Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao)
Unknown Artist
possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s
Medium
Copper alloy and iron
Dimensions
29.9 × 21.6 × 20.4 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Dudley P. Allen Fund
Accession Number
1938.6
About this artwork
Brass heads are among many objects a new Ọba commissions when dedicating a shrine to their predecessor. This head of an Ọba wears layered necklaces of royal coral beads. Tubular beads adorn both the netted cap and slender braids alongside his temples. While representing an individual, his facial features and calm expression are idealized. The thickly cast head once supported a tusk. Immune to corrosion, brass symbolizes royal permanence. A personal religious object, this head sat on an ancestral...