What is the Ife culture and tradition?
What is the Ife culture and tradition?
Ile Ife, also known as Ife, is an ancient Yoruba city in the southwestern part of Nigeria. According to Yoruba tradition, Ife was founded by the deities Oduduwa and Obatala when they created the world. Obatala fashioned the first humans out of clay while Oduduwa became the first divine king of the Yoruba people.
What is Ife art made of?
| Bronze Head from Ife | |
|---|---|
| Material | “Bronze”, actually brass |
| Size | 35 cm high |
| Created | 14th/early 15th century |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
When was Ife art created?
Between ca. 1200 and 1500, Ife developed into a flourishing artistic center. The discovery of Ife’s now famous naturalistic bronzes, terracottas, and stone sculptures challenged European assumptions about the nature of African art and initiated significant debates concerning the antiquity of its past.
Who created Ife art?
Leo Frobenius
#4: Discovering Ife art Ife art was brought to international attention in 1910 when Leo Frobenius, a German ethnographer, discovered bronze and terracotta heads at Ife. The discovery changed people’s perception of African Art, but Frobenius had a misconception about its origin.
What is Ife art?
Sculpture. The artists of Ife developed a refined and highly naturalistic sculptural tradition in stone, terracotta, brass and copper and created a style unlike anything in Africa at the time. The technical sophistication of the casting process is matched by the artworks’ enduring beauty.
Who were the Ife cultures?
Ife (aka Ile-Ife) was an ancient African city which flourished between the 11th and 15th century CE in what is today Nigeria in West Africa. Ife was the capital and principal religious centre of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife, which prospered thanks to trade connections with other West African kingdoms.
What is the meaning of Ife?
a male or female given name: from a Yoruba word meaning “love.”
Where is Ife art located?
Osun State
Ifẹ̀ (Yoruba: Ifẹ̀, also Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. The city is located in present-day Osun State. Ife is about 218 kilometers northeast of Lagos with a population of 509,813, the highest in Osun State according to population census of 2006.
Why is Ife art called court?
THE early Benin art was referred to as “Court Art” hence ”Court Art of Benin” This is because the Oba or King of Benin had a monopoly of the art works, though technically speaking, they are all brass. It could therefore be logically deduced that the Benin people learnt the art of bronze casting from Ife.
What are the typical design characteristics of Ife sculptures?
Ife is most well-known for its bronze sculptures, typically in a naturalistic style . Stone and terra cotta artwork was also common, and leaders were often depicted with large heads to indicate their power.
What are the characteristics of Benin art?
Characteristics of Benin Art
- Beaded Neck.
- Mark on forehead.
- Semi naturalistic.
- It is the only art culture that has ivory.
- Mostly royal figures.
- Highly decorative.
What is the history of Ife art?
The most popular Ife Art is the Ife head that is thought to be a portrait of an Ooni or Oni. It was likely made under the patronage of King Obalufon II whose famous naturalistic life-size face mask in copper shares stylistic features with this work. Today among the Yoruba, Obalufon is identified as the patron deity of brass casters.
What is the history of the Kingdom of Ife?
Here’s everything you need to know. Although very little is known about the everyday life of the people of the kingdom, historians celebrate the kingdom of Ife because of its renowned ancient art and significance to the origin of African art. Between 700 and 900 AD, the Yoruba kingdom began to develop as a world class artistic centre.
Where is Ile-Ife located?
Ile-Ife, also known as Ife, Ife-Lodun, or the Kingdom of Ife, is an ancient Yoruba city situated in Osun state in southwestern Nigeria. One of the largest and oldest towns of the Yoruba kingdom, historical evidence dates the holy city’s origin to as far back as 500 BC. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is traditional art in Nigeria?
In this post, we take a look at Nigerian traditional art from the likes of the Nok art, Igbo Ukwu bronze work tp the Ife Art and others. Nok Art can be traced to the Nok Culture located in a settlement near the River Benue which is said to be one of the earliest reminiscences of the ancient human settlement in the country.
