Tada

On the banks of the Niger, the Nupe village of Tada is associated with remarkable cast-metal figures. Among them are a standing man and a seated figure whose naturalistic style recalls the art of Ife. Together with sculptures kept at Jebba and other riverside settlements, they bear witness to artistic traditions that crossed the lands around the middle Niger.

Nupe tradition connects these figures with Tsoede, the celebrated founder of the kingdom. According to one account, he brought them upriver from Idah, his father's home, and left them among the communities of Nupe. Their varied styles suggest a more complicated history, and the seated figure in particular has close affinities with the works of Ife. The sculptures became part of the sacred inheritance of the communities that kept them.