Through the last half century, the techniques used by certain histori

Through the last half century, the techniques used
by certain historians of African art for judging the
precise tribal origins of African sculptures on the
basis of style have been greatly refined. However, as
(5) one recent critic of the historians’ classificatory
assumptions has put it, the idea that the distribution
of a particular style is necessarily limited to the area
populated by one tribe may be “a dreadful
oversimplification . . . a decided falsification of the
(10) very life of art in Africa.”

Objects and styles have often been diffused
through trade, most notably by workshops of artists
who sell their work over a large geographical area.
Styles cannot be narrowly defined as belonging
(15) uniquely to a particular area; rather, there are
important “centers of style” throughout Africa where
families, clans, and workshops produce sculpture and
other art that is dispersed over a large, multitribal
geographical area. Thus, a family of artists belonging
(20) to a single ethnic group may produce sculpture on
commission for several neighboring tribes. While this
practice contributes to a marked uniformity of styles
across a large area, the commissioned works must
nevertheless be done to some extent in the style of
(25) the tribe commissioning the work. This leads to much
confusion on the part of those art historians who
attempt to assign particular objects to individual
groups on the basis of style.

One such center of style is located in the village
(30) of Ouri, in central Burkina Faso, where members of
the Konaté family continue a long tradition of
sculpture production not only for five major
neighboring ethnic groups, but in recent times also
for the tourist trade in Ouagadougou. The Konaté
(35) sculptors are able to distinguish the characteristics of
the five styles in which they carve, and will point to
the foliate patterns that radiate from the eyes of a
Nuna ask, or the diamond-shaped mouth of many
Ko masks, as characteristics of a particular tribal style
(40) that must be included to satisfy their clients.
Nevertheless, their work is consistent in its
proportions, composition, color, and technique. In
fact, although the Konaté sculptors can identify the
styles they carve, the characteristic patterns are so
(45) subtly different that few people outside of the area
can distinguish Nuna masks from Ko masks.

Perhaps historians of African art should ask if
objects in similar styles were produced in centers of
style, where artists belonging to one ethnic group
(50) produced art for all of their neighbors. Perhaps it is
even more important to cease attempting to break
down large regional styles into finer and finer tribal
styles and substyles, and to recognize that artists in
Africa often do not produce work only in their own
(55) narrowly defined ethnic contexts. As the case of the
Konaté sculptors makes clear, one cannot readily tell
which group produced an object by analyzing fine
style characteristics.

1. Which one of the following titles most completely and accurately describes the contents of the passage?

(A) African Centers of Style: Their Implications for Art Historians’ Classifications of African Art
(B) African Art Redefined: The Impact of the Commercialization of Sculpture and the Tourist Demand on Style
(C) Characteristics of African Sculpture: Proportion, Composition, Color, and Technique
(D) Style Versus Technique: The Case Against Historians of African Art
(E) Konaté Sculptors: Pioneers of the African Art Trade


2. Based on the passage, the art historians mentioned in line 2 would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) Understanding the nature of centers of style is a key to better classification of African art.
(B) Similarities among African masks can be due to standard techniques used in carving the eyes and mouths of the masks.
(C) Some subtly distinguished substyles should not be distinguished from large regional styles.
(D) It is a fairly recent practice for African mask sculptors to produce masks for tribes of which they are not members.
(E) The tribal origin of African sculptures is important to their classification.


3. According to the passage, which one of the following is a feature that Konaté sculptors can identify as a requirement of a particular tribal style?

(A) horizontal incisions
(B) eye position
(C) top attachments
(D) bottom decorations
(E) mouth shape


4. The author’s primary purpose in the passage is to

(A) classify a set of artistic styles according to a newly proposed set of principles
(B) provide evidence that the elements of a particular group of artistic works have been misclassified
(C) explain the principles used by a group of historians to classify certain kinds of artistic works
(D) reveal the underlying assumptions of a traditional approach to the classification of certain kinds of artistic works
(E) argue that a particular approach to classifying certain kinds of artistic works is mistaken


5. The passage provides the most support for which one of the following inferences?

(A) Some of the sculptures that the Konaté family produces are practically indistinguishable from those produced by certain other sculptors far from Burkina Faso.
(B) The carving styles used by some members of the Konaté family are distinctly different from those used by other members.
(C) Other families of sculptors in Burkina Faso collaborate with the Konaté family in producing masks.
(D) The Konaté family produces masks for some African ethnic groups other than the Nuna and Ko groups.
(E) The village of Ouri where the Konaté family produces sculptures is the oldest center of style in Burkina Faso.


6. Which one of the following does the author attribute to the Konaté sculptors?

(A) use of nontraditional materials in sculptures
(B) production of sculptures in several distinct styles that are nevertheless very similar to one another
(C) stylistic innovations that have influenced the work of other sculptors in a large geographical area
(D) adoption of a carving style that was previously used only by members of a different tribe
(E) introduction of the practice of producing sculptures for neighboring groups


7. Which one of the following most accurately expresses what the author means by “centers of style” (line 16)?

(A) geographical areas in which masks and similar sculptures are for the most part interchangeable among a number of closely connected tribes who use them
(B) locations in which works of art are produced by sculptors using a particular style who then instruct other artists throughout large surrounding geographical areas
(C) locations in which stylistically consistent but subtly varied works of art are produced and distributed to ethnically varied surrounding areas
(D) large geographical areas throughout which the various tribes produce works of art that differ subtly along ethnic lines but are so similar that they are very difficult for outside observers to distinguish from one another
(E) locations in which sculptures and similar works of art are traditionally produced by a diverse community of artists who migrate in from various tribes of surrounding areas