This seems to be the only small Ife/ Tada sculpture, which is less fragmentary than the large sculpture we know in the British Museum. This seated figure is holding a snake in its hands and maybe it gives an impression how the wellknown, fragmentary figure once looked like before it loosed his arms.

Source: Copper seated figure in the Ife style, Tada. Nigeria, 53.7 cm (20 in) high, c. 12th-14th century. National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Lagos.

One of the most mysterious works of African art, this seated figure matches the Ife style but was found together with the so-called Tsoede bronzes in the village of Tada, on the banks of the Niger. It is distinguished from all other Ife sculptures by its complex asymmetrical position, virtually unique in African sculpture, which generally favours a frontal or symmetrical position. The sculpture is also unusual for the proportions of the head and other body parts, which resemble that of a real human body. In other figures from Ife, the head measures about one-quarter of the total height and the legs are markedly smaller.
 

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Height: 23 cm
Weight: 2,8 kg