C12-15 Yoruba Art Across Nigeria, Benin and Togo
Head of an Oni (King) from Ife Oni Palace Vicinity, Nigeria C XII-XVI've long been bowled over by Yoruba art of the C12-15 - though the Yoruba, who were spread across south-west Nigeria, Benin [Dahomey] and Togo, would probably rather see these as objects with particular social functions within their culture.
I got hooked a few years back after buying a late C19 Yoruba divination stick ...
The Yoruba are perhaps best known in the international tribal art world for twins figures, carved when women have twins ...
Yoruba mother holding her twins. Town of Share, North Oyo. Deborah Stokes 1980
Yoruba mother with memorial figures of her deceased twins Selia Alaka, town of Ikoyi, Ogbomoso. 1980 Deborah Stokes
Yoruba Carved Wooden Twins
But I'm getting distracted from what I set out to post - the astonishing beautiful C12-15 bronze, copper, brass and pottery heads of Oni (rulers) found at the Palace at Ife.
These sculptures speak so eloquently ...
Head of an Oni From Wunmonije Compound, Ife C12th-15th
Head of an Oni Brass CXII-XV
Head, Ife, Nigeria, 14th-early 15th century
Obalufon Mask, Ife Nigeria, C12 Copper
Copper Mask of Oni Obalufon II
Crowned Zinc Brass Head of an Oni C12-15 From Wunmonije
Terracotta Head of a Queen C12-13 From Ita Yemoo 
Terracotta Head of Lajuwa, Oni's Palace, Ife C12-13 
Terracotta Female Head from a Figure, C12-15... that there's absolutely no need for any 'blah blah' from me!
Brilliant and interesting post, thank you. I am off to google more on the subject.
ReplyDeleteX
What astonishing art! Interesting to mentally compare it to what was being produced in Europe about the same time.
ReplyDeletehi paul
ReplyDeleteit just catches the imagination on a visceral level - you don't need to have any background in african art of the C12-15 to respond strongly to these extraordinary works
and you are right to consider what was happening in europe at the same time - i guess the most direct correspondences would be the sculpture of the gothic cathederdals - with these works being in a more naturalistic style - not to suggest any lack in gothis art, simply a difference in intent, like cubist sculpture is not attempting a usual realism
best, nick
hey kev
ReplyDeletei found it impossible not to do the post as i was (again) looking the other day at these works in a book i got in a junk shop a few years back - i thought 'why haven't i done these before!'
i let the images speak for themselves rather than do a lot of yak yak which i thought might distract - but of course (like you) i've been reading a lot about them and their cultural political context - interesting as the context stretches over the borders of a number of countries that were in fact often constructed by occupying colonial powers
best, nick