articles [2 sites]
 
The Art of Burkina Faso

By Christopher D. Roy, Professor of Art History at the University of Iowa. This extensive essay examines the history of the various peoples who live in present day Burkina Faso. Various crafting traditions are examined - furniture, pottery, jewelry, weaving - with particular attention to the masking traditions. There is also a cross-cultural comparative stylistic summary for the various peoples of the region - Mossi, Gurunsi, Bwa, Bobo, Marka-Dafing. Great ethnographic images. [posted: Mar 04, 2004]

Faking African Art

"A five-year investigation reveals that most West African terra-cotta sculptures are fakes that have fooled specialists, sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and ended up in some of the world's most prestigious museums." Article by Michel Brent, published in Archaeology Magazine in 2001. [posted: Mar 04, 2004]