When Leo Frobenius found and published a similar Ife head in 1910, the surprise at its quality and craftsmanship was so great that the work was attributed not to Africans but to a Greek colony. Yet the physiognomy and symbolism clearly point to an African origin. Since Willett's publications, at the latest, no one has doubted its African origin.

The physiognomy of this Ife head clearly shows the high standards of realism demanded of the foundries. This is particularly evident in the ears, but also in the eyes and the softly modelled nose. The ears are no longer merely suggested, as in many Benin heads, but are fully sculpted. The holes in the mouth and cheeks that are otherwise so typical are missing from this object. They are only punched out at the neck for attachment to a wooden torso. In addition to the missing holes, the elaborately decorated headdress crowned with a typical Ife cap is also striking.

There are various theories about the narrow line pattern on the face of this delicately shaped head with its realistic features. Some believe that these are decorative scars; others think that the stripes represent a veil that was attached to the crown.

The high quality of the Ife heads long led to the assumption that the origins of the bronze casting tradition in West Africa could be found in Ife. Very early on, the gallery questioned this theory after conducting research. As ethnologist Stefan Eisenhofer conclusively proves in several of his articles, this theory of origin is by no means proven. The tradition of production probably originated in Benin, where it was commissioned. In Benin, old workshops and guilds can be traced back around 1,000 years. With this assertion, Eisenhofer and Herrmann are at odds with Willet and Plankensteiner.

Compare with:
Frank WILLETT: Ife. Metropole afrikanischer Kunst. Bergisch Gladbach 1967, S. 36.
Barbara PLANKENSTEINER (Hg.): Benin. Könige und Rituale. Höfische Kunst aus Nigeria. Wien 2007, S. 272.
Stefan Eisenhofer: Ife und die Chronologie der Benin-Bronzen