The head of a man is part of a group of over a thousand known sculptures identified with a site in the Yoruba town of Esie in north-central Nigeria. This sculpted head possesses many traits common to Esie figures, including sharply defined almond eyes, and ears set far back on the head. While some statues from Esie have been described as solemn in expression, here the mouth seems to part in a slight but gentle smile.

In Africa, the Yoruba are contiguous with the Yoruboid Itsekiri to the southeast in the northwest Niger Delta, Bariba to the northwest in Benin and Nigeria, and the Nupe to the north, and the Ebira to the northeast in central Nigeria. To the east are the Edo, Ẹsan, and Afemai groups in mid-western Nigeria.