Which material is most common in Yoruba traditional sculpture?

Answer Details

The Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria have a rich sculptural tradition stretching back over a thousand years. Among the options given, terracotta is the most common material in Yoruba traditional sculpture. The ancient city of Ife (Ile-Ife), regarded as the spiritual homeland of the Yoruba, produced remarkable terracotta sculptures dating from the 12th to 15th centuries. These terracotta heads and figures are among the most celebrated works of African art and represent the earliest known Yoruba sculptural tradition.

Terracotta (fired clay) was widely available and did not require the specialised metalworking knowledge that bronze or brass casting demanded. While Ife also produced famous bronze and brass heads, metal casting was a more exclusive and costly process, making metal sculptures less common overall than terracotta works. Stone sculpture is not a prominent feature of Yoruba art. Beads are important in Yoruba decorative arts and regalia but are not a sculptural material.