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| Archaeological discoveries suggest that Nigeria's artistic traditions date back more than 5,000 years. The sculptures of ancient Nigeria were mainly in bronze and other metals, wood and baked clay known as terracotta. Wood carving is the most common form of artistic expression, especially among those who live in the south. Most often white wood and ebony are used. The ancestral and ceremonial wood carvings of the Benin, Ibo, Ibibio and Yoruba and the ivory carvings of Benin craftsmen are among the most beautiful works of art.
The figure carvings and low relief decorations on panel in traditional style represent one of the most important forms of arts in Nigeria. Often works are in white wood, iroko as well as ebony. The leading wood carvers are in Benin, Igbomina, Ekiti, Ife, Oyo, Awka, Afikpo, Ikot-Ekpene, Nupeland, Igbira, Chamba and Mana. Wood Carving Though places like Benin and Awka are acknowledged as center of wood-carving, wood carvers have flourished all over southern Nigeria since time immemorial, making figures for shrines, portraiture, masks, representations of the spirits of the field, forest stream, earth, sea, sky, water, fire and thunder. The works of old carvers remain in many villages where they provide the villages with their shrines, utensils and ornaments to this day. Many of the older examples of these products are preserved in the national and other museums. |
| ODEWALE FAMILY ORICHA WOOD CARVINGS CLICK BELOW |
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