Head of Oni

Ife's art is characterized by the beauty and balance of its lines and by a penetrating realism and serenity that seems to emanate from kings and queens in all their representations.

Median head of an Oni, king of Ife, with its characteristic crown on the head on whose forehead stands a plume. In our day the king of Ife wears the same crown representative of his function, formed by a vertical segment braided and topped on its tip by a pointed bulge. This type of head was placed on a wooden effigy, dressed, to represent the deceased king during funerals and then buried after the ceremony in a shrine near the palace. The grooves of the neck are, even today, considered as a sign of beauty among the Yoruba. Its expression radiates sweetness. Ritual striated scarifications surmount his face. A head that expresses great realism and attests to the domination of the Yoruba The whole head, curiously except the eyes, appears sown with small holes, as if they were vestiges of acne. It is not known whether it has been a deliberate decision of the melter or whether it is corrosion due to the time or storage site.