The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 21, 2025
Fragment of a Head
1100–1500
15.2 x 8.3 x 9.5 cm (6 x 3 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.)
Private Collection 21.2018
Location: 108A African
Did You Know?
The vertical lines on this figure's face may represent the shadows of a fringed beaded crown.Description
Ifẹ̀ is the historical ruling center of western Nigeria’s Yorùbá peoples. Its naturalistic (lifelike) style was first developed in terracotta, then later in metal. While Yorùbá men work in metal, historically and today, women make clay artworks. This fragment likely belonged to a figure or full head. Its facial markings may represent scarifications connected to early elite dynasties or indigenous groups. The high quality of Ifẹ̀ artworks challenged colonial-era Western conceptions about African creativity. In 1911, German ethnographer Leo Frobenius incorrectly stated that Greeks from the lost island of Atlantis made them. Such skillful creations were of course possible from African artists.- From the Earth through Her Hands: African Ceramics. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 21, 2024-September 21, 2025).
- {{cite web|title=Fragment of a Head|url=false|author=|year=1100–1500|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/21.2018