Africa is a continent rich with art; specifically in Nigeria, our art is connected to our History.
Below are some Artifacts in Nigeria;
1. Ife Bronze Sculptures
The Ife Bronze Sculptures are one of the most popular and priceless artworks in Nigeria and Africa. There were about eighteen copper alloy sculptures unearthed at Ile-Ife in 1938.
These beautiful, well-detailed bronze and copper artworks all represent royalty, and the “Ife Bronze head,” as it is popularly called, is believed to represent a king.
It was probably made between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. These antiques show sophisticated craftsmanship and how advanced artists, even at that time, were.
These features of the Ife heads are unique, and because of the similarities in the style of these works, many experts have suggested that they were all probably made by an individual artist or in the same workshop.
2. Igbo Ukwu Art
The Igbo-Ukwu bronzes are one of the most mysterious artworks in Nigerian History. These bronze works, found in Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra state Nigeria, not too far from the city of Onitsha, were part of a burial site and a shrine unearthed.
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Crowns, breastplates, ceremonial containers, pendants, jewelry, ceramics, copper, iron, and countless glass beads are among the things discovered. These artworks are the earliest examples of cast bronze artifacts dating to the 9th century.
The Igbo-Ukwu bronze castings are produced using the lost wax method over several steps. This demonstrates the extent of the great bronze-casting abilities of the Igbo forefathers.
Igbo Ukwu art bronze is considered the earliest type of art in the sub-Saharan region, and many believe it is the most sophisticated and precious art in Nigeria.
3. Anyanwu
‘Anyanwumeansng ‘eye of the sun’. This sculpture by Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu can be found at the entrance of the museum. It depicts the female deity ‘Chi-Ukwu’ rising out of the ground, her lithe body arching towards the sky. It is made of bronze.
4. Ekoi Stone Sculpture
The Ekoi people inhabit the bank of Cross River in Scattered villages, headed by a Ntoon ‘chief priest’. The Ntoon is responsible for the ritual activities of the community. When they die, they are represented by a carved basalt monolith called ‘Akwanshi’, Village beauties, valiant warriors, and heroes are also represented in the carved monolith. It is estimated that by 1200 AD this art had died out.
5. Dakakari grave sculpture
The Dakakari who live near Zuru in Sokoto State are well known for their funerary sculpture. These sculptures serve as burial markers and memorials in the graves of Chiefs, warriors, renowned hunters, rs, and social elite. Some of the various stylized human and animal figures were found on skillfully sculpted graves made of clay. Graves were usually surrounded by small rounded walls made of clay for families and stones for prominent men.
6. A fierce Sukur warrior protecting her land
The sculpture depicts a traditional Sukur woman in traditional attire. The Sukur community lived in the Sukur Cultural Landscape, which today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located on a hill above the village of Sukur in Adamawa State.
Besides being fierce warriors, the people of Sukur were known for their architecture.
7. Life on the Lagoon
Lagos is the largest city in Africa and is known for its lakes and lagoons. The name ‘Lagos’ means ‘lakes’ in Portuguese. Here contemporary artist, Nathaniel Hodonu, depicts modern life on the lagoon.
8. Nok Art
Nok art refers to the artworks made by the people of the Nok culture, found in Nok villages throughout Nigeria. These art pieces are images of humans, animals, and other figures made out of terracotta pottery.
The terracotta’s represented the earliest sculptural art in West Africa and were made between 900 B.C.E. and 0 C.E. In these Nok villages were also found Africa’s first evidence of iron smelting in the south Sahara desert.
The famous terracotta figurines were made of local clays. Although a number of these sculptures have remained intact, from observations, it is quite clear that they were nearly life-sized.
Most artworks are now in fragments representing human heads and other body parts with ornaments like beads, anklets, and bracelets.
Only a little knowledge about the initial function of the pieces is known; many have speculated that they portray ancestors, are grave markers, or charms to prevent crop failure, infertility, and illness.
9. Wood and coconut carvings
Contemporary Nigerian artists are today expressing themselves through many mediums. Inspired by Nok culture, sculptor Nathaniel Hodonu uses wood and coconut shells to create imaginative artworks.
10. Edo bronze head
One of the most significant characteristics of the historic Kingdom of Benin is the bronze casting tradition. This is said to have been established in the 14th century by Oba Oguola.
The ancient kingdom produced some of the best bronze heads thanks to the art of bronze casting, several of which are said to have been taken by the British colonial forces during the Benin expedition of 1897.
The artworks’ superior lost-wax casting skills, which are among the best, are their most outstanding feature. Igue-Igha is still revered by these craftsmen’s offspring as the person who introduced casting to the Kingdom of Benin.
11. Igbo masks
Although the earliest-known sculpture from Igboland is from the village of Igbo Ukwu, many other Igbo cultures are very well known for their masks. These masks are worn during festivals by male and female performers to display the culture’s beauty.
They were also worn to honor important patron deities. During performances, they were complemented by vibrantly colored suits and accompanied by traditional music.
These masks are scattered around many Museums and are prized possessions for many individuals.
12. Ekoi stone Sculpture/ Ikon Monoliths/Ankwanshi
The Ikom Monoliths are a collection of stone carvings that may be seen in the vicinity of Ikom in the Nigerian state of Cross River, where Ekoi live in dispersed communities. The stone monoliths go by many names, including Akwanshi, Atal, and Capital.
They are carved monoliths found in groups, numbering more than 350 stones located in over 35 sites.
These monoliths have baffled experts since they were first discovered in 1903. Their origin, date of execution, and purpose remain a mystery. The Ekoi people hold the view that the spirits of the deceased reside within the stones.
Many of these monoliths have been destroyed because they were not adequately conserved, but others have been conserved in museums like the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
13. Dakakari Grave Monuments
In the hills of the Zuru Federation in the North-Western State of Nigeria, there is a small ethnic group known as the Dakakari. The Dakakari people are known to bury their dead in an underground tomb.
To honor the dead, they placed pottery and clay sculptures on the graveside, which symbolize the titles and positions of the deceased when he was alive.
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The Dakakari have become famous because these terracotta grave sculptures are placed at the burial sites of notable dignitaries.
Interestingly, most of these art pieces were made by women, and those for high-ranking personalities were made exclusively by certain families.
Many of these sculptures now hang in museums all over Nigeria and the world.
14. Ekoi
The Ekoi peoples (Anyang, Boki, Ejagham, Keaka, and Yako) are best known for their large skin-covered masks, which have two or even three faces, and for their smaller headpieces, which represent a head or an entire figure.
The headpieces and masks have metal teeth, inlaid eyes, and frequently pegs to represent hair, which, alternatively, may be carved in elaborate coils.
They are used by several masking associations. Found in the northern Ekoi area, around Ikom, are circles of large stones (akwanshi) from 1 to 6 feet (30 to 180 cm) high, carved in low relief to represent human figures. They are thought to be no earlier than the 16th century.
15. Daima and Sao
Not far from the Nok area but very different in style, at Daima near Lake Chad, small, simple clay animal figures were by the 6th century BCE being made by a population of Neolithic herdsmen. A little later they began making animals with more extended legs, and sometime after 1000 CE, they started to make animals covered with little spikes.
The basis is similar to examples found on sites of the Sao culture in the Valley Alley, Cameroon, where more elaborate human figure sculptures, thought to represent ancestors and probably spirits, have been found. Carbon-14 dates for these sites range from the 5th century BCE to the 18th century CE.
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