African Art: Head Of Queen Of The Kingdom Of Ife In Bronze + 2 Profiles In Carved Wood

African Art: Head of a Queen from the Kingdom of Ife in bronze + 2 carved wooden profiles of a couple Head of a Queen from the Kingdom of Ife in bronze: Superb piece made with the ancestral technique of lost wax. Origin Nigeria. . The Oba of Benin is the ruler of the former Kingdom of Benin. He has no real power since the annexation of the kingdom by the British in 1897. However, he maintains an advisory role within the government. He also maintains a strong influence on the Edo population for whom he has a semi-divine nature. His palace is located in the current city of Benin City (Edo State, Nigeria). The Kingdom of Benin has fascinated Europeans with the exceptional quality of its court art, and this from the first commercial and artistic exchanges in the 15th century. The artists of the court expressed themselves on precious supports, bronze, various copper alloys, ivory, and more rarely iron and wood. Masters of the lost-wax casting technique since the 13th century, they produced naturalist works of exceptional quality. It was at the dissolution of the kingdom following the capture of Benincity in 1897 that approximately two thousand four hundred objects were brought back to Europe by British troops. The presence of this important collection on the European art market aroused the admiration of specialists and keen interest from museums and private collectors impressed by the beauty of these pieces and their importance for the history of West African culture. The dispersal of these works during the various auctions encouraged the rediscovery of the royal art of Benin and allowed the constitution of important collections in European museums. note that the two profiles bear an inscription missing from the mesh on the back of the bronze h 40 cm x 12 x 12 / h 27 cm x 17