Cast bronzes are known to have been produced in Africa by the 9th century AD in Igboland (Igbo-Ukwu) in Nigeria, the 12th century AD in Yorubaland (Ife) and the 15th century AD in the kingdom of Benin. Some portrait heads remain.
Benin mastered bronze during the 16th century, produced portraiture and reliefs in the metal using the lost wax process.