Nigerians also worked with other metals, which produced specialized crafts. Figures and heads were cast in bronze and brass. Benin, Ife, and Igbo-Ukwu were recognized for their bronze sculptures. It has been proposed that Ife is most likely where Benin’s art originated. Similar to their Ife counterparts, the Benin royal painters created and crafted numerous exquisite heads crafted from brass and bronze. All of these items were utilized to adorn the palace of the Oba, making it even more exquisite. There are rumors that an Ife bronze caster was recruited to teach in an art school that Oba Oguola, one of the Benin obagas during the 15th century, established.
It’s probable that the Portuguese who came to his realm at this time were drawn to the artwork produced in Benin.
The Igbo-Ukwu bronze works, which date to the ninth century A.D., contained implements. They were older than Benin’s and had a distinct style. Unfortunately, after the British invasion of Benin, the majority of these exquisite heads and figures were taken by force and taken away. In Europe today, a large number of them are in private or public museums. However, our national museums in Lagos, Ife, and Jos still house some of Nigeria’s bronze and brass creations. Large amounts of brass work were found at Andoni and Forceados in the River state more recently.
Ornaments and brass figures at Bida. A brass sword, daggers, bowls, utensils, etc. were created by the people. What have been called Tsoede’s brass sculptures are still located at Jebba in Niger State and Tada in Kwara State. A female figure is among them, but glass was also used to make some of the embellishments. The Nupe produced glass spheres.
Nigeria supplied the majority of the metal used in brass and bronze artwork. Lead was extracted from salt mines in Ogoja and lead mines in Arufu in the 19th century, which was employed as a crucial component in the bronze works of Ife and Igbo-Ukwu. However, women mostly utilized lead as a cosmetic. You may mine tin north of Jos. However, the British outlawed the natives’ ability to mine and process tin in order to keep them from competing with foreign miners. The British are known to have shut down the furnaces by 1913, yet they kept exporting unsmelted tin overseas. There isn’t any proof that copper exists in Nigeria. Therefore, it is likely that North Africa (Takeda) provided the copper needed for the metal industry through the Trans-Saharan trade.
Metal Casting
For casting bronze, the lost-wax, or cire perdu, method was employed. Initially, a wax model of the intended product was created and embellished. Clay was applied to the mold or model, and it was let dry. Second, the wax that ran out or was lost in the mould was melted by the heat, leaving an aperture in the clay that represented the object and the ornamentation. Thirdly, after heating the metal (bronze) for casting, it was poured into the hollow and allowed to cool and solidify. Ultimately, the thing was extracted by using a hammer to break the mould. Igbo—Ukwu and Ife—used the lost wax process.
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