Animals in African Art—
from the Familiar to the Marvelous

Roberts, Allen F., Animals in African Art—From the Familiar to the Marvelous; Prestel Books, 1995.

Animal images are so common in African art, and their meanings and purposes assumed to be so obvious, that they are taken for granted. Indeed, Animals in African Art is the first major book wholly dedicated to the subject.

Once the animals in African art are looked at more closely, important questions arise. , why and how are animals such a useful, if purposefully distorting mirror of humanity? To understand why and how some animals are so "good to think" (as well as good to eat) requires wending one's way along the sinuous paths of African logics. Emphasis is placed on the plural of this last word, for African systems of thought differ from one ethnic group to another, and often within each culture, from one interpreter to another. Different sense is also attributed to a given animal symbol by the same people through the course of time. Animals in African Art is a celebration of African cultural diversity.

192 pages, 150 color and 30 black-and-white photographs.