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Feb 26, 2010 · Figure of a king, Ita Yemoo, a copper alloy sculpture dating from the late 13th to the early 15th centuries. Photograph: Karin L Wills/Museum for African Art/National Commission for Museums...
Dec 6, 2023 · 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. Ife today. Today Ife remains a major spiritual and religious centre for the Yoruba people.
- Overview
- Sculpture
- Ife today
By The British Museum
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.
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. 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 centre 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 and human and animal figures, and the Iwinrin Grove, which is associated with terracotta heads and fragments from life-size figures.
The identification and function of this head, in common with the others discovered at this site, remain uncertain. 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.
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. Since independence in 1960 enthusiasm for copies or reproductions of heritage items with nostalgic associations has increased. The Ori Olokun head was chosen as the logo for the All-Africa Games held in Lagos in 1973 and has been adopted as the logo of numerous commercial, educational and financial institutions. Such images have become universal symbols of African heritage.
© Trustees of the British Museum
Additional resources
Suzanne Preston Blier, "Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba," African Arts 45 no. 4: pp. 70–85.
Jun 27, 2018 · 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...
Mar 26, 2019 · Ife (aka Ile-Ife) was an ancient African city which flourished between the 11th and 15th century CE in what is today Nigeria in West Africa. Ife was the capital and principal religious centre of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife, which prospered thanks to trade connections with other West African kingdoms. Ife is particularly famous today for the ...
- Mark Cartwright
Feb 12, 2011 · February 12, 2011 – March 22, 2011. Figure of a King | Ita Yemoo, Ife. About This Exhibition. Admission. Related News. This major exhibition will feature some of the most important examples of brass, copper, stone and terracotta sculpture from West Africa ever to be exhibited in the United States.
Other sites have revealed spectacular pieces with royal associations, including the only known complete king figure and an exquisite terra-cotta head, possibly portraying a queen both from Ita Yemoo. Ife today
