The story of the beginning of the creative foraging in art in Nigeria is never much different from what is obtainable in various parts of the inhabited world.
The story of art could be simply put as the story of civilization and evolution of man. Most of the materials and clues employed by ethnographers and anthropologists in reconstructing the story of the early man are largely based on the artistic objects and instruments left behind by the early man.
Therefore, to study the art of the political entity known as Nigeria today, one must seek first to keep abreast of the peoples that make up Nigeria and their cultural origins prior to the coming of British colonialism which signaled the beginning of the formal historic recording of the heterogeneous people that was later brought under one umbrella called Nigeria mostly for the purpose of effective governance by the British imperialists.
Consequently, since Nigeria today is more of a political sovereign entity rather than a singular culturally uniform group of people, it is important to study the arts of the different people that were brought together to answer Nigeria, since the country is made up of over 250 ethnic groups and languages.
Art in Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Almost all the ethnic people that make up Nigeria practise one form of art or the other. Like in most African societies, to the early Nigerians, art is inseparable from their religion. Art is seen as the agency through which their religion is given expression; it carries the essence of their religion.
Therefore, prior to the coming of the colonial masters, Nigeria was a melting pot of artistic explorations, since they practised their traditional religion to the fullest and without hindrance. The early Nigerians used their art to interpret their world as they saw it, as well as using it to concretize their cosmological views on life and esoteric ideas. They employed art in the various cultural celebrations and ceremonies and special commemorations because of the Pantheist nature of the traditional religion.
The early Nigerian society produced a large collection of ancestral images and gods while spirit entities, natural forces and elements such as wind, fire, water and land were given recognition as possessing spiritual authority and required reverence. They, therefore, made art objects to represent the essence and attributes of these supposed forces. This they did with hope of subduing or at least appeasing them and in some cases, harness this power and by so doing be able to bring them under some sort of control or form some kind of pact with them. This practice is not far different from the magical meanings adduced to the cave paintings discovered in Lascaux, France.
Therefore, for the purpose of this article, it will be best to stick to a selected number of artistic media generally used by the major artistic flashpoints in the country. Fortunately, these flashpoints also represent in no particular order, the major cultural groups with the most extant collection of traditional works of art.
A close study of the traditional art in Nigeria shows that most of the artifacts and cultural pieces produced by the different cultural groups are largely grouped within the boundaries of these mediums: stones, terracotta, woods, bronze, paintings and crafts.
Esie and Ikom Stone Sculptures:
Though Esie is a predominantly Yoruba community, the origin and identity of the makers of the stone sculptures have remained in obscurity crystallising into different mythological stories by the community. Therefore, in a bid to unravel the mystery behind their identity, ethnographers, anthropologists and archeologists have made concerted efforts in different directions in order to explain the works. The findings of many researchers have, however, established the following facts; the Esie stone sculpture is a composition of about a thousand soap stone sculptures depicting both human and zoomorphic features. The human figures represent people engaged in various human daily activities. The stone sculptures represent a cosmopolitan collection of different cultures with features such as sophisticated hair styles, dresses, tribal marks, necklaces and bracelets with multiple cultural traits that connect them with different ethnic groups surrounding the area.
The Esie stone works are also recognised as the largest collection of stone carving in Africa.
Ikom monoliths of Cross River State represent the second yet known largest collection of a handful stone sculptures. The stone works are found in an area inhabited by the Ekoi people along the bank of Cross River. The Ikom figures are generally that of humans and are highly geometricised. Measuring between 2 to 6 ft, the appearance of beards in all the figures clearly shows that most of them are males. Scientific researches on this works date them to around 200AD.
Terracotta Culture
In Nigeria, almost every cultural group possesses one form of terracotta art or the other. In fact, most parts of Nigeria have one form of sculptural tradition or another especially around the southern part of the country. Nevertheless, the picture starts changing as one gradually moves towards the Northern part of the country. The Nok culture is dated to have flourished between the years 2000BC and 300AD, making it the oldest form of traditional art not just in Nigeria but West Africa.
The followings are the stylistic characters of Nok Art: complicated coiffure, high geometricism with cylindrical heads, perforated eyes, nose, mouths and ears, semi-circular and triangular eyes and lids and so on.
Asides from the Nok culture, the Ife-Terracotta works are another notable ancient traditional art emanating from South Western Nigeria. Dating as far back as 12-15 century A.D. Ife art is located at the heart of Yoruba ancestry.
Wood Carvings
Scholars have for long established that Nigeria possesses the largest collection of sculptural works in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these art works are done in wood and are applied to different uses. Also, this was possible due to the diversity in cultural abundance and most importantly as a result of the surplus abundance of timber made possible by the country‘s location within the tropical rainforest region of Africa. Therefore, almost all cultural groups in Nigeria possess one form of wood carving tradition with notable styles and characteristics particular to them.
Ancestral Figures
Most ethnic groups in Nigeria have a tradition of carving ancestral figures. In Yoruba land, they have Ibeji figures. These figures are done to celebrate the birth or death of twins in Yoruba tradition. It is backed by the people’s belief that twins are powerful spirits who are capable of bringing wealth to their families or misfortune to those who do not honour them.
To the Igbos of the South-Eastern Nigeria, one of the most popular and significant ancestral figures come in the form of Ikenga wood carvings. Ikenga is usually used to denote the power of a man’s right hand and his accomplishments. It is represented usually by a figure holding different things such as horns and swords. This practice of Ikenga carving has penetrated other cultures around the Igbos, such as the Edo who call it Ikengaobo and the Igala who call it Okega.
Doors & Wooden Posts
The Yorubas have a rich tradition of carved wooden posts and carved chip doors. This style of carving was so highly developed that guild of carvers and artists was developed around it. It was through this informal system of traditional art society education that gave birth to 20th century artists like the famous Olowo of Ise who many scholars have acclaimed as the most important Yoruba artist of the 20th century because of his virtuosity and dexterity in the niche of carved wooden doors and house posts.
Similarly, the Igbos also have a developed system of wood carving of doors and house posts. In the past, the houses of highly placed individuals and the affluent were embellished with these works. In fact, it was used to identify the extent of wealth and social importance of individuals. The Awka guild of carvers was found in Anambra State.
Igbo-Ukwu, Ife and Benin Bronze Traditions
The Igbo-Ukwu bronze tradition is, unarguably, one of the most celebrated contributions of the Igbo race to African artistic and technological heritage. The origin of the technology and knowledge of metal working as displayed by the complicated and intricate designs employed in Igbo-Ukwu bronze findings still baffles scholars till date. The Igbo-Ukwu art heritage is reputed to be the oldest bronze sculpture tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa, dated to about 9th century A.D.
The ancient city of Ife is widely acclaimed by the Yorubas as the birth place or the ancestral home of the Yoruba people. Many of the ancient Ife artefacts today have been traced to the dynasty of the Ife King, Oba Obalufon II who is highly regarded as patron of the arts. One notable characteristic of the Ife art is the emphasis on the size of the head as being the centre of knowledge, symbol of ego and destiny and so on. The Ife artists therefore do not observe the rules of proportion in producing their figures but rather the heads usually are made a little larger than the rest of the body; sometimes in the ratio of 1:4.
Another notable characteristic of the Ife art is in the use of small holes to indicate beards and hairlines of the masks and faces, and the presence of prominent scarification lines running vertically across the whole face.
The Ifes were also adept in their mastery of copper and its alloys and they produced a handful of works using the material. They also produced terracotta works. Because the Ifes strived to produce art works that pleased the Obas, great effort was put into their production to achieve striking naturalism. This naturalism is one of the most notable attributes of the Ife copper heads which have their facial features well articulated to true representation of the individuals depicted.
Of all the bronze casting traditions found in Nigeria, Benin ranks as the most popular, known world over. They are most famous for the great attention to details, masterly craftsmanship and dexterity with which they were executed. The inventiveness of the Benin civilization and art was first brought to Western public view following the infamous punitive British invasion of the kingdom in the year 1897, which saw a great number of Benin artefacts carted away by the British soldiers as war booties.
The ancient Benin people, like their Yoruba counterparts placed great importance on the head as a chief part of the body; they therefore believe that the head is imbued with spiritual energy (ehi) deposited by the creator; Osanobua and his eldest son, Olokun. This is probably the reason why the Benins have a massive repertoire of bronze heads of their Obas donning their royal regalia.
The art of the Benin people, like most Nigerian cultures, is not without the influence of neighbouring tribes. Consequently, the Benins trace their bronze casting origin to the great Yoruba town of Ife, from where a man came and taught them different bronze casting techniques. Also, the Benin art was influenced by the naturalistic style of the Ifes.
Contemporary Nigerian Art
Following the dawn of independence in Nigeria, artistic foraging has continued to flourish, leading to the flowering of a multiplicity of contemporary styles in art production. Through the acquisition of formal Western art education, and drawing inspirations from the rich cultural motifs, Nigerian art scene has become more individualised, detribalised and universal with little common traditional traits still noticeable in the corpus of works addressed today as contemporary Nigerian Art.
Globalisation influences and current socio-cultural and political issues have contributed to a proliferation of styles and techniques. Nevertheless, the state of contemporary art in Nigeria is in a continuous flux and remains ever vibrant, opening up more vistas for artistic expression in a world resplendent with multiplicity of media and styles.

By: Moses Njoku
Njoku is of the Affinity Art Gallery, Lagos.