African Motil Candle Lamp Bejeweled

African Motil Candle Lamp Bejeweled

Candles of Africa

The flickering flame of a tealight theatrically illuminates this intriguing lamp's tribal African design: dazzling acrylic crystal drops capture the amber glow.

Black metal stand with pigskin leather shade. uses tealights. 9 inches x 9 inches by 17 inches high.

By one of the strange coincidences of history, the 5th century BC produces the first masterpieces in two incompatible styles of sculpture. Nearly 2500 years later, these styles become bitter rivals in the studios of our own time.

One is the classical realism which will prevail from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. The other is the sculpture of Africa, distorting human features and limbs in a dramatically expressive manner. African masks in this long and vibrant tradition inspire Picasso's experiments with Cubism, which launch the mainstream of modern art.

The characteristic sculpture of Africa, which forms the largest part of what is usually considered primitive art, can be seen as early as 500 BC in the Nok culture - named from the village in Nigeria where pottery figures of this kind were first found.

The Nok statuettes are mainly of human subjects. Made of terracotta, they combine strong formal elements with a complete disregard for precise anatomy. Their expressive quality places them unmistakably at the start of the African sculptural tradition.