Ife head

The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum is back in Africa. This week Neil MacGregor is exploring high status objects from across the world around 700 years ago.

Today he has chosen a sculpture widely considered as one of the highest achievements of world art. It comes from Ife, a city now in South-Western Nigeria. It's a slightly less than life sized representation of a human head, made in brass at a time when metal casting had become a hugely sophisticated art. The head, with its deeply naturalistic features, was probably that of a great king or leader although its exact function remains uncertain. The head leads Neil to consider the political, economic and spiritual life of the Yoruba city state that produced it. The writer Ben Okri responds to the mood of the sculpture while the art historian Babatunde Lawal considers what role it might have played in traditional tribal life.

Producer: Anthony Denselow

Episoder(101)

Lothair Crystal

Lothair Crystal

This week, Neil MacGregor is exploring life in the great royal courts around the world during Europe's medieval period. It's easy to forget that the civilisations of Tang China, the Islamic Empire and...

16 Jun 201013min

Harem wall painting fragments

Harem wall painting fragments

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through objects at the British Museum. This week, he is exploring life and intrigue in the great courts of the world at the same time as the European medieval pe...

15 Jun 201014min

Maya relief of royal blood-letting

Maya relief of royal blood-letting

The history of the world as told through objects. This week Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum, is exploring power and intrigue in the great royal courts of the world around 800 AD. To...

14 Jun 201014min

Silk princess painting

Silk princess painting

Throughout this week, Neil MacGregor has been exploring the world of the late 7th century, with objects from South America, Britain, Syria and Korea. Today's object is from the 4000 mile tangle of rou...

11 Jun 201014min

Korean roof tile

Korean roof tile

Korea: source of modern-day electronic components. Neil MacGregor delves into the history of a an artefact from the region.

10 Jun 201014min

Moche warrior pot

Moche warrior pot

The history of the world as told through one hundred objects arrives in 7th Century Peru. Throughout this week Neil MacGregor is exploring along the Silk Road and beyond, ranging from Korea to East An...

9 Jun 201014min

Sutton Hoo helmet

Sutton Hoo helmet

The history of the world as told through one hundred objects. This week Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, is exploring the world in the 7th Century, at a time when the teachings of I...

8 Jun 201014min

Gold Coins of Abd al-Malik

Gold Coins of Abd al-Malik

The history of the world as told through one hundred of the objects that time has left behind. The objects are from the British Museum and tell the story of humanity over the past 2 million years. The...

7 Jun 201014min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-verden
sektledere
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
rss-benadet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-historiske-romanser
med-egne-oyne
historiepodden
rss-gamle-greier
vare-historier
liberal-halvtime
historiepodden-ww2
sannhet-eller-konspirasjon
rss-historiepodden-ww2