Lost-Wax Technique

• The lost-wax technique was used by West Africans to create ornate and detailed metal statues and plates. A piece of beeswax or other material with a low melting point was carved into the desired artwork and had to be soft enough to be carved but firm enough to retain the details of the art. Then layers of fine, thin clay were placed over the wax to capture all the tiny details, followed by layers of thick, heavy clay for strength. The piece was baked, firing the clay solid while melting away the wax. The clay mold could then be filled with molten metals to form the statue. Many artists chose to use bronze -- a mix of copper and tin -- to ensure the sturdiness of the statue. Once cast, the clay mold was smashed away, leaving an ornate, beautiful bronze statue. This technique, though occasionally used in the region today, has largely been replaced by modern technologies.
  
  

Other Techniques

• Other techniques were used to shape copper, bronze and brass into jewelry, decorative hangings and various religious implements. Many African tribes mastered twisting and braiding copper and bronze into cords for decorative elements. Forging, in which a metal is heated and then hammered into shape, was common throughout East Africa and is still found throughout Africa today. In many African societies, the act of creating something out of metal, regardless of technique, was seen as an act of creation, and so any metal-working was often surrounded by social taboos and religious anxieties.
  
  

Igbo-Ukwu

• Igbo-Ukwu is a region in southern Nigeria in which three major archaeological sites dating from the 9th century present some of the finest bronze work in the world. Using the lost-wax technique, the peoples of the Igbo-Ukwu created a number of ritual vessels that are still unmatched today. The Igbo-Ukwu people were "not familiar with techniques such as raising, soldering, riveting and wire making," according to cultural anthropologist Alice Apley. However, they discovered creative ways of casting multiple pieces, joining cast pieces into larger works and precisely hammering and twisting copper and other alloys.
  
  

Benin Kings

• Starting in the 14th century, brass commemorative heads were commissioned by each new Benin king at the beginning of his reign. Brass -- a mixture of copper and zinc -- was used to imitate the appearance of gold. The king, or oba, would order a solid brass statue of the previous king's head. These commemorative statues would often consist of an idealized depiction of the predecessor's head, decorated and surrounded by symbols of good kingship, often making it difficult to determine the actual identity of a given commemorative head. Scholars today examine how each head fits within larger stylistic trends in Benin and West African art.