what was the significance of the head of a king sculpture for the ife culture

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What is the significance of the bronze head from Ife?

The Bronze Head from Ife, or Ife Head, is one of eighteen copper alloy sculptures that were unearthed in 1938 at Ife in Nigeria, the religious and former royal centre of the Yoruba people. It is believed to represent a king.

What is the significance of the sculptures from Ife?

It was even suggested that these heads were evidence that Ife was the site of the legendary lost civilization of Atlantis as described by the Greek philosopher, Plato. The sculptures from Ife are now rightly seen as one of the highest achievements of African art and culture.

What does the Ile Ife headdress represent?

Its elaborate beaded headdress, possibly representing a crown, suggests that it was associated with an ooni, a ruler of Ife. Other sites have revealed spectacular pieces with royal associations, including the only known complete king figure and an exquisite terracotta head, possibly portraying a queen, both from Ita Yemoo.

How did the IFE head get to the British Museum?

The British Museum's Ife Head was acquired by the editor of the Daily Times of Nigeria, and the bronze sculpture eventually made its way to the National Art Collections Fund, which donated it to the museum in 1939.

What is the importance of the IFE head?

Scholars believe that the Ife heads have a double significance. Firstly, they are portraits of kings and other powerful individuals, who were also considered by the Yoruba to be gods. Secondly, of all parts of the body, the head was particularly important to the Yoruba.

What is the head of an Oba?

The head is an idealized image of an oba, or king, of the Kingdom of Benin (today's Nigeria). Such sculptural images typically represented the preceding ruler and were displayed at a shrine in his honor, serving as powerful symbols of kingship and lineage.

What do Ife sculptures represent?

The human figures portray a wide cross-section of Ife society and include depictions of youth and old age, health and disease, suffering and serenity. According to Yoruba myth, Ife was the center of the creation of the world and all mankind. Ife was home to many sacred groves located in the city's forests.

What is the significance of Ife art?

Between ca. 1200 and 1500, Ife developed into a flourishing artistic center. The discovery of Ife's now famous naturalistic bronzes, terracottas, and stone sculptures challenged European assumptions about the nature of African art and initiated significant debates concerning the antiquity of its past.

What Oba means?

Definition of oba : a ruler of any of several African peoples of western Nigeria —used as a form of address.

Who created the head of an Oba?

The head of an Oba was created by artists within the city and only through the permission of their current Oba (king). No one artist is given credit for its creation , so we only know that this piece comes from the Benin culture , made through lost wax bronzing, and is from the 16th century.

Where is the IFE head?

Osun StateIfe is located in Osun State in modern south-western Nigeria. Ife began to develop as a city-state in the late first millennium, around AD 800 and became a leading political, economic and spiritual centre in the lower Niger region.

What are kings in Ife called?

Specifically at Ife, the first divine ruler was Oni, whose name means 'king'. The brass heads of Ife may represent rulers, gods, revered ancestors or have been used for some religious purpose.

Where is the Olokun head?

The original of the Olokun Head has been assumed to be lost since 1948; the modern replica is currently on display in London until 6 June.

What is the full meaning of Ife?

What Is the International Fisher Effect? The International Fisher Effect (IFE) is an economic theory stating that the expected disparity between the exchange rate of two currencies is approximately equal to the difference between their countries' nominal interest rates.

What does the name Ife mean?

loveThe name Ife is girl's name of African, Yoruba origin meaning "love".

What is the full name of Ife?

Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja IIThe present ruler since 2015 is Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife who is also a Nigerian accountant. Named as the city of 401 deities, Ife is home to many worshippers of these deities and is where they are routinely celebrated through festivals....IfẹIlé-Ifẹ̀ Ifè OòyèClimateAw15 more rows

What was the purpose of Head of an Oba?

These sculptural heads were a consistent visual point of reference from ruler to ruler, reinforcing the idea of familial succession across a single dynasty. The oba is often called by his praise name “Great Head,” emphasizing the head of the living leader as the center of responsibility for the kingdom.

Where is the head of an Oba from?

the kingdom of BeninHead of an Oba 19th century The leaders of the kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria trace their origins to a ruling dynasty that began in the fourteenth century. The title of "oba," or king, is passed on to the firstborn son of each successive king of Benin at the time of his death.

Where is the head of an Oba located?

Commemorative heads such as this one were commissioned by an incoming oba to honor his departed predecessor, and were placed on ancestral altars in the royal palace. The oba's high status is indicated by his cap of coral beads and the single cowrie shell placed on the middle of his forehead.

What is Benin bronze head?

The 'Benin Bronzes' (made of brass and bronze) are a group of sculptures which include elaborately decorated cast plaques, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, items of royal regalia, and personal ornaments.

What is the art of Ife?

Sculpture. The artists of Ife developed a refined and highly naturalistic sculptural tradition in stone, terracotta, brass and copper and created a style unlike anything in Africa at the time. The technical sophistication of the casting process is matched by the artworks’ enduring beauty.

What is the significance of Ife?

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 centre of trade connected to extensive local and long-distance trade networks which enabled the region to prosper .

What is the meaning of "ife" in Yoruba mythology?

According to Yoruba myth, Ife was the center of the creation of the world and all mankind. Ife was home to many sacred groves located in the city’s forests. Two groves in particular have revealed numerous sculptures: the Ore Grove with its stone monoliths, human and animal figures and the Iwinrin Grove which is associated with terra-cotta heads and fragments from life-size figures.

Where is the Kingdom of Ife?

Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa. 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.

Is Ife still in use?

Ife today. Today Ife remains a major spiritual and religious centre for the Yoruba people. Some of its shrines and groves are still in use and rituals to key gods are performed regularly. Works of art from Ife have become iconic symbols of regional and national unity, and of pan-African identity.

Who took the Ife head?

This particular Ife Head was taken from Nigeria by the editor of the Daily Times of Nigeria, H. Maclear Bate, who probably sold it to the National Art Collections Fund, which then passed it onto the British Museum in 1939. The discovery of the sculptures was the spur for the government to control the export of antiquities from Nigeria.

Where is the bronze head from Ife?

Af1939,34.1. The Bronze Head from Ife, or Ife Head, is one of eighteen copper alloy sculptures that were unearthed in 1938 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.E..

How tall is the Yoruba mask?

Yoruba copper mask for King Obalufon II; circa 1300 CE; copper; height: 29.2 cm; discovered at Ife; Ife Museum of Antiquities ( Ife, Nigeria) Main article: Ifẹ. The Ife head is thought to be a portrait of a ruler known as an Ooni or Oni.

What was the symbol for the All-Africa Games in 1973?

The Ife Head was the symbol for the 1973 All-Africa Games in Lagos.

What is the ife tradition?

The Ife sculptural tradition is one of several West African artistic traditions, including the Bura of Niger (3rd century CE – 10th century CE), Koma of Ghana (7th century CE – 15th century CE), Igbo-Ukwu of Nigeria (9th century CE – 10th century CE), and Jenne-Jeno of Mali (11th century CE – 12th century CE), that may have been shaped by the earlier West African clay terracotta tradition of the Nok culture of central Nigeria.

Where was the Ife head found?

The Ife Head was found by accident in 1938 at the Wunmonije Compound, Ife, during house-building works amongst sixteen other brass and copper heads and the upper half of a brass figure.

What is a bronze made of?

Description. 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 ".

What is the significance of the sculptures from Ife?

The sculptures from Ife are now rightly seen as one of the highest achievements of African art and culture.

Where were the Ife heads made?

The location was in Wunmonije Compound in the city of Ife, in what is now south-western Nigeria.

How high is the brass head of a ruler?

Ife head: Brass head of a ruler, 1300–1450, brass, made in Ife, 35 cm high (© Trustees of the British Museum) The finds from Wunmonije Compound were published in 1938–9 and created a sensation in the western world. It was initially assumed that these beautiful sculptures could not have been made in Africa by African artists.

When did Ife become a city?

Ife began to develop as a city-state in the late first millennium (around C.E. 800). It became a leading political, economic and spiritual center in the lower Niger region. Between 1100 C.E. and 1400 C.E. it flourished as a commercial centre with access to the lucrative trade networks along the Niger River.

Where was the brass head found?

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.

Where is the art of Ife?

Ife. The art of Ife, which flourished from the twelfth to the fifteenth century in southwestern Nigeria, in the area occupied by the Yoruba people, is unique in Africa in representing human beings with extraordinary naturalism.

What is the subject matter of ife art?

The subject matter of most Ife art is centered around royal figures and their attendants, reflecting the political structure of a city-state ruled over by a divine king, the Oni of Ife.

Where is the Kahn Building?

Kahn Building, South Gallery. The art of Ife, which flourished from the twelfth to the fifteenth century in southwestern Nigeria, in the area occupied by the Yoruba people, is unique in Africa in representing human beings with extraordinary naturalism.

Why are the heads of the kings of Ife important?

These heads represented the social aspect of the Kingdom of Ife due to the ideology of a social heirarchy that was implemented among the people. It was a part of politics and religion for the Nok culture to make a practice of constant scultping out of respect and commemoration for their rulers. Due to the trans-Saharan trade along the Niger River, commodities that were used to make the actual crown that sat on the head on the real king, such as the beads, provided the significance of the Mediterranean trade in a sense of these are the items they need, they will get them no matter what the cost. The Kingdom of Ife in Nigeria was rich in gold as well which served as a great assett for the gold trade along the Niger River which most rulers of Ife sought to control.

What does the Ife head represent?

The Ife head probably represents an Ooni which means "king". Such sculptures such as this was very unqiue to the culture of African art. Seventeen of these life-like heads were accidentally found in the Wunmonije Compound in Southwestern Nigeria by several archaeologists during the time of more housing construction in that area.

How were the ife heads made?

The Ife heads were made from a technique called lost-wax. What that means is that the the casting consisted of making a wax model with a core from some other substance enclosing the model in a mould, melting away the way, and pouring molten metal or glass into the void, then allowing the material to harden, and finally polishing the finished prodecut to give it that smooth finish [See, The British Museum]. The face here is enlongated with striations around the mouth, earlobes, and neck of the sculpture. In addition, a more interesting naturalistic feature is the ridges around the front of the neck to represent skin creases [The British Museum]. However, the most complex construction of the scultpure was the crown. The crown consisted of three main layers. The lower layer was the basuc foundation of the crown. The central layer was designed with tubular, rectangular figures to represent the inclusion of beads into an actual crown that the Ooni may have actually been wearing. The top layer, which is the most distinctive, is the long tubular, beaded structure which the big tassel sitting at the top of the tube. On the central layer of the crown, there is a conical round crest-like figure with seven coencentric rings that represented the use of more beads into the crown [See, The British Museum]. The sculpture was indeed painted. When the heads were found in the Wunmonije Coumpound, there were traces of black paint and furthermore, there were rossettes that outlined the sides and bottom of the crown which were painted red [See, The British Museum]. These human heads were designed with great style and vigour necessitating distortion of shapes and proportions [See, Willett 1967, p.30].

What is the central layer of the Ooni crown?

The central layer was designed with tubular, rectangular figures to represent the inclusion of beads into an actual crown that the Ooni may have actually been wearing. The top layer, which is the most distinctive, is the long tubular, beaded structure which the big tassel sitting at the top of the tube.

When did the kingdom of Ife emerge?

The kingdom of Ife first emerged around 800 CE [See, Ardouin 2010, curator, British Museum]. The civilization of these Yoruba peoples probably lived in a tin-mining village of Nok, in the Zaria Province of northern Virginia [See, Willett 1967, p.30].

How many burials did the Yoruba have?

In the Yoruba culture, there were two burials for people who passed on from the civilization; and for people of important stature and even more special burial which included great offerings [See, Willett 1967, p.78].

When were the Ife heads brought back to Europe?

The heads were brought back to Europe in 1911 by whom was believed to be W.R. Bascom who was said to have taken two or three Ife heads without telling the Ooni at that time and later, when he returned the heads in 1950, he issued a letter clarifying why he chose to return them [Ottenberg 1994, p.561-3].

What is the British Museum's Ife head?

The British Museum’s Ife Head was included in the 2010 major exhibition, “Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa”, which was developed in partnership with Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the Museum for African Art, New York and the British Museum.

Who made the Ife head?

One of the heads, known as ‘The Ife Head’, is believed to be a portrait of a king or ‘Ooni’. It was made under the rule of King Obalufon II whose famous naturalistic life-sized copper face mask shares stylistic features with this work. Today among the Yoruba people, Obalufon is known as the patron deity of brass casters.

Where are the bronze heads of Ife?

Although still widely referred to as the “bronze heads of Ife”, they are actually cast in brass and sometimes pure copper, which is technically much more difficult to achieve. Eighteen of them were unearthed at the Wunmonije Compound in Ife in 1939, by the British.

When was Ife founded?

They are, however, believed to have been made between the 12th and the 15th century. During this time, Ife flourished as the powerful, cosmopolitan and influential centre of trade in West Africa, as it was connected to extensive local and long-distance trade networks around the region.

Where is Ile Ife?

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.

What is the Ori Olokun head?

The Ori Olokun Head. Though long-lived, the Ife heads are revered and appreciated as universal symbols of African heritage. In 1973, the “Ori Olokun” head was chosen as the logo for the All-Africa Games held in Lagos.

Overview

Description

Excavation & Removal

Ife

Impact on art history

Influence on contemporary culture

See also