of the Negro statuettes, if it corresponds badly enough to the
anatomy of a normal Negro, singularly recalls that of the
Negrillos, specimens of whom are still to be found, more or less
sparsely scattered about in several regions of central and
southern Africa, and who probably may have one time
inhabited the whole of what today constitutes Negro Africa
before its settlement by the Negroes properly speaking. The
relative length of the trunk and the excessive dimensions of the
head, in particular, are characteristic of this race once very
numerous and far-spread but today on the road to extinction. In
many regions of Africa where Negrillos are now no longer
found, the memory of them has persisted among the Negroes,
who claim that before their own arrival the occupants of the
country were little men with large heads and reddish skin, as
mentioned in our first chapter. The Negroes often considered
these little men as the first holders of the ground which they
themselves exploit today, making of them sort of distant
ancestors, deified like their own forbearers.
It would not be surprising that the first Negro artists, needing to
figure their deified ancestors, adopted as the representative
symbol the approximate type of these Negrillos, living samples of
whom they had known or that a still recent tradition might faithfully
enough retrace for them. This type, as adopted, has been trans-
mitted down to our time, the religious character of its origin
especially helping to keep it from being transformed during the
course of centuries.
AAn ni imma al l RReeppr rees seennt taat tiioonns s
As soon as we leave the domain of human representation – or
more exactly what appears to us as human representation, but is
not so in the eyes of the Negroes – this sort of “incomprehension”,
which assails us in spite of ourselves, disappears and we are in a
better position to appreciate exactly the artistic value of the
productions which are not so far removed from our own concep-
tions. In truth, the representations of animals, so numerous in
Negro art, are no more imitations of nature than the human figures
and just as often offer anomalies of proportion or an intentionally
bizarre or repulsive aspect. But we are accustomed to chimeras,
dragons, and unicorns, we do not find it extraordinary that
animals are given a conventional attitude or incongruous attribute,
so we are better prepared to perceive exactly the impression that
the artist has brought to life in his work. For all the more reason,
we have full liberty to admire, without reserve, compositions in
which we are tempted to see only the fruit of an imagination gifted
in the sense of line and harmony.llnndduussttrriiaall AArrttss
At the side of religious art or art for art’s sake, there is another
domain in which the Negroes are past-masters: it is that of the
industrial arts, represented by work in clay, wood, iron, copper,
gold, leather, and textiles. Ornamented and glazed pottery of all
forms and dimensions, finely carved spoons, gongs, staffs of
command, low or high stools each one of which is a masterpiece
of patience and elegant execution; harmoniously slender
paddles, straight or curved knives having handles of wood
incrusted with metal, lances with multiple blades of graceful
contours, axes for war or parade, small objects in moulded or
hammered copper; golden jewellery of filigree or made in a
mould, rings and bracelets with delicately wrought openwork,
cushions, saddles, boots, and sheaths in supple leather diversely
coloured; curious boxes of oryx skin, trays and mats of coloured
reeds, fabrics of cotton, wool, or raffia that are veritable tapes-
tries with motifs as sober as they are varied and of a very sure
taste in colouring; silk or cotton embroideries of a singular rich-
ness and happy design. All this is beginning to be familiar to us,
thanks to the collections brought together in museums or for exhibi-
tions. More than one of our manufacturers has been inspired by
them to produce new types in Europe that are highly appreciated
by the public. Even in Africa missionaries are developing these
artistic industries among the natives who find, in the exportation
of these products of their ingenuity, unlooked-for sources of
revenue. Perhaps it is even to be feared that the stimulus of an
easier profit may push the Negro artisans to subordinate their
own inspiration to the taste of the European buyer and to sacrifice
their art to the temptation of mass production.Likuti drum (Makonde), late 19thor early 20thcentury.
Tanzania/Mozambique.
Wood, leather, hair, copper nails, 63 x 30 x 30 cm.
W. and U. Horstmann Collection.
Likely serving a social function, this goblet-shaped drum with anthropomorphic
legs and female imagery is of unusual design for the Makonde. Recalling
wooden cult figures of lineage ancestresses, the vertical tattoo marks resemble
chevrons, marked between mirrored relief crescents on the body are reminicent
of other motifs found on body masks and ancestral figurines.
The Makonde used special drums, such as this, to warn villagers and
neighbouring settlements of impending harm. Most often used during colonial
times when a member of the village was attacked by or had wounded a lion or
leopard, at the sound of the drum being beaten in a way that resembled the
roar of the slain animal, local men would bring along their weapons and
assemble for an animal hunt.