African Designs

Jewell, Rebecca. African Designs; British Museum Pattern Books. British Museum Press, 1994

• “Art forms produced throughout Africa are broadly related to the geography and economy of the area and the way of life of the people.” 10

• “As the Dutch migrated into Southern Africa from 1652 onwards, they took land from the pastoralists and clashed with the farmers, killing many of them on their way.” From the 1830a, the region was thrown into turmoil with the Zulu expansion and the boer migration into the area. Against this background, beadwork, basket work and (…) continued to evolve throughout the nineteenth century.” 10

• “African art has been classified in the past in two ways – by the tribe from which it originated and by its use or function.” 10

• “Designs on bodies, jewellery, clothes and houses all help to establish personal and communal identity, and signs and symbols have special meaning for members of specific communities.” 12

• “Marketable crafts all over African have been influenced by European artists and the demands of the commercial market.”15