Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ancient African Dogon art goes on display - Story - Environment/Sci - 3 News
Ancient figurines, masks and sculptures made by the indigenous populations of the African Dogon region have gone on display at the Paris' Quai Branly museum.
Originating near the Bandiagara cliffs in a region today more commonly known as Mali, Dogon art exists as a result of centuries of tribal displacement within the region.
Totem-like characters, masks and sceptres dating from as far back as the 10th century are on show at the exhibit. It displays the art of various tribes including the Djennenke, the N'Duleri and the Tellem - a few of the many settlements which occupied the Dogon plateau.
People now are able to appreciate the quality of this ancient art, said Helene Joubert, head of the Heritage unit of the African collections at the Musee Branly.
"The way African art reconstruct the reality, the mask for example, also using very limited colours like black, white and red which are mineral or natural colours. People are receptive now, they can feel the quality of this," Joubert said.
Sculptures had symbolic importance to the tribes and were often used during ritualistic celebrations to spur fertility or to pray to water gods in an otherwise dry and barren landscape, Joubert added.
Although the Dogon-Mande tribe initially fled Islamic occupation in the 14th century, the progressive islamisation of the area spurred the art's commercialisation. The influence of this is still visible through pieces such as the carved amulets on sculptures of the Tintam tribe.
African art from the Dogon region remains an important pillar of African art and design today. Many of the pieces contained in the exhibition would not look out of place as ornaments in a home furnishing store.
