Ile ife bronze head

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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. In January workmen were clearing away topsoil for house foundations they struck metal and found a group of sculptures in the form of human heads cast in metal. The location was in Wunmonije Compound in the city of Ife , in what is now south-western Nigeria. This accidental find led to the eventual discovery of seventeen heads in brass and copper and the broken top half of a king figure. This magnificent brass head was one of those discovered in Wunmonije Compound.

Ile ife bronze head

This bronze statue, known as an Ife head, was created in the style of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The Yoruba are well known for their life-like sculptures. This piece measures 21 inches tall and weighs There is some corrosion, imperfections and wear and tear throughout — please inspect photos. The Yoruba are the largest cultural group on the African continent, with nearly 40 million people. Most of the terrain is either forest, woodland savannah, rich farmland or coastal swamps and lagoons. History The origin of the Yoruba people in Nigeria is heavily debated. Some believe they came from the east in Mecca, some say from the north in Egypt. Scholars believe the area was probably inhabited earlier by peoples of the Nok culture. Yorubaland covers the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin. Before then, the Yoruba people were known by many names depending on who was acknowledging them. Read more about the Yoruba here.

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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. All convey a dignified and imposing majesty. The importance of the human head in the Yoruba cosmology was unknown to the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius , who first saw one of these artworks in

Ile-Ife, also known as Ife, Ife-Lodun, or the Kingdom of Ife, is world famous for its clay ceramic, or terracotta heads, and copper-alloy and bronze ornaments. But few people know of the history of the kingdom itself. Ile-Ife, the ancient Yoruba city, which lies in present-day Osun state, southwestern Nigeria, is considered one of the largest and oldest towns of the Yoruba Kingdom. For the Yoruba, the holy city, founded around B. Although historians argue that the city was first established when an early Yoruba leader, Oduduwa and his army invaded the city and pushed its early Igbo inhabitants to the east, the Yoruba say the city was created where the gods first came to earth. The city is as such, aptly called, Ile Ife, the place of dispersion.

Ile ife bronze head

In January workmen were clearing away topsoil for house foundations they struck metal and found a group of sculptures in the form of human heads cast in metal. The location was in Wunmonije Compound in the city of Ife , in what is now south-western Nigeria. This accidental find led to the eventual discovery of seventeen heads in brass and copper and the broken top half of a king figure. This magnificent brass head was one of those discovered in Wunmonije Compound. The identification and function of the head, and the others discovered at this site, remain uncertain. It clearly portrays a person of status and authority, possibly a king ooni of Ife. The elaborate beaded headdress with feathered fringe was originally painted in red and black. Traces of the pigment remain today. The finds from Wunmonije Compound were published in —9 and created a sensation in the western world.

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Bronze Head from Ife. One of the ways to achieve the hollowed result is creating the wax sculptures over a formed clay core. Attempting to explain what was thought an anomaly, Frobenius offered his theory that these had been cast by a colony of ancient Greeks established in the thirteenth century BC. The bottom and sides have a row of red-painted rosettes. Photography How to photograph a total solar eclipse. This life-like modelling is unique in Africa and when objects from Ife were first presented to the western world they were compared with the classical traditions of Ancient Greece and Rome. January 30, To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. 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. Some faces are adorned with lines and designs, and elaborate hair styles top their heads. Even today, its ruler is thought of as the descendant of the original creator gods. This piece is a representation of the original Ife Head that was unearthed in in Ile Ife. 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 ".

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. One of its most popular art are its life-sized metal head sculptures.

A plaitwork element rises behind the roundel, it terminates in a pointed ovoid tip; both elements bear traces of black paint. Environment How animals are adapting to the rise of wildfires. There is some corrosion, imperfections and wear and tear throughout — please inspect photos. Today the Yoruba still make up one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. Between and it flourished as a commercial centre with access to the lucrative trade networks along the Niger River. Ife began to develop as a city-state in the late first millennium around C. It clearly portrays a person of status and authority, possibly a king ooni of Ife. Ife is located in Osun State in modern south-western Nigeria. 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". The importance of the human head in the Yoruba cosmology was unknown to the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius , who first saw one of these artworks in Bronze Ooni Head, 12thth Century.