Was bronze used in African art?
Bronze sculpture of West Africa serves as a testimony of a bountiful and highly developed artistic tradition. This technically advanced and aesthetically refined form of expression has been and still is the preoccupation of art historians, anthropologists and artists.
Where did bronze statues originate?
Bronze is an alloy consisting mainly of copper, with lesser amounts of tin, zinc, and lead. The centuries-old tradition of casting bronze into sculptural form originates from such geographically and culturally diverse regions as Greece, Africa, Mesopotamia, and Asia.
What is the oldest bronze statue?
Dancing Girl from Mohenjodaro
Dancing Girl from Mohenjodaro, belonging to the Harappan civilization and dating back to c. 2500 BCE, is perhaps the first known bronze statue.
Are bronze statues valuable?
You can easily find small bronze statues and figurines for under $1,000 and even for as low as $500. On the other side of the spectrum, 1:1 bronze statues of animals and life-size human replicas usually cost thousands of dollars, and the average ranges between $4,000 to $10,000.
How do I know if my statue is bronze?
One of the easiest ways to determine if it is bronze is sticking a magnet to it. Bronze is non-magnetic while iron is highly magnetic. It is important to inspect bronze pieces and parts. Sculptures are commonly duplicated using fake bronze.
What was the purpose of small bronze figurines in the cultural and religious practice of the Benin Empire?
Many pieces were commissioned specifically for the ancestral altars of past Obas and Queen Mothers. They were also used in other rituals to honour the ancestors and to validate the accession of a new Oba.
What does the bronze head of the Oba of Benin demonstrate about African sculpture?
This bronze head cannot be recognized as any particular oba; it was meant to represent the oba’s powers. An oba’s formal dress draws attention to his head. As this sculpture shows, an oba wears a tall collar of coral beads around his neck and a coral cap with dangling strands of coral beads.