250249 - Large Oba Bronze Ife Memorial Head - Bini Edo - Benin - Nigeria.

Large Oba Bronze Ife Memorial Head - Bini Edo - Benin.
Height: 37 cm.

Ife art is the only one in Africa that offers anthropomorphic representations of such realism. It is of such high artistic quality that it is often compared to the other great naturalistic cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. Tradition tells that it was once the custom in Benin to behead defeated kings and offer the head to the Oba, who passed it on to the bronze craftsmen.

Only the image of the heads of those who had put up the strongest resistance were cast. When the son of a defeated ruler ascended the throne, the Oba would send him a bronze replica of his father's head as a warning.
Some special details adorn certain heads, some examples:

The scars that are sometimes present on the forehead could be the mark of the head of a defeated king.
Necklaces with coral beads that accentuated the neck were of the utmost importance as symbols of sovereignty. They were reserved for the Oba, the Queen Mother and high dignitaries.
The holes at the edge of the headdress, the cheeks and around the lips were used to attach hairpieces.

As for the holes that are sometimes present at the base of the neck, it is believed that these were intended to fasten the head to wooden poles.