Igboukwu Bronze

Igboukwu Bronze

Igboukwu Bronze

No artefact holds as much fascination for me as this famous pot which is the most elegant of all the bronze work from Igboukwu. I love it so much that I have its image emblazoned on my favourite shirt.

I love the muffled opulence of it; the intricate patterns, the sublime craftsmanship that is seeable only to trained eyes and it’s overall otherness. Igboukwu Bronze pot is just different. And in its difference, speaks to the high-mindedness of the ancestors that birthed that civilization which dates back to the 9th Century.

Sadly, I made a casual inquiry about the future of this great heritage recently and I was told that it is no longer in production. In other words, no one has been able to continue where the ancients that created the art stopped. I’m saddened by this possibility, this seeming lack of continuity. It does not bode well for us as a people. It calls our ancestry to question. It casts doubts about our ability to preserve a heirloom…a great heritage. Did greatness stop with the ancient generation that gave us Igboukwu Bronze? Why has there not been any individual or group effort to continue that tradition? It becomes even more painful when one remembers that Benin Bronze works are still in production to this day.

Ndigbo jukene nu ese, biko!

How can a people who gifted Africa her earliest bronze work turn so completely away from their heritage to assume the grotesque personas we see on social media today? Some things should matter to us. Some things!