The Art of Daily Life

The arts of southeast Africa embrace astounding diversity and limitless inventiveness in materials, forms, and styles. Small and portable in nature – snuff containers, pipes, headrests, staffs, clubs, beer vessels, beaded garments – they were created by semi-nomadic pastoral peoples and primarly intended for daily use. Whether figurative or abstract, carved out of wood, ivory, or horn, or made of cloth, glass beads, or clay, most of these works were much more than exquisitely designed functional objects. Some signalled status, gender, or age; others served as symbolic intermediaries between the world of humans and the realm of the ancestors.