THE CARVER IN AFRICA - INDIVIDUALLY ACCLAIMED ARTIST OR ANONYMOUS ARTISAN

This paper explores a number of issues raised by William Burton's anno tated photographs of professional artists (or craft specialists) taken at his mission station in Katanga province in the 1930s. It focuses, in particular, on why Burton recorded the names of two carvers, one a chief, the other a court sculptor attached to the Nkulu chieftainship. The questions raised by this decision leads me to consider the relati onship between indigenous consumer attitudes to African artists, and c hanging perceptions of the identity and status of these artists by for eign buyers and art historians since the early 20th century. In the co urse of this discussion I draw attention to the fact that it is only i n context-specific studies of patronage that meaningful attempts have been made to address the ways in which artists themselves have respond ed to the increasingly complex marketplace in which they now work.