A Yoruba (Ife) Bronze Bell with Raptor Nigeria, c. 1500-1700 Superbly cast bronze with crisp high relief ...

Description

A Yoruba (Ife) Bronze Bell with Raptor
Nigeria, c. 1500-1700

Superbly cast bronze with crisp high relief and fine incising, this rare ritual bell presents a visionary raptor head in high relief: long feathered ears frame a mask with human eyes, while the powerful hooked beak grips a serpent that curves over the raptors body. Below spreads fan of tail feathers, and from the temples sweep long, scrolling feathers with three pendant feathers. The surface carries a deep, age-hardened patina with traces of ingrained soil in the recessed areas. In very good condition, appropriate for its age, origin, and medium. The loop at top missing, a one-inch diameter dent on proper right side.

In the Yoruba world, bells (agogo) are not merely sonorous tools but ritual voices: they announce presence, open and close ceremonial time, and invite the deities and ancestors. Rung at shrines and in celebrations, their sound was believed to carry àṣẹ (vital power), summoning and focusing spiritual presence on the proceedings. The present bell's commanding avian icon—raptor sovereignty fused with a human eye mask—aligns with Ife's bronze-casting tradition and the symbolic language of royal and sacred regalia.

An exceptional example, notable for ambitious iconography, sharply defined, high relief, and venerable patina—among the finest small bronzes of its kind.

Provenance:
Acquired by the current collection in 1995
Philippe Guimiot, Brussels, Belgium

Height: 5 ¼ inches

Estimate: $7,000 - $10,000.

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