Art Funded by you

Head with a Beaded Crown and Plume

Yoruba People, 12th-15th century

One of the supreme achievements of West African Art, this head of an unidentified ruler of Ife, religious centre of the Yoruba in Southern Nigeria, wears a crown painted red to represent carnelian beads.

It has small holes surrounding the mouth, probably intended for inserting hair to depict a beard and a moustache. The bronze was cast by the cire perdue (lost wax) method and it was probably made for use at funerary ceremonies, when it may have been attached to a wooden figure.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Head with a Beaded Crown and Plume, 12th-15th century

Date supported

1939

Medium and material

Leaded brass, green patina with traces of red paint

Dimensions

36 cm

Grant

100

Total cost

100

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