IFE ORIGIN AND USE

The origin of Ife art is still enigmatic, but there is nothing to confirm that it was an expatriate art. We have seen that the Nok people were expert terracotta sculptors in semi-naturalistic style a thousand years before. There is therefore no reason to suppose that a thousand years later naturalistic art could not have come into existence locally and independently. The persons represented in the art are Black Africans; thus this art is indigenous, although the use of copper alloys as a medium in this part of the world requires further investigation.
Talking about Nok and Ife, it is obvious that both peoples were adept at molding with clay. It has been claimed that Nok was antecedent to Ife. This might well be, but it is difficult to establish a lineal descendancy in view of their spatial and temporal differences. Apart from the sculptures being used as shrine or tomb furniture, the bronze heads were probably used as memorial heads during second funerals and hair was attached to the small holes to form moustache and beard. They were then mounted on poles and carried in procession.

IFE Culture