Magnificent statue of IFE - life - Nigeria (No Reserve Price)

The Kingdom of Benin City, in southern Nigeria, was one of the most powerful empires in Africa. The royal city is believed to have been founded by a prince from the neighboring city of Ifé around the 13th century, before encounters with Portuguese colonizers from the 15th century, followed by trade exchanges and attempts at Christianization. Benin City was eventually sacked by the English in 1897. The king of Benin was the Oba, who was glorified through a highly developed court art, including carved leopards made using the lost wax technique and cast in bronze (brass made of copper and lead), which are among the most representative elements. Symbolically, among animals, the leopard occupied the same place as the Oba among his subjects. The Kingdom of Benin is also famous for its bronze heads of Oba, court dwarf sculptures, European soldier sculptures, carved ivory tusks, and especially the bronze plaques. This head is in the old style.