Ile ife bronze head

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Nearly a thousand years ago, Ife artisans sculpted bronze and terra-cotta heads, whose realism and beauty would astound the first Europeans to see them in the s. The Yoruba people of Nigeria believe Ife to be a sacred city founded by the gods and the birthplace of humanity. Lying miles northeast of the Nigerian city Lagos , Ife was where archaeologists uncovered a series of sculptures that revealed a rich yet overlooked history of Yoruba culture to the world. While some were made of metal and others of terra-cotta, the heads of Ife share a highly symmetrical style. Some faces are adorned with lines and designs, and elaborate hair styles top their heads.

Ile ife bronze head

There it was that the gods Oduduwa and Obatala descended from the heaven to create earth and its inhabitants. Oduduwa himself became the first ruler, oni , of Ile-Ife. To this day Yoruba kings trace ancestry to Oduduwa. Of all the centers of African art, there is none so remarkable for extraordinary accomplishments in many fields of art as the ancient town of Ife, the ritual center of the great Yoruba tribe of western Nigeria. Ife gave its name to this art. Ife art includes terra-cotta and bronze heads and busts, stone sculpture, stools and religious pieces carved in quartz, monumental granite monoliths, statues of humans and animals. Both the terra-cotta and bronze pieces belong to a series that has been interpreted by some specialists as idealized portraits. Learn more Join our mailing list and be first to receive exclusive "recent acquisitions" mailings and discounts. We promise to only send you good things. Ife Bronze Head ArtTribal. We feature over authentic African tribal masks, sculptures, and bronzes for sale. Our products are unique, hand picked, museum quality pieces. African art at wholesale prices. Absolutely no reproductions!

The period in which the work was made was an age of prosperity for the Yoruba civilisation, which was built on trade via the River Niger to the peoples of West Africa. Most of the terrain is either forest, woodland savannah, rich farmland or coastal swamps and lagoons. The metal is then poured inside and left to cool and hardened, ile ife bronze head.

Skip to main content Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience. Museum number Af, Title Object: The Ife Head. Description Brass heavily leaded zinc-brass head cast using the lost wax cire perdue technique. The head is a little under life size and is made in a naturalistic style.

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. Search for courses, skills, and videos. By The British Museum. Left: Male figure, probably one of the King's servants, 12th—14th century, terracotta, Ife pronounced ee-feh is today regarded as the spiritual heartland of the Yoruba people living in Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, and their many descendants around the world. It is rightly regarded as the birthplace of some of the highest achievements of African art and culture, combining technical accomplishment with strong aesthetic appeal. From the 12th to the 15th centuries, Ife flourished as a powerful, cosmopolitan, and wealthy city-state in West Africa , in what is now modern Nigeria. It was an influential center of trade connected to extensive local and long-distance trade networks which enabled the region to prosper.

Ile ife bronze head

The Bronze Head from Ife , or Ife Head , [2] is one of eighteen copper alloy sculptures that were unearthed in at Ife in Nigeria , the religious and former royal centre of the Yoruba people. It is believed to represent a king. It was probably made in the fourteenth-fifteenth century C. The naturalistic features of the Ife heads are unique [3] [1] and the stylistic similarities of these works "suggest that they were made by an individual artist or in a single workshop. Like most West African " bronzes " the piece is actually made of copper alloyed with other metals, described by the British Museum as "heavily leaded zinc-brass". Modern practice in museums and archaeology is increasingly to avoid terms such as bronze or brass for historical objects in favour of the all-embracing " copper alloy ". The artist designed the head in a very naturalistic style. The face is covered with incised striations, but the lips are unmarked.

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Subjects ruler. There is widespread use of the Ife Head in logos and branding of Nigerian corporations and educational institutions such as Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. Retrieved 18 December He asked to see it and was escorted to a sacred palm grove, where the object lay ritually buried. Attempts to prevent further exports, prompted by Leo Frobenius , were successfully promulgated in , when legislation was enacted by the colonial authorities. The finds from Wunmonije Compound were published in —9 and created a sensation in the western world. The face is slightly elongated and has vertical incised markings striations. Two lines of holes run between the lobes of the ears, one going through the angle of the neck and the jaw, the second crossing the jaw below the lower lip. The lips are not striated. It could be your neck.

Ile-Ife is believed to be the spiritual birthplace of the Yoruba people living in Nigeria, the Republic of Benin and the many Yoruba descendants around the world. It is the origin of some of the highest achievements of African art and culture, combining technical accomplishment with strong aesthetic appeal.

Between C. Yorubaland covers the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin. These hollowed pieces can then be united to create larger figures or vessels. Curator's comments This free-standing brass head cast in the lost wax technique was discovered in at Wunmonije Compound in Ife, Nigeria. The almond-shaped eyes are small in proportion to the head and the eyebrow-ridge is sharply defined. The Sacred Grove Born to a middle-class family in Berlin in , then the capital of the new German Empire, Frobenius spent his childhood and youth reading the chronicles of 19th-century explorers, which awakened his fascination for the African continent. Ife began to develop as a city-state in the late first millennium around C. Scholars believe the area was probably inhabited earlier by peoples of the Nok culture. The art of Ife has produced a large corpus of sculptural works in terracotta, stone, brass and copper which were found at different sites in the city. ISBN While some were made of metal and others of terra-cotta, the heads of Ife share a highly symmetrical style. Pieces like these are believed to have been created by the Yoruba since the 9th or 10th century. Animals Single orca seen killing great white shark for first time ever. We feature over authentic African tribal masks, sculptures, and bronzes for sale. Animals Bird flu is spreading from pole to pole.