Kingdom of Ife

It says a lot about the racism of colonial attitudes that many refused to believe that the incredible sculptures uncovered in Ife could possibly be the work of medieval Africans. All kinds of wild theories were thrown up in order to show that it was actually Europeans (any group would do) who actually created them. The British Museum displays a selection a stone, terracotta, brass and copper sculptures, exquisitely carved or cast, and very definitely African. Many of the heads seem to show scarification, while some, presumably of foreigners, have a distinctive cat's whiskers marking. I was particularly taken with an equestrian statue with a very endearing horse. In fact the sculptures aren't just of the human form. There are crocodiles, mudfish, apes, rams and other animals, often stylised but immediately recognisable. The sculpted heads often show traces of paint so would have looked rather different than they do today, especially if crowns or veils were fixed via the holes in many of them. It shows that it wasn't just the Renaissance Europeans who were creating exquisite objects.