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Ife
(Yoruba)
Female Portrait Head, 12th century - 14th century
H.12 x W.5-3/4 x D.7 in.
terra-cotta
Context:
Between the 12th and 14th centuries, the royal city of Ife, in present-day
Nigeria, was a center of economic, religious and political power,
and its importance was reflected in a highly developed and distinctive
sculptural style. Portrait heads modeled in terra-cotta or bronze
stood on royal shrines in the palace compound. This head, recently
acquired by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, probably represents
a woman of the royal court. The delicate lines on her face show a
pattern of scarification, the cutting of designs into the skin to
mark identity, status and beauty. The sensitive realism of this portrait
is unusual among African art styles which typically present abstracted
and generalized representations of the human image. Works of art from
Ife are very rare. This superb creation is one of only three in American
museum collections.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota,
USA
No. 95.84
The John R. Van Derlip Fund
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