Ife bronze casting reaches maturity

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In the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife, bronze casters using the lost-wax method produced portrait heads of astonishing naturalism that would not be surpassed in Africa until the Benin craftsmen learned from them. The sculptures were probably commissioned for royal shrines and funerals. Their serene beauty and technical sophistication challenged European assumptions about African artistic capability when they were first exhibited in the twentieth century.