Category: Arts and History

Arts and History

ARTS OF BENIN KINGDOM ( part two)

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Benin Kingdom artist Leopards Bronze L. 69 cm (27 3/16”) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 52.13.1, 52.13.2 Photo by Dirk Bakker This pair of leopards, probably from the sixteenth-century, are actually water vessels (aquamanile), which are used for making ritual ablutions by pouring the water out through the nostrils. Such cast leopards were kept on the royal ancestral … Continue reading ARTS OF BENIN KINGDOM ( part two)

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Arts and History

ARTS OF BENIN KINGDOM (part one)

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Benin Kingdom artist Head Clay H. 21 cm (8 ¼”) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 60.3.2 Photo by Dirk Bakker Benin art became well-known to the West in 1897, after the British Punitive Expedition sacked the city of Benin and brought thousands of objects back to Europe as war booty. The origins of the kingdom probably go back … Continue reading ARTS OF BENIN KINGDOM (part one)

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Arts and History

IFE Arts part five

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Yoruba (Ife) artist Obalufon mask Copper H. 29.5 cm (11 5/8″) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 17 Photo by Dirk Bakker This copper mask is also said to have always been kept in the king’s palace. According to tradition it represents the Oni Obalufon, who is credited with bringing metal casting skills to Ife. Unlike most heads that … Continue reading IFE Arts part five

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Arts, Arts and History, History

IFE Arts part five

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Yoruba (Ife) artist Obalufon mask Copper H. 29.5 cm (11 5/8″) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 17 Photo by Dirk Bakker This copper mask is also said to have always been kept in the king’s palace. According to tradition it represents the Oni Obalufon, who is credited with bringing metal casting skills to Ife. Unlike most heads that … Continue reading IFE Arts part five

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Arts and History

IFE Arts part six

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Yoruba (Ife) artist Oni figure Brass H. 37 cm (14 9/16″) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 13 (79.R.9) Photo by Dirk Bakker In 1938 a man was digging a house foundation near the Oni’s palace when he discovered thirteen heads. Shortly after that in early 1939 four more heads and this torso were found in the same location, … Continue reading IFE Arts part six

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Arts and History

25TH DYNASTY, ANCIENT EGYPT (CA. 746 BC TO 653 BC)

source : KATHLEEN KEMEZIS Sphinx of Taharqa, from 25th Dynasty temple at Kawa, November 12, 2006Courtesy British Museum The 25th Dynasty refers to the kings of Kush (which included Nubia) who ruled all or part of Egypt from around 746 to 653 BC. This period parallels the Egyptian Third Intermediate Period (1070-653 BC). The Kushite kings of this period considered themselves the bodily sons of the god Amun; they sought to … Continue reading 25TH DYNASTY, ANCIENT EGYPT (CA. 746 BC TO 653 BC)

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Arts and History

IFE Arts part four

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Yoruba (Ife) artist Head of Lajuwa Clay H. 32.8 cm (12 15/16″) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 20 (79.R.10) Photo by Dirk Bakker Terracotta sculptures are more numerous than works in metal and show a wide range of styles and subjects (Willett 2004). Certain of the heads, such as this example, were made to be freestanding (not attached … Continue reading IFE Arts part four

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Arts and History

The Golden Stool of the Ashanti Empire

The Golden Stool (full title, Sika Dwa Kofi) has been the symbol of power in Ashanti Kingdom since the 17th century. According to oral tradition, Okomfo Anokye, a High Priest and one of the two founders of the Ashanti Confederacy, conjured the Golden Stool, decorated with golden bells, and caused it to descend from the sky where it landed at the feet of Osei Tutu I, the … Continue reading The Golden Stool of the Ashanti Empire

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Arts and History

IFE arts part three BY WILLIAM DEWEY PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA)

Nigeria; Yoruba (Ife) artist Head, possibly a king Clay H. 26.7 cm (10 1/2″) Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas / Art Resource, NY, 1994.04 The terracottas range in size from a few inches to almost life-size for some of the human figures. Many of the terracotta heads were presumably once attached to complete bodies, as many body fragments have been found. The art of Ife is … Continue reading IFE arts part three BY WILLIAM DEWEY PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA)

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Arts and History

IFE Arts part two

BY WILLIAM DEWEYPENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UNIVERSITY OF IOWA) Nigeria; Yoruba (Ife) artist Head Clay H. 16 cm (6 1/4″) National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, 79.R.6 (Ife 305) Photo by Dirk Bakker In 1910 the German anthropologist Leo Frobenius visited the Nigerian city of Ife and brought several ancient terracotta heads back to Germany.  He claimed a Greek colony in Africa produced the incredibly naturalistic sculpture he discovered … Continue reading IFE Arts part two

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