Valeria Van der Westhuizen
Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
Sculpture has always been оne of the most popular types of art in Sub-Saharan Africa. Bronzes were of great importance together with wooden carved sculpture.
West Africa, Nigeria in particular, has been the centre of bronze sculpture production for centuries. Local masters cast sculptures of high quality using the complex lost wax technique. Today scholars argue about the time and the way this technique first appeared in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its history and local characteristics are of a great importance and interest.
The current report traces the history of lost wax sculpture technique in Africa south of the Sahara, discusses its local characteristics and presents the finest examples of Nigerian bronzes from the museum collections in Europe.