AMICO Sample Records
Catalog Record in Data Dictionary Format

AID	MIA_.95.84
OTY	Sculpture
OTG
	OTN	Female Portrait Head
MET	H.12 x W.5-3/4 x D.7 in.
MEG
	MCM	overall
	MED
	MDV
	MDU	inches
OMG
	OMD	terra-cotta
CRG
	CRT	Ife (Yoruba)
	CRC	Ife (Yoruba)
	CRR	artist
OCG
	OCT	12th century - 14th century
	OCS	1100
	OCE	1399
STG
SUG
CXG
	CXD	<P>Between the 12th and 14th centuries, the royal city of Ife, in present-day Nigeria, was a center of economic, religious and political power, and its importance was reflected in a highly developed and distinctive sculptural style. Portrait heads modeled in terra-cotta or bronze stood on royal shrines in the palace compound. This head, recently acquired by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, probably represents a woman of the royal court. The delicate lines on her face show a pattern of scarification, the cutting of designs into the skin to mark identity, status and beauty. The sensitive realism of this portrait is unusual among African art styles which typically present abstracted and generalized representations of the human image. Works of art from Ife are very rare. This superb creation is one of only three in American museum collections.</P>
OOG
	OON	The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
	OOP	Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
	OOA	95.84
	OOC	The John R. Van Derlip Fund
ORG
	ORL	http://www.artsmia.org/restrictions.html
RIG
	RIP	Y
	RID	Full view
	RIR	HasFormat
	RIL	MIA_.1533c.tif
RMG
	RMD	Antenna Audio: Permanent Collection Tour
	RMR	IsReferencedBy
	RML	MIA_.AA200102.14.mp3
DCG
	DCB	mia: MIA Photo/Scanning Services
	DCD	19980225
AVD	20000614
AVV	1.2
ALY	1998

Return to Sample Record