The Igbo-Ukwu bronzes

Record summary

Igbo-Ukwu revealed elaborately cast copper-alloy objects, beads, ritual vessels and other materials in deposits generally dated to the ninth century CE. Thurstan Shaw’s excavations demonstrated highly skilled local or regional production before the better-documented medieval phases of West African urbanism. The assemblage matters for comparisons of metallurgy, ritual deposition, long-distance exchange and social authority. Questions remain about the site’s settlement context, the organization of production and how imported materials circulated. The objects should be studied through excavation records rather than isolated museum displays.