Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum

#ImagineAfrica forusbyme: Africa in the sky

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:29:32 -0400

#ImagineAfrica

forusbyme:

Africa in the sky

Photo

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:57:05 -0400

dynamicafrica: More influential Africans on the cover of TIME...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:29:45 -0500

dynamicafrica:

More influential Africans on the cover of TIME Magazine.

Egypt’s Anwar Sadat was featured numerous times on the cover of the magazine throughout the 70s and even made the ‘Man of the Year’ title in January 1978.

State Senator Anthony H. Williams, 8th District (left) with Lady...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:32:33 -0500

State Senator Anthony H. Williams, 8th District (left) with Lady B, 100.3 WRNB on air radio personality, at Imagine Africa Free Community Day at the Penn Museum on Saturday, February 18

Ali Mwarabu (by Mapolulu)

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:42:23 -0500

Ali Mwarabu (by Mapolulu)

Wishful Thinking (by Mapolulu)

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:37:10 -0500

Wishful Thinking (by Mapolulu)

#ImagineAfrica Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla (HD Version)...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:32:43 -0500

#ImagineAfrica

Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla (HD Version) (by aleutiandream)

#ImagineAfrica: Wynton teaching “the Second Line” at...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:25:39 -0500

#ImagineAfrica: Wynton teaching “the Second Line” at Teboho Trust School - South Africa (by wyntonmarsalis)

Africa Unite! Happy Birthday to Bob Marley

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:41:49 -0500

Africa Unite! Happy Birthday to Bob Marley

“Black Gold” Esperanza Spalding ft. Algebra Blessett...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:07:14 -0500

“Black Gold” Esperanza Spalding ft. Algebra Blessett (by RAMusical)

Angelo Soliman (ca.1721-1796) A man of remarkable...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:10:47 -0500

Angelo Soliman (ca.1721-1796)

A man of remarkable intelligence, intelligence that won his freedom:

He spoke six languages fluently and could write three of them fluently as well.

He was also a master swordsman, war hero, chess specialist, navigation expert, concert composer, and a tutor to royalty.

He was may have been the subject of Mozart’s popular opera The Magic Flute.

Soliman is considered one of the most learned people of his generation.

Angelo Soliman born in Africa in 1720/21 either to the Wandala or Mandara, a Muslim ethnic group in the Mandara Hills of Northern Cameroon but also in Bornu State Nigeria. His original name, Mmadi Make, is linked to a princely class in the Sokoto State in modern Nigeria. Around the age of 7 He was taken captive as a child and arrived in Marseilles as a slave, eventually transferring to the household of a marchioness in Messina who oversaw his education. Out of affection for another servant in the household, Angelina, he adopted the name Angelo and chose to celebrate September 11, his baptismal day, as his birthday. After repeated requests, he was given as a gift in 1734 to Prince Georg Christian, Fürst von Lobkowitz, the imperial governor of Sicily. He became the Prince’s valet and traveling companion, accompanying him on military campaigns throughout Europe and reportedly saving his life on one occasion, a pivotal event responsible for his social ascension. After the death of Prince Lobkowitz, Soliman was taken into the Vienna household of Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, eventually rising to chief servant. Later, he became royal tutor of the heir to the Prince, Aloys I.

A cultured man, Soliman was highly respected in the intellectual circles of Vienna and counted as a valued friend by Austrian Emperor Joseph II and Count Franz Moritz von Lacy. In 1783, he joined the Masonic lodge “True Harmony”, whose membership included many of Vienna’s influential artists and scholars of the time, among them the musicians Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Josef Haydn as well the Hungarian poet Ferenc Kazinczy. Lodge records indicate that Soliman and Mozart met on several occasions. It is likely that the character Bassa Selim in Mozart’s opera The Abduction from the Seraglio was based on Soliman. Eventually becoming the Grand Master of that lodge, Soliman helped change its ritual to include scholarly elements. This new Masonic direction rapidly influenced Freemasonic practice throughout Europe.

Remains dishonored in death

While Angelo was cultured and dressed in the latest European fashions in life, death was not so kind to him. Emperor Francis II, who came to power in 1792, had Angelo skinned upon his death in 1796 when he died of a stroke strolling the streets of Vienna. His body was taken to an anatomical theater where he was skinned and his skeleton was removed. His internal organs were then interred. His skin was given to the sculptor Franz Thaller who stretched it over a wooden model and then added stuffing to fill it out. The Emperor dressed the skin in what he thought was African garb and kept him in his wonder cabinet, a curio room. Eventually, Soliman was added to a display on Africa with a little girl, some animals, and an ex-zoo keeper who was also African. The display was destroyed in 1848 when a bomb being used to quell rioters hit the building where the display was stored and the display, thankfully, burned.

A more detailed biography can be found here.

Djibouti Windows by Fispace (via dynamicafrica)

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:48:38 -0500

Djibouti Windows by Fispace (via dynamicafrica)

Robin Kelley, AFRICA SPEAKS, AMERICA ANSWERS (by harvardupress)...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:45:06 -0500

Robin Kelley, AFRICA SPEAKS, AMERICA ANSWERS (by harvardupress) #ImagineAfrica

Africa Speaks, America Answers by Robin D.G. Kelley « The...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:36:47 -0500

Africa Speaks, America Answers by Robin D.G. Kelley « The Sophisticated Audiophile

nigeriancoverproject: African Scream Contest: Raw &...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:27:09 -0500

nigeriancoverproject:

African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds from Benin & Togo 70s

Glass Bead (by Penn Museum)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:14:11 -0500

Glass Bead (by Penn Museum)

Benghozi - Ihmhi Street (LOC) (by The Library of Congress)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:13:10 -0500

Benghozi - Ihmhi Street (LOC) (by The Library of Congress)

From the Archives: South Africa (by pennmuseum) #ImagineAfrica

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:02:05 -0500

From the Archives: South Africa (by pennmuseum) #ImagineAfrica

Prince Aho of Dahomey #ImagineAfrica

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:30:53 -0500

Prince Aho of Dahomey #ImagineAfrica

Ghana (via streetetiquette)

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:26:15 -0500

Ghana (via streetetiquette)