APOLLO MAGAZINE
 |
| A03-CaravansofGold-SeatedFigure-copy Seated Figure (detail; late 13th–14th century), possibly Ife, Nigeria. Courtesy National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abuja, Nigeria |
In the Middle Ages, gold from West Africa was transported across the Sahara Desert in vast quantities, to be used across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe for luxury wares and religious objects, from jewellery to picture frames, and for minting currency. This exhibition places medieval Africa at the centre of a global trade network, and explores through some 250 objects how art and ideas, as well as gold, travelled across the Sahara. Find out more from the
Block Museum’s website. [
More]
 |
| Left: Virgin and Child, ca. 1275–1300, France, Ivory with paint, 36.8 × 16.5 × 12.7 cm. Center: Kneeling Figure Natamatao, Mopti region, Mali, 10th – 14th century, Terracotta, 46 cm x 22.3 cm x 21.5 cm, Right: Seated Figure, Possibly Ife, Tada Nigeria, Late 13th-14th century, Copper with traces of arsenic, lead, and tin, H. 54 cm. |
