Nok, Ife, Benin and Great Zimbabwe

Here are four African traditions from four different times and places.

Head from a figure, Nok culture, central Nigeria, more than 2,000 years old, terracotta. Honolulu Museum of Art.

Looking closely: A Nok head. The Nok culture of central Nigeria, among the first in West Africa to smelt iron, made terracotta figures over many centuries of the last millennium BC, into the first centuries AD. This head has heavy, arched brows, triangular eyes with pierced pupils, and a tall, carefully arranged hairstyle. The face is simplified into bold geometric shapes, which make it strong and alert. Dating Nok terracottas is hard because many were dug up by looters without records; that also means some pieces on the market are doubtful.

Head from Ife, Yoruba, 12th to 15th century, copper alloy. British Museum, London.

Looking closely: An Ife head. In the Yoruba city of Ife, artists cast heads in copper and brass by the lost-wax process, as finely as any bronze in the world. This one has a calm, idealized face covered with fine parallel lines, perhaps marks of beauty or rank, and wears a crown with a crest. The surface is smooth and the proportions so natural that some European writers of the early 1900s wrongly credited them to outsiders. They probably portray rulers.

Queen Mother pendant mask (Iyoba), Kingdom of Benin, 16th century, ivory, iron and copper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Looking closely: The Iyoba mask. In the kingdom of Benin (in today's Nigeria), a guild of carvers worked ivory for the king, the Oba. This small mask, worn at the hip in ceremonies, is thought to portray Idia, mother of Oba Esigie, who ruled in the early 1500s; she was honored for helping him win his throne. Her face is serene, with inlaid iron in the eyes and brow marks, and her crown is a row of tiny carved faces. British forces took it from the royal palace when they captured Benin City in 1897; its twin is in the British Museum.

The Great Enclosure, Great Zimbabwe, about 1300 to 1450, granite. A photograph of the early 1900s.

Looking closely: Great Zimbabwe. In southern Africa, ancestors of the Shona people built a capital of stone from about 1100 to 1450. The Great Enclosure is a huge oval wall of granite blocks fitted without mortar, up to about 11 meters high, curving around houses and a solid stone tower. Its rulers grew rich trading gold and ivory to the coast. Colonial writers wrongly credited it to outsiders; archaeology shows it was built by local African people.

Key idea

Nok terracottas (more than 2,000 years old), the naturalistic Ife heads (12th to 15th centuries), Benin's ivory and brass, and Great Zimbabwe's stone walls show many African traditions.

Why it works

Why do these works look so different? They come from different peoples, centuries apart, using clay, metal, ivory and stone for shrines, royal ceremonies and a capital city.

Worked example: Which medium and method?

Which of these was cast by lost wax: the Nok head, the Ife head, or the Iyoba mask?

The Nok head is fired clay (terracotta): modeled, not cast.
The Iyoba mask is ivory: carved.
The Ife head is copper alloy: cast by lost wax.

Answer: The Ife head.

Common mistake

Thinking of "African art" as one timeless style. Africa's arts come from many cultures, dates, named workshops and histories. Check the date, the place and the people for each work, as you would for a European one.

Nok, Ife, Benin and Great Zimbabwe

Practice

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