Africa's history is rich with different types of art. They used mostly sculpture, painting, pottery, rock art, textiles, masks, personal decoration, and jewelry. During my research on Britannica.com, they say that it is hard to give just a simple summary of the main characteristics of sub-Saharan African art because there is such a wide variety of details that changed between tribes and regions. Some of their art has value as entertainment while some has political or ideological significance. Others are made for instrumental purposes in a ritual context and other works have aesthetic value. Often times, we find that their art work fits into the category of several of those characteristics.
When you go West, that is when you would find art work such as masks, and very little of anything else. In this region, things like textiles and pottery were viewed as craft work rather than art work. People in Africa did not do much painting to any significant extent, mostly becasue it was found on the skins of human bodies, the walls of houses, and on rock faces. None of those items were collectible, so that is why they did not pursue that form of art.
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