ABSTRACT
One category of Lower Niger Bronzes (LNBs) that should prove informative is that of replicas. Whether one terms these objects replicas or skeumorphs, they are copies of naturally occurring objects created in a totally different material. When comparing replicas and skeumorphs, more often authors find European replicas rather than European skeumorphs, although the latter certainly exist. Without a broad range of works of a certain form or type, it is difficult to determine which are Nigerian replicas or simply the “natural” development of a form over time. Perhaps the best known skeumorphs among these LNB copper-alloy works are the highly stylized carnivore skulls. These are copies of leopard skulls, which, along with evidence of other sacrificed creatures, would decorate family and community shrines.
