Bell; lost-wax cast in copper alloy. Flared cylindrical form with ribbed strap handle. Decorated around top and bottom of bell with six heads of young rams or goats in high relief. Central band decorated with spirals, zigzags and circular bosses. Clapper suspended inside bell.
The term ‘Lower Niger Bronze Industry’ was created and first used by William Buller Fagg (1957, 1963, 1970) to identify a miscellaneous group of lost-wax cast objects which were stylistically and/or iconographically distinct from Igbo-Ukwu, Ife and Benin City pieces. The objects are associated with various locations in southern Nigeria, south of the confluence of Benue and Niger Rivers and between the borders with the Republic of Benin and Cameroon. They are thought to have been made prior to European contact, circa pre-1500 A.D. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Lower Niger Bronze Industries’ or ‘Lower Niger Bronzes’. Fagg, William B. (1957) ‘Introduction’. In Plass, Margaret. Lost wax; metal casting on the Guinea Coast. London: London Institute of Contemporary Arts. Fagg, William. (1963). Nigerian images: The splendor of African sculpture. New York ; London: Praeger. Fagg, William. (1970) Divine Kingship in Africa. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Publications. ~Register 1954: Coppery bronze bell with clapper, finely cast with six heads in relief of young rams (or goats). S. NIGERIA.