The materials used in Benin’s royal arts—primarily brass, ivory, and coral—are endowed with sacred power. The innate value of these materials within Benin and the time and skill that is invested in working them reflect the earthly and otherworldly influence of the Oba and the great wealth of his kingdom. Benin’s royal arts belong to a tradition that favors convention even as it promotes creativity and innovation, especially as a reflection of royal prerogative. Through time, rulers have used the arts to interpret the history of the kingdom and to orient themselves with the past in an effort to support their own initiatives and define their images for posterity

Tsoede, also known as Tsudi, Tsade or Edegi or Ichado in Igala language, is a legendary African leader. He was the first person to unite the Nupe people, and is considered the first Etsu Nupe, ruler of the Nupe Kingdom, between the Niger and Kaduna rivers in what is now central Nigeria.

His father was a prince of Igala, and his mother was a Nupe maiden. He was brought up among the Nupe. The Igala people required a regular tribute of slaves from the Nupe, and Tsoede was sent as a slave to the Igala capital Idah. There, he was recognised by his father, now the Atta (king), and his father took him into his palace. He rose in favour and became heir apparent, but was forced to flee after the father’s death.

Esie is an archaeological site in which over 1,000 soapstone figures of men, women, children and animals are located and originally found in a grove surrounded by Peregun trees. After a great deal of pushback from the people that worshiped these objects, they were eventually housed in what is now the Esie Museum. There are also a few at the National Museum of Lagos and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. These soapstone figures are one of the largest collections of stone carvings in Africa. The origins of these figures is mysterious. Esie traditions contend that they are the petrified remains of foreign visitors, while more recent scholarship postulates that the figures were carved by Yoruba people in an area located very close to the site on which they were foun.

Nok art refers to huge human, animal, and other figures made out of terracotta pottery, made by the Nok culture and found throughout Nigeria. The terracottas represent the earliest sculptural art in West Africa and were made between 900 B.C.E. and 0 C.E., concurrent with the earliest evidence of iron smelting in Africa south of the Sahara desert.

The Nigerian National Museum is a national museum of Nigeria, located in the city of Lagos. The museum has a notable collection of Nigerian art, including pieces of statuary and carvings and archaeological and ethnographic exhibits. Of note is a terracotta human head known as the Jemaa Head (c. 900 to 200 BC), part of the Nok culture. The piece is named after Jema’a, the village where it was uncovered. It is located at Onikan, Lagos Island. The museum is administered by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.