Module 12: Americas

 

                    Head, possibly a King, 12th-14th century Ife      Olmec, Colossal Head, La Venta Monument 1, 900-400 BCE

       At first look, these two pictures appear to be remarkably similar in physicality and underlying meaning. The indifferent emotions, blank eyes, flaring lips, head pieces, and sense of significant all point to this.

    The Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria created the portrait on the left. On the right, an Olmec civilization portrait painted in Mexico. Both statues depict a greater power, namely a king. Both pieces exhibit hyper-focused details of human facial characteristics and realism. A crown is placed atop the portrait's head on the left, while the sculpture on the right retains a large head-piece. Such detail is only found in artworks of royalty or religious figures in most historical works of art.

    Despite the fact that these portraits are of kings, there is still a strong religious element to both heads. Nigerian clay heads were buried until they could be dug out and utilized in offerings and sacrifices. Many of the recovered sculptures in Nigeria were discovered near shrines. The same religious potency can be transferred to the Olmec heads since their sheer size (10 feet tall and 40 tons) represents a God. While there is much discussion about the Colossal Head's religious significance, this does not diminish the fact that it is a significant figure.

    The portraits' evident intended audience was the monarchs they portrayed, as well as the people who lived in these civilizations. The heads are a sign of the Yoruba and Olmec people's enduring imprint on whoever the specific kings were. It is impossible to determine the exact meaning of the heads, but it does not take a scholar to see that the carvings are culturally significant- whether at the time they were carved or today. The faces of those powerful kings will be enshrined in African and Mexican culture for the rest of time.

Citations

Head, possibly a King | Kimbell Art Museum. (n.d.). Kimbell Art Museum. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-199404

The Colossal Heads of the Olmec. (2019, January 25). ThoughtCo. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-colossal-heads-of-the-olmec-2136318