230225 - BRONZE Large - 30 cm - African Ife kingdom head - Nigeria.

Large, heavy Bronze African Ife kingdom head, Nigeria.

Size: 30 cm high and about 5 kilo

Bronze head from the kingdom of Ifé. Representation of a prisoner. Superb piece made with the ancestral technique of lost wax.

The Oba of Benin is the ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Benin. He no longer has any real power since the annexation of the kingdom by the British in 1897. However, he retains an advisory role within the government. He also keeps a strong influence on the Edo population for which he has a semi-divine nature. His palace is in present-day Benin City (Edo State, Nigeria).
The Kingdom of Benin fascinated Europeans with the exceptional quality of its court art, right from the first commercial and artistic exchanges in the 15th century.
The court artists expressed themselves on precious supports, bronze, various copper alloys and more rarely iron and wood. Masters of the technique of lost wax casting from the 13th century, they produced works
naturalists of exceptional quality.