IGBO UKWU IN ISOLATION

The Igbo Ukwu bronzes are as enigmatic as the Ife ones soon to be discussed. In the area under discussion there is as yet no evidence far a sustained tradition in bronze casting. Nowadays, metalworkers in the area of Awka are blacksmiths. Archaeological work in the area too, has only just begun, and therefore any firm conclusion is premature. At the moment it is not certain whether the bronzes were made at Igbo Ukwu or nearby or whether they were trade goods exchanged far other items. However, that they are indigenous manufactures is in no doubt whatever. It is surprising that the Igbo Ukwu style is unparalleled in Africa. How ever, much of its content (bowls and facial marks), is indigenous. The bowls are believed to be in the form of calabashes, while the Itchi facial marks are indigenous to the region. Igbo Ukwu style is unlike that of Ife and Benin from which it is also separated by its composition of the alloy used in casting. For, while the people of Ife and Benin made their works out of either pure copper or brass, and only a small percentage out of bronze, Igbo Ukwu works are mostly of leaded bronze.
But the isolation of the art style might not have meant the geographical isolation of the people. A study of the numerous beads found at Igbo Ukwu shows that while some of them are of West African origin, according to experts, most appear to be trade beads from India. If this is true then there was intercourse between the Orient and Eastern Nigeria, although the precise date for this contact is still being debated.

IGBO UKWU Culture