Zulu Figurative Art and Colonial Engagement, 1860–1920

FAIN: FT-265503-19

Theresa Sims
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (Champaign, IL 61801-3620)

Preparation of a book that analyzes the emergence of figural art made by the Zulu people of Southern Africa between 1860 and 1920.

Research and writing leading to the publication of a book-length study of Zulu figurative sculpture from colonial South Africa. The sudden appearance of figural elements in artistic production by the Zulu in the second half of the 19th century was due to the exposure to prints and photographs brought to the people by missionaries, traders, and colonizers. A close analysis of different sculptural forms and their meanings will illuminate the circumstances of their production from an African perspective and attempt to explain why the figural elements are fragmentary in nature, rather than representing a complete body. (Edited by staff)