AWULAE KAKU AKA
The Story of Awule Kaku Aka I: King of Nzema 1840s Awulae Kaku Aka’s kingship peaked in the 1840s when he decided to unite Nzema people. To do this he needed to free some Nzema tribes from the oppression of the Anyi. So he set out to fight him and succeeded in beheading him. He put out more strategies to annex some Anyi lands in … Continue reading AWULAE KAKU AKA
Cambridge University to return Benin bronze to Nigeria in historic moment
Cambridge University to return Benin bronze to Nigeria in historic momentWritten by Hannah Ryan, CNNCambridge University is due to return a Nigerian artifact looted during a British raid to its country of origin, in a historic first.Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments will receive a Benin bronze cockerel from Cambridge’s Jesus College later this month — in a move the university called the “first institutional return of its kind.”The … Continue reading Cambridge University to return Benin bronze to Nigeria in historic moment
King Tenkamenin Ruler Of Ancient Ghana
King Tenkamenin ruled the Kingdom of Ghana with style. He insisted on good etiquette. His airy, windowed court was built with teak and stone and filled with paintings and sculptures. The king wore fine clothes and a tall gold cap, and he adorned himself with gold necklaces and bracelets. In his court, 10 pages carrying gold shields and swords stood behind him. Ten horses were … Continue reading King Tenkamenin Ruler Of Ancient Ghana
The School of Aristotle: One of the First ‘Universities’ in the World
A place of universal historic and cultural interest, the ruins of the School of Aristotle are located just two miles from the contemporary town of Naoussa, in the Greek region of Macedonia. Located in the region of Esvoria, along the foothills of Mount Vermio, the School of Aristotle is nestled in a serene setting blanketed by trees. Streams, ponds and racing waters can be found … Continue reading The School of Aristotle: One of the First ‘Universities’ in the World
African artists are banking on a record-breaking contemporary and modern art market
African artists are banking on a record-breaking contemporary and modern art marketWritten by Daniel Renjifo, CNNFor Abidjan-based artist Saint-Étienne Yéanzi, the continent’s social and political reality has sparked a creative evolution for contemporary African artists, he says, giving them confidence to work and stay in Africa.The contemporary art market in Ivory Coast and across sub-Saharan Africa has captured collectors’ imaginations on a global scale, translating into … Continue reading African artists are banking on a record-breaking contemporary and modern art market
QUEEN NZINGA (1583-1663)
Queen Nzinga (Nzinga Mbande), the monarch of the Mbundu people, was a resilient leader who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa. During the late 16th Century, the French and the English threatened the Portuguese near monopoly on the sources of slaves along the West African coast, forcing it to seek new areas for exploitation. By 1580 they had already established a trading relationship with Afonso I in the nearby Kongo Kingdom. They then … Continue reading QUEEN NZINGA (1583-1663)
AKAN ARTS (part three)
BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Ghana; Fante artist Female figure with twins Ceramic 46.4 cm (18 1/4”) Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company, 81.17.442 Many female funerary figures are known, but maternity figures such as this are quite rare. Perhaps this is because, although the figures are portraits of the subjects while young and vigorous, the people they portrayed … Continue reading AKAN ARTS (part three)
AKAN ARTS (part two)
BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Ghana; Akan artist Commemorative head Ceramic H. 18.3 cm (7 3/16″) National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 86-12-4 A related tradition among Akan peoples involves the use of terracotta human figures and heads. Both the abusuwa kuruwa and these figurative sculptures are memorials to the dead and have equally long histories, but the abusuwa kuruwa were used by ordinary people, while … Continue reading AKAN ARTS (part two)
Alkebulan Republic 