
Ife Bronze (Ori Olokun)
The Ife Bronze head also known as Ori Olokun is a head cast in copper alloy that depicts an ancient Ooni (king), which was probably made around 1400, by an unknown sculptor. It is one of eighteen copper alloy sculptures that were unearthed in 1938 at a construction site in Ile Ife, the spiritual headquarters of the Yoruba people in South-West Nigeria.
What is known is that it epitomizes the medieval civilization of West Africa and is probably one of the most sophisticated in its days.
The sculptor of Ife heads has forced the West to have a rethink of the place of African arts in the history of the world and the way Africans read their narratives.
The artistโs naturalistic style, using the lost wax technique is very expressive. A little less than life-size copper alloy, and the shape of the face is elegant, oval, covered with fine vertical lines, and perfectly symmetrical incised striations, but the lips are not marked. It wears a crown, a high beaded diadem, topped by a crest with a rosette and a striking vertical plume at the top, which is now slightly bent.
This is an object with royalty in mind and of an extraordinary person. The alertness, high cheeks, and parted lips were all imbued with a high serenity of power.

This particular Ife head was taken from Nigeria by the editor of Daily Times Nigeria, H Maclear Bate, who probably sold it to the National Arts Collection Fund and later passed it on to the British Museum in 1939.
This art piece is adopted as part of the University of Ife logo; part of Oodua Investment Company logo and was chosen as the logo for the 2nd All-Africa Games held in Lagos in 1973.
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