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Tom Phillips

Africa: The Art of a Continent Paperback – March 1, 1999

by Tom Phillips (Author), Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain) (Author)

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This magnificent celebration of the worlds oldest and most diverse artistic traditions is considered the definitive book on African art.

Ranging from the oldest known human artifact, circa 1.6 million BC, to pieces made within living memory, the objects collected in this extraordinary volume reflect a continent of enormous cultural and historical scope. Arranged chronologically within seven geographical sections, it offers an astonishing array of sculptures in wood, bronze, stone, and gold, as well as mural paintings, ceremonial pieces, ceramics, jewelry, and textiles culled from private and public collections around the world. Commentary by renowned scholars illuminates the cultural and historical significance of these pieces, and in-depth authoritative texts highlight critical aspects of each region. Together these words and images take readers on an artistic grand tour through a continent of unparalleled diversity, and towards the thrilling discovery of not one Africa, but many.

Print length

615 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Prestel Pub
Publication date

March 1, 1999
Dimensions

9.84 x 11.81 inches
ISBN-10

3791320041
ISBN-13

978-3791320045
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prestel Pub (March 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 615 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 3791320041
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3791320045
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.8 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.84 x 11.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,924,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,668 in Arts & Photography Criticism

Customer Reviews:
38 ratings

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5 star		83%
4 star		8%
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2 star		4%
1 star		4%

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Piro

Excellent book on African art

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2022

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This is an excellent coffee table book on African traditional art. It starts with illuminating commentary on the art, including important postcolonial perspectives challenging orthodoxy. Then it has magnificent photographs of traditional art from across the continent, with source legend on each. Best coffee table book on African art I've bought

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Steven Tatum

18 years old and still timely

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2013

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The catalog is all that one expects of Prestel. It is has excellent photos, is beautifully printed, well bound, and includes impeccable content. The format is familiar for catalogs surveying traditional African art. It is organized into geographic sections, each with maps and essays about the area covered. Each work is described at some length by a specialist in the ethnic group. Those are among the features that keep the book alive 18 years after its publication. In addition, good illustrations and detailed descriptions of many of the pieces are not easy to come by elsewhere. It is particularly strong in antiquities, which is one reason I wanted it. Also, the text book, A History of Art in Africa, but Visona, Poyner, and Cole, took quite a few works from this exhibition, but published them in black and white. I like seeing the color photos and additional commentary.

At the time of the 1995 exhibition, most collections of African art, and most courses in African art, focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, especially west and central Africa. Coming from the perspective of the history of western art, we saw North Africa as Mediterranean. Egypt was Near Eastern and a part of our own heritage. Yet, the leaders of African countries were thinking of the continent as a whole as early as 1963 with the foundation of the Organization of African Unity. In the United States, African-Americans were making the point that Egypt was a part of Africa. In 1985 Werner Gillon's A Short History of African Art focused on the usual areas, but also included North African rock art, Nubia, and some material from Eastern and Southern Africa. By 1995, historians of African Art realized they really should be getting away from the primary interests of western collectors and be looking at Africa as a whole. It was also necessary to become free of the validation of African Art by Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Stieglitz, et al., and to see it on its own terms. With Nelson Mandela, a Pan-Africanist, as one of the sponsors, this exhibition came about. For the students of African Art, this exhibition and catalog are an historic marker for one of the changes of direction in the study of African Art. In retrospect, it is hard to see why so much rich material and research were neglected in the teaching and exhibiting of African Art. Another change occurring around the same time was a new interest in contemporary African Art. That's beyond the scope of this book. Both traditional and contemporary arts would be tough to integrate in a single exhibition or publication covering the entire continent. Even in the text book, A History of Art in Africa (2nd ed. 2008), contemporary art is tacked onto the end of chapters about traditional art and a bit fragmented. For the Pan-Africanist movement, The Art of a Continent is an effective survey of precolonial styles, the African roots.

4 people found this helpful

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James I. Cole

Formidable scope, admirable execution.

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2012

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Softcover, 12" x 9.75", 617 pages, 9 detailed maps, bibliography, index of ethnic groups. Edited by Tom Phillips. Sections on Ancient Egypt and Nubia, (89 objects), Eastern Africa, (67 objects), Southern Africa, (48 objects), West Africa and the Guinea Coast,(142 objects), Sahel and Savanna,(60 objects), and Northern Africa, (67 objects). Published by Prestel, 1999.

The scope of this impressive book is nothing less than the art of the entire continent of Africa, from 3,000 years B.C. to the 20th Century. Nearly 500 works of art are depicted in color, and most items are of a very high quality, and well photographed. The item descriptions are excellent, and the text is informative and easy to read. This is definitely not a specialty book, and for detailed information on Africa's art and tribal cultures, books on individual regions and tribes abound. However, for a overview of the myriad art forms of the whole continent, this book does as well or better than any publication I've seen. As is usual with Prestel publications, the quality of the paper, binding and presentation is excellent.

Pricing note : As a mass-market publication, printed both in hardback and softcover, this book is readily available in used condition. As of late 2012, it could be purchased for under $20, which makes it the best value tribal art book in the marketplace. Enjoy !

4 people found this helpful

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The Sesh

Final Grade: 81%

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2007

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a fair collection of colour and black and white photos of African art from all over the continent. Of all the areas, East Africa (excluding the Horn of Africa) is given the least attention. I think they could have also expanded on Ethiopian art.

Another problem is the lack of showing contemporary African art (it assumes that new Euro-influenced art is no longer African. This is of course ridiculous since contemporary Euro art since the late 19th century has been heavily African influence, yet remains European art)

Also, the book does not include African architectural art. Though I only gave it a B-minus, if there was a sliding scale I'd have to give it an A-minus due to the lack of good art books regarding Africa.

7 people found this helpful

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J. Cardona

The Power and Beauty of traditional African sculpture

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2009

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This book is based on intimate knowledge of Africa and its people, brings a rare clarity to her subject. Dance masks, fetish figures, reliquares, and purely decorative objects are all lavishly illustrated with carefully chosen examples and related to geographical, religious, and social conditions that inspired them. This book shows a remarkable panorama of these arts-is ample evidence of the greatness of these highly developed modes of artistic expression. Let me say that the books cover is alone "A Work Of Art". Facinating Book!!

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Arthur V. Rowe

The Art of a Continent

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2006

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Very informmative text, very easy to read, and understand. With pictures, and text that visually and verbably discribe in detail each object listed. Great number of art objects not available to view without the photographs in this book I am 100% satisfied with this book and will use it as a reference, on an ongoing basis. A must for the collector of African Art.

8 people found this helpful

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O.L.

This is probably the best album of African art around

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014

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This is probably the best album of African art around. The quality of pictures is superb, and the text contains comprehensive descriptions of the pieces and historical background written by the top experts in the field.

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A. Stamford

Beautiful book...great value

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013

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I bought this book from a re-seller, but it looked brand-new. Iit's chock full of amazing pictures and great commentary. It is a large format book and weighs a ton!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Winifred Miller

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2016

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Exactly what I wanted.

James Benjamin

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2017

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Brilliant, I'm completely happy with the book. And the p&p was speedy and excellent.

Amazon Customer

as described but poor. Very disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

Condition of book was not 'very good', as described but poor. Very disappointing.

AC Wheatley

A fabulous book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2011

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This is the catalogue of the 1996 Royal Academy 'Africa: the art of a continent' exhibition which, I believe, was the first UK exhibition of art from across the many nations of Africa. It is arranged geographically, is sumptuously illustrated and accompanied by informed, thoughtful and helpful narratives that give an historical context to the art. It's a wonderful book, but with more than 600 pages, it's also very heavy!

4 people found this helpful

dup

beau livre, service de qualité

Reviewed in France on June 25, 2012

Verified Purchase

Les illustrations sont belles et souvent originales. Le plan de l'ouvrage bien pensé. Le texte intéressant. Livre important pour qui s'intéresse à l'histoire de l'art africain et aux civilisations qui en sont les auteurs.

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