What are some good african art pieces that can be replicated with clay--in two weeks? Thanks?

Answer 1

If you are a better painter than a sculptor I have seen some stunning replicas of san (bushmen) paintings done as glaze on tiles. You would have to make your tiles and then paint on the san (bushmen) figures. If you want wall hangings then have irregulary shaped tiles (like slabs of rock) with the bushmen paintings on them. Too thick rock slabs and tiles will slow down the drying process.

If you are looking for something more three dimensional I would suggest replicas of the Zimbabwe birds - Clay scupltures with green glaze.

The wooden african masks would also be quite easy to replicate.

The Lydenburg heads and some of the Benin sculptures were made out of clay. These were built up of coils, shaped with tools, and then baked unglazed.

Remember that Egypt is part of africa so clay copies of the grave goods found in the tombs are perfectly acceptable


Most African pots are pretty boring. The Ndebele are the only ones that use colour. Normally pots are built up out of coils, rubbed for a burnished finish, and then geometric patterns are incised into the pot. The colours come from the wood firing method used.

I hope you have access to a drying oven before firing otherwise you might not make your two week deadline. Good luck

Answer 2

I have had some luck replicating African tribal masks. I actually did a couple of tribal masks in college and they turned out great.

Answer 3

How about a scale model of sub-Saharan clay house.