Tpia,

These are great pictures and angles on that crown.

On the #4 with his co-joined legs, yes you are correct thats what it is in meaning. I don't know if anyone else noticed but there is a common theme in all of them.

These are my takes from a general perspective and you already touched on some of them:

1. Imperial coins and control (Government and taxation - SOCIETY).
2. Sovereignty and consciousness (Dominion power and universality of mankind - HUMANITY)).
3. Cult and mysticism (priesthood and awakening - DIVINITY)

tpia@:

the traditional hairstyle for oloris is the suku braid, i believe.

these days i dont think most of them do it anymore but i remember hearing that when i was a kid.



also, could you post the images of the particular female sculptures you're referring to, since some of them actually are wearing crowns.

Couldn't find a modern picture, but I'm referring to how Olori decorate their braided hair with strings of beads.


Two terracottas that seem to show that:

Aren't these sculptures more properly called teraphims?

BEAUTIFUL THREAD

PART 1
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS4n28-JuCU&feature=related[/flash]

PART 2
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_KeN2I_kQ&feature=related[/flash]

PART 3
[flash=500,500]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTNaR_tCdbs&feature=related[/flash]

lakal:

Couldn't find a modern picture, but I'm referring to how Olori decorate their braided hair with strings of beads.


Two terracottas that seem to show that:

i think the first one is wearing a crown. The three tiers are typical of some other crowns on the terracottas and bronzes. Will examine it more closely but it looks like a crown.

the second one has a scarf or head covering on. Its knotted in front.

@ topic

[img]http://thriftybonvivant.files./2011/10/photo-271-e1318946179719.jpg?w=229&h=300[/img]

tpia@:


i think the first one is wearing a crown. The three tiers are typical of some other crowns on the terracottas and bronzes. Will examine it more closely but it looks like a crown.

the second one has a scarf or head covering on. Its knotted in front.

I thought so, but the first one seams to have plaited hair underneath the "crown." It might be a headress, but it would appear that the hair is visible underneath it.


Even if the second one is a headscarf (it does appear to be knotted), those are clearly strings of beads.

comparison:

nok art






ife ram's head. This is a fragment from a priest's attire. Note the similar forms even though the subject matter is different:






[img]http://europeanastatic.eu/api/image?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.scran.ac.uk%2FRB%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2F0192%2F01921192.jpg&size=BRIEF_DOC&type=IMAGE&view=table[/img]


[img]http://europeanastatic.eu/api/image?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.scran.ac.uk%2FRB%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2F0192%2F01921193.jpg&size=BRIEF_DOC&type=IMAGE&view=table[/img]

lakal:


Even if the second one is a headscarf (it does appear to be knotted), those are clearly strings of beads.

here's the side view of the second one:



looks like a headtie to me.

you're male right? So you might not be familiar with scarf patterns.

the first one seams to have plaited hair underneath the "crown."  It might be a headress, but it would appear that the hair is visible underneath it.

what looks like plaited hair is actually beads or coral.

you might be right about the hair being plaited underneath, but i'm not certain. Compare the style with these:






[img]http://2.bp..com/_PgfRBZetNGE/S5mYF0oHezI/AAAAAAAABLw/qSDbtv6D1r4/s400/ife+head.jpg[/img]



this could be a hairstyle:

tpia@:

here's the side view of the second one:



looks like a headtie to me.

you're male right? So you might not be familiar with scarf patterns.

2 kolanuts?

perhaps.

Woye Asiri pavement with altar surfaced in potsherds and pot neck embedded at center of pavement


[img]http://images.library.wisc.edu/ArtHistory/S/52/t/274872t.jpg[/img]

Lafogido pavement with terracotta pottery


[img]http://images.library.wisc.edu/ArtHistory/S/52/t/274871t.jpg[/img]

Does anyone know, . . . .I'm wondering why in all of the documentary nowhere did they show the full body cast where all the regalia and costumes can be fully displayed? Also, why is the museum not explaining the functions and symbolic representation of each of the article in the outfit? Example: the horn in the left hand, what does it stand for? The disks on the crown what do they mean? There are three different types of disks and in different configuration, what do these all mean?

Also, why is the museum not explaining the functions and symbolic representation of each of the article in the outfit?

they might not know.

Example: the horn in the left hand, what does it stand for?

i think that's the opa ase- typically used to represent power and also used for healing illnesses.

not sure however.

The disks on the crown what do they mean?  There are three different types of disks and in different configuration, what do these all mean? 

not sure but i suspect it might have something to do with the sea.

Exterior of Palace in Ife, Nigeria (Leo Frobenius Expedition, 1910)

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/yorubapalaceexterior.png/

opa oranyan again.

[img]http://2.bp..com/_RoWOOM0kwmc/TEXr6VlVjrI/AAAAAAAAAa0/tR0L545JU8k/s1600/assentamento+de+Oranian.bmp[/img]

i think the different artworks can be divided into different periods of ife art.

there are stone sculptures.

bronze figures

terracotta works.

wood [modern] art is most commonly associated with current obas, secret societies, and perhaps some basic everyday uses like doors and stools, for example.

lastly we have cloth, which is also more modern. Sometimes decorated with beads to indicate rotalty or wealth.

i wonder what the 123 studded nails stand for.

i'd like to hazard a wild guess and hypothesize they could be indicating different stops along a journey?

no one knows for sure though.

tpia@:

opa oranyan again.

[img]http://2.bp..com/_RoWOOM0kwmc/TEXr6VlVjrI/AAAAAAAAAa0/tR0L545JU8k/s1600/assentamento+de+Oranian.bmp[/img]

i think the different artworks can be divided into different periods of ife art.

there are stone sculptures.

bronze figures

terracotta works.

wood [modern] art is most commonly associated with current obas, secret societies, and perhaps some basic everyday uses like doors and stools, for example.

lastly we have cloth, which is also more modern. Sometimes decorated with beads to indicate rotalty or wealth.

True, but I don't think that it can be that neatly divided. In most of Yoruba history, all of these materials were used concurrently. What is true is that styles did change over time.

lakal:

True, but I don't think that it can be that neatly divided. In most of Yoruba history, all of these materials were used concurrently. What is true is that styles did change over time.

are you sure about the bolded.

it's possible i guess- the terracottas and bronzes seem to be from the same general period but the stone works predate them, i believe.

there's also a mention of big lumps of iron ore scattered around ife at various locations- probably the forges i'm guessing.

they werent considered important by early archaeologists because the function wasnt known and they werent sculpted or cast into any specific form.

tpia@:

are you sure about the bolded.

it's possible i guess- the terracottas and bronzes seem to be from the same general period but the stone works predate them, i believe.

there's also a mention of big lumps of iron ore scattered around ife at various locations- probably the forges i'm guessing.

they werent considered important by early archaeologists because the function wasnt known and they werent sculpted or cast into any specific form.

Yep. The stone figures from Esie are not definitely dated, but some accounts place them as contemporary with the Ife classical period.

- The quartz stool and stone figure of "Idena" are from the Ife Classical Period.

- Yoruba artists also used soapstone as a carving material -- I posted a soapstone figure from the 18th Century in this thread.

- Bronzework continued, at least with the Ogboni society, until colonization.

- Woodcarving is an art form that doesn't preserve well, especially in the West African tropics. You're not going to find 12th Century woodwork, not because it never existed, but because it is not likely to have been preserved that long.

^^good points.


however, the ife bronzes have to be grouped separately from later works because the style is very unique and different.

isnt esie in kwara or niger state?

tpia@:

^^good points.


however, the ife bronzes have to be grouped separately from later works because the style is very unique and different.

isnt esie in kwara or niger state?

It's in Kwara state, located between Ife and Ilorin. The local people are Yorubas (Igbomina Yoruba), therefore they are part of the same cultural milieu.

^^true, but i think the esie sculptures are more recent- like 18th century or so.

tpia@:

^^true, but i think the esie sculptures are more recent- like 18th century or so.

The Esie sculptures (soapstone) were found by the local villagers some centuries ago. Their dating is not complete, but most estimates place them as at least cotemporary with the Ife Classical Period (12th-15th Century).

^^oh, ok.

i havent studied them as much as the other art.

then again i think some of the work gets confused with ife because of stylistic similarities.

Great thread. I wanted to make the quick point that much of this material has been explored in detail by art historians and archaeologists like Ade Obayemi, Frank Willett (whose book "Ife in West African Sculpture" would be great for everyone interested in this topic), Ekpo Eyo etc. They don't have all the answers by any means, but it's not helpful to speculate about the origins and meanings of this art and architecture without being more familiar with the existing scholarship. Lakal has been doing a great job and Tpia seems genuinely interested in this topic, which is why I suggest the approach. It's been established that terracotta and bronze works were contemporaneous, for instance.

Dr. Akin Ogundiran's publications are an excellent place to start for recent archaeological information: http://africana.uncc.edu/people/dr-akin-ogundiran-phd

^^will look those up, thanks.

@ topic

i noticed the ifa divination trays seem to be mostly oval or round, with a few square ones on occasion.

does the shape represent the cyclic universe, the sun, or what exactly?

please keep the explanation as simple and straightforward as possible, for anyone who wants to reply.

more on the opa oranyan.

it was obviously meant to be recognized by people who came to ife from somewhere.

but who were the people it was meant to be a sign for?