Indigenous art from around the world

Indigenous Art from around the World

• Indigenous art is

art created by peoples of specific cultures

The term usually, but not always, refers to art created many centuries ago. The examples shown here are from several different areas. One thing they have in common is that the materials used are usually those occurring naturally in the area inhabited by the people, such as locally-grown wood.

North American Apache Basket

• The stone is almost 2.5 meters tall. The design is typical Viking art, with what appears to be a long braided beard and horns (or hair?) twined around the ears. The colors were added more recently to bring out the pattern more vividly. This object was discovered about 1850 in a nearby churchyard, and it probably dates back to the 3rd or 4th century. The runic inscription over the top and sides reads approximately: "Gunulv and Øgot and Aslak and Rolf erected this stone in memory of their companion Ful. He found death ... when kings fought."

Viking Memorial Stone

• This mask comes from the Congo region of Africa. It is made from a variety of natural items, such as shells and natural pigments.

• This is a carved totem pole made from one or more large tree trunks, by natives of North America.

South America

• Bell-shaped shoulder olla with diagonal, geometric bands and scroll appendages, A.D. 950-1150. Southern Arizona, Hohokam; Sacaton Red-on-buff. 37.5 x 49.5 cm (14 3/4 x 19 1/2 inches).

• Olla with linked serrated scrolls on a field of fine-line hatching, A.D. 1100-1250. West-central New Mexico, Anasazi; Tularosa Black-on-white. 38.1 x 39.4 cm (15 x 15 1/2 inches).

• Jar with two horned-and-plumed serpents, macaw-head motifs, and birds, A.D. 1280-1450. Casas Grandes; Ramos Polychrome. 22.2 x 22.9 cm (8 3/4 x 9 inches).

• Bowl depicting a legendary hero-hunter wearing a heron headdress and a quiver, with an attendant rabbit hunter, A.D. 950-1150. New Mexico, Mogollon; Classic Mimbres Black-on-white. 13.3 x 26.4 cm (5 1/4 x 10 3/8 inches).

• Ceramic Black-and-White Storage Jar (Olla) with Abstract Geometric Motifs, 1890s, from New Mexico. Notice the symmetrical design.

Navajo Seed Jar (1994)Earthenware, paint. Hopi Reservation• Although Natives never used these pots, both are classified as seed jars because of

their shape, size, and opening. A seed jar was traditionally used to keep special things in such as water or seeds.

Columbian Rock Art Motifs

• Images such as these, carved into the rocks in the areas of the ancient Columbian civilisation in South America, are also known as 'petroglyphs'.