Friday, March 16, 2012

Africa by Way of Italy

Our Italian ceramic (on left) is a fantastic 50s reproduction from Ceramiche Baldelli of a bronze sculpture of note from Nigeria. The late 16th/early 17th century bronze head (on right) from Nigeria's Benin Kingdom's depicts Idia, its first Iyoba, or Queen Mother. Used to decorate her palace memorial altar, it originally had inset iron pupils and a stylized iron "frown," emphasizing her power and strength of will.
Ceramic 14"
Bronze Photo Credit: Lauren Hansen-Flaschen
Text from a 2008/9 exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

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