Ancient African Art
Djenne figurine from West Africa (ca. 1450 AD)
Some parts of Africa have left us a lot more art
than other parts. There were certainly artists making art everywhere,
but some of these artists worked in materials that haven't lasted very
well. That's because most of Africa doesn't have good stone for sculpture.
King Zoser of Egypt
But there is art. There's a great deal of art from ancient
Egypt, where they did have good stone. Some of the earliest life-size
stone statues come from Egypt too.
King Zoser of Egypt
South of Egypt, in the kingdoms of Kush
and Aksum (modern Ethiopia and
Eretria), there were also people building small pyramids.
After the people who lived here converted to Christianity,
about 300 AD, they built magnificent stone
churches and painted them with Christian images showing influences
from Rome and Constantinople.


