What is the definition of Ife art?
What is the definition of Ife art?
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.
What is the Ife culture and tradition?
The name, Ile Ife, literally means place of dispersion. 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 the history of Ife art?
The sculptures of Ife very likely influenced those produced in the kingdom of Benin (12th to 15th century CE), also in modern Nigeria and also largely composed of the Yoruba people. Certainly, in Benin oral traditions, it was the king of Ife who sent a master craftsman to Benin to spread his sculptural skills.
What do Ife sculptures represent?
The human figures portray a wide cross-section of Ife society and include depictions of youth and old age, health and disease, suffering and serenity. According to Yoruba myth, Ife was the center of the creation of the world and all mankind. Ife was home to many sacred groves located in the city’s forests.
Why is the Ife culture so important?
According to the Yoruba worldview, Ife is the place of origin of all humankind and is therefore of particular religious and political importance. Here the deities Odudua and Obatala, under instruction from the creator Olodumare, began the creation of the world.
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.
What are characteristics of Ife art work?
The art-historical importance of Ife works lies in their highly developed and distinctive sculptural style, described alternately as naturalistic, portraitlike, and humanistic.
Who created Ife art?
anthropologist Leo Frobenius
In 1910 the German anthropologist Leo Frobenius visited the Nigerian city of Ife and brought several ancient terracotta heads back to Germany. He claimed a Greek colony in Africa produced the incredibly naturalistic sculpture he discovered (Willett 1967: 14).
Where is Ife art found?
Nigeria
As of today, some of the original artworks and sculptures of the great Ile-Ife artists can be found in museums across Nigeria, North America (including the Brooklyn Museum in new York), and Europe (including the British Museum in London).
How was Ife art discovered?
In 1910 the German anthropologist Leo Frobenius visited the Nigerian city of Ife and brought several ancient terracotta heads back to Germany. He claimed a Greek colony in Africa produced the incredibly naturalistic sculpture he discovered (Willett 1967: 14).