Anonymous: The Ife Yoruba head (12th-14th century)

(British Museum, London, UK)

This is a bronze object which was found at the ruins of the city of Ife in modern Nigeria. Ife was the religious and royal center of the Yoruba people and this head probably represents a Yoruba king or another person of high status. The man wears an elaborate headdress which probably represents a crown. It has a central band with numerous glass or stone beads of different shapes and sizes and a fringe of feathers. Bronze onject from the 12th-14th century.