2w ago

Brass head depicting a king, Nigeria, 13th-14th century AD

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https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1939-34-1
- Ha of course the British Museum has it.
  What a stunning piece tho
  
  Ha of course the British Museum has it.
  I was informed a swallow carried this artifact to the sunny British isles
3d printing has come so far. Look at how thick the layer lines are on this thing
This is brilliant. Good looking dude.
The art of Ife has produced a large corpus of sculptural works in terracotta, stone, brass and copper which were found at different sites in the city. Among these artworks the representations of humans are striking for their naturalistic style. This life-like modelling is unique in Africa and when objects from Ife were first presented to the western world they were compared with the classical traditions of Ancient Greece and Rome. It was even suggested that such heads were evidence that Ife was the site of the lost civilization of Atlantis. In fact the sculpture of Ife is today rightly seen as one of the highest achievements of African art and culture.
I wonder how they were made.
- According to the museum
  lost-wax cast A method of casting which involves making a wax model, sometimes with a core of another substance, enclosing the model in a mould, melting away the wax, and pouring molten metal or glass into the void resulting from the removal of the wax, then allowing the material to harden before removing the mould. The final stage after casting usually entails polishing of the finished object.
It's crazy we don't have the name of that king. Not that ancient tbh.
- Wikipedia says this was likely made by a Yoruba artist in Ife, under commission of Obalufon Alayemore, in the 13th century. There's a catch though - Alayemore was the third king, and as the text says the head was found alongside other 17 sculptures, that were also likely made by the same artist (or the same workshop), so this head might potentially not represent a real king; it might be either some other prestigious individual, or simply a religious statue.
  Anyway it's still some amazing craftmanship.
  
  Thanks for the context!

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