Nigerian Traditional Art History
IFE ART
Located in Osun state, the city of Ile-Ife is
the ancestral home of the Yoruba people
of Nigeria. The city has an art tradition
which has some similarities with that of
the Nok culture. It started between 1100
AD and 1400 AD. The Ife works are either
in terracotta or bronze. The Ife terracotta
are the most famous in Nigeria because
they are realistic.
Nigerian Traditional Art History
THE CIRE PERDUE PROCESS
Ife casters are famous for their realistic
bronze casting through the technique called
“Cire Perdue”. The lost-wax casting, also
known by the French name as cire perdue, is
the process by which a metal object is cast
from an initial artists work. The process has
been around for centuries, in fact since the
Bronze Age and today will vary from foundry
to foundry, but the steps which are usually
used in casting metal sculptures and objects
in a modern foundry are generally quite
standardised. The process itself can invariably
be used for many types of metals but the most
common use of Lost-wax casting would be for
Bronze Sculptures. This is the most common
technique used by the Ife casters.
Nigerian Traditional Art History
CHARACTERISTICS OF IFE ART
1. They are realistic or naturalistic
2. The faces of some are striped or
incised
3. Trunks and limbs are simplified
4. Necks are decorated with bead
necklaces
5. They are done through the lost
wax process called cire perdue.