This imposing crowned head belongs to the celebrated tradition of royal copper-alloy sculpture produced at Ile-Ife, the sacred and political centre of the Yoruba world. It represents a royal personage, most probably an Ooni, the ruler of Ife. The remarkable naturalism of the face, with its softly modelled lips, almond-shaped eyes and composed expression, is combined with the highly formalised vertical striations extending across the face. The elaborate crown is articulated by rows of raised beads and surmounted by a prominent rosette and tall central crest. The cylindrical neck is encircled by horizontal bands and pierced by an opening that may have served in the mounting, attachment or ritual presentation of the head. The surface is particularly noteworthy for its complex, multilayered patina. Rather than presenting a single homogeneous colour, the metal displays successive reddish-brown, ochre, dark brown, blackish and locally green-grey areas of oxidation and mineralisation. These layers appear particularly pronounced within recesses, around the details of the crown and across areas of worn and pitted metal. Their differentiated character suggests repeated and prolonged processes of corrosion under changing environmental conditions. Such superimposed oxidation layers are compatible with considerable antiquity and may result from extended periods of burial, exposure and renewed contact with soil and moisture. The patina should nevertheless be understood as supporting evidence rather than as an independent means of dating the sculpture. The age and formation of individual corrosion layers can only be established through scientific examination. Metallurgical and microscopic analysis of the surface and its stratigraphy would be required to distinguish ancient corrosion products from later alteration or intervention. Visually, however, the depth, heterogeneity and apparent integration of the different oxidation layers with the underlying surface are noteworthy characteristics. An important historical comparison is provided by the celebrated Ife head encountered by the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius in 1910, traditionally known as the Olokun Head. Frobenius was taken to the sacred Olokun Grove at Ife, where a priest showed him the metal head. It was not displayed permanently above ground but was ritually buried in the earth and, according to accounts of the episode, occasionally unearthed for offerings. The burial was therefore not necessarily the accidental archaeological deposition of an abandoned object, but formed part of its continuing ritual existence. Frobenius was deeply impressed by the sculpture and specifically remarked upon its dark green patina and extraordinary naturalism. He attempted to acquire and remove the head. The transaction became controversial because the priest who had dealt with Frobenius was not considered to have the authority to alienate it: the head was associated with the Ooni and the sacred community of Ife. Following local objections and the intervention of the British colonial authorities, Frobenius was ultimately compelled to return it. The original associated with the Olokun Grove is today recorded in the collection of the National Museum, Ife, while a cast made from the head in 1948 is preserved in the British Museum. The circumstances recorded by Frobenius are particularly relevant to the interpretation of the present head. They demonstrate that at least one important Ife metal head had a ritual biography involving deliberate burial, periodic exhumation and offerings. In such a context, contact with the earth was not simply something that happened to the sculpture after it ceased to function. Burial itself could form part of its sacred use. The complex surface of the present head may therefore be considered in relation to this documented practice, although a comparable ritual history cannot be established without a secure provenance. Its successive layers of oxidation could potentially preserve traces of changing environments over a considerable period: burial in soil, exposure to air and moisture, handling, ritual use and possibly renewed deposition. Seen in this way, the patina is not merely a colouration of the bronze but part of the material history of the object. The comparison with the Olokun Head is consequently significant on several levels. Both belong to the exceptional naturalistic tradition of Ife metal sculpture and combine idealised royal presence with highly controlled facial and ornamental detail. More importantly, the documented circumstances of the Olokun Head provide evidence that monumental metal heads at Ife could remain active sacred objects whose relationship with the earth was integral to their ritual meaning. The pronounced and multilayered oxidation of the present example is consistent with a long history of environmental interaction and potentially with episodes of burial, although such an interpretation must remain a hypothesis until supported by archaeological provenance and scientific analysis. Selected references Drewal, Henry John, and Enid Schildkrout, eds. Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa. London: British Museum Press, 2010. Eyo, Ekpo, and Frank Willett. Treasures of Ancient Nigeria. London and New York, 1982. Frobenius, Leo. The Voice of Africa. 2 vols. London, 1913. Willett, Frank. The Art of Ife: A Descriptive Catalogue and Database. Glasgow: Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, 2004. British Museum. Collection record for the cast of the Olokun Head, CRS.12. Frobenius Institute, Goethe University Frankfurt. Ife Objects and Collections in and out of Africa, research project, 2007–2009. The price is without the price for the TL analysis but can be done within four weeks for 350,- Euro. Some of the information is generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Invt. No. MAZ21946 Height: 41 cm Weight: 3.2 kg