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Nigeria, Ife (Yoruba) |
The shrine head is made of terra-cotta ("baked earth"), a naturally occurring earthen clay that is easily shaped and hardens when dry. Although porous, when fired it increases in strength and can hold liquids without returning to its PLASTIC state.
Terra-cotta is composed of sedimentary earth containing organic and mineral substances that give it a characteristic reddish brown color. IRON OXIDE produces this distinctive color when the clay is fired in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. The color is also affected by other minerals present and by the firing temperature. Ife pieces were most likely fired in an open wood fire. It required great skill to control the temperature and make the firing even, to prevent dark patches from forming on the object. The final color ranged from dark brown to orange, buff, tan, or pink. Ife shrine heads were most likely painted as well; traces of pigment can often be found on parts of the face and neck.
The use of fired clay for making vessels probably began in Africa, where terra-cotta pottery has been found dating from the eighth millennium B.C. The earliest sculptural terra-cottas, mostly hollow-built heads, were excavated in northern Nigeria around 500 B.C.3
Notes
3. Edward Lifschitz, The Art of West African Kingdoms (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institition Press for the National Museum of African Art, 1987), pp. 32-33.
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