The first Ife head discovered, Olokun, was once mistaken to be from the lost city of Atlantis by a German ethnologist, Leo Frobenius, who could not believe that Africans were capable of creating art of that standard. However, when the figure of the Oni of Ife was later found in 1957 it was proven that Africans, Nigerians to be exact, were very capable of creating art and using it for means of self-expression.
Dating back to the 9th century A.D., the Igbo-Ukwu bronze sculptures had been discovered in Nigeria. Three major discoveries were made in the compounds of locals which were identified as Igbo Isaiah, Igbo Richard and Igbo Jonas. Some bronze pieces were found to have resemblances to living creatures such as snail shell vessel, which can be found here at the YSMA. These were studied and found to have intricate designs and patterns of land animals. In the case of the lines and dots on the snail vessel, which is similar to the facial scarification of the royalty of the Umeri clan, this led researchers to believe that the bronze pieces were intended for worship and for royalty.
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