A terracotta head in the style of Ife

A fragmentary terra-cotta head in the style of Ife, which maybe represents an unknown young Oba. The work is characterized by the typical Ife style features: The corners of the upper eyelids hang over those of the lower ones. Around the lips is an accented edge. The portrait is of a relative youthful man. It is calm and dignified with the very full lips just a tiny little bit open. The nose is somewhat knobbly. It is particularly engaging - in quality and appearance, and with deep serenity. The art-historical importance of this piece lies in its distinctive sculptural style, in the tension between realism and abstraction. On one side it is naturalistic, portrait-like and on the other side it is classical and timeless. It is an idealized naturalism. The young man wears the typical crown of an Oba; inside you can see that the calotte of the small sculpture has been repaired with glue in recent times, this is not visible from the outside, further some smaller age cracks, a beautiful age patina.Incl. certificate of origin and provenance.

Lit.: Bronzes and Terra-Cottas from Ile-Ife, H. Meyerowitz and V. Meyerowitz, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. Arts de L'Afrique Noire, Jean Laude, translated by Jean Decock, University of California Press Berkeley, 1966, 1. Paperback-Edition 1973. 2000 ans d’histoire africaine. Le sol, la parole et l’écrit. Mélanges en hommage à Raymond Mauny. Tome I. Paris : Société française d'histoire d'outre-mer. Ife and Raymond Mauny, by Thurstan Shaw, 1981.

Height: 20 cm
Weight: 1,2 kg