Africa, Northern Nigeria, Nok, ca. 500 BCE to 200 CE. A handsome terracotta head from one of the oldest African centers of figural sculpture and ironworks. The ancient head displays characteristic traits of the classical Nok style including an elongated head, a high smooth forehead, huge, slender eyes with perforated pupils, boldly delineated lids, slightly risen, arched brows, a wide nose, and bowed lips. A dotted line surrounding his mouth may be indicative of facial hair, such as a beard or moustache. The head is capped by an elaborate coiffure of 6 bulbs of hair, arranged in a flower-like design, and all incised with starburst striations. A wonderful example that is more than two thousand years old! Please note that the Lucite stand is for photography purposes only. Size: 2.875" W x 4" H (7.3 cm x 10.2 cm)

Classical Nok terracotta sculpture was first found in 1943 deep within a tin mine, near the present-day town of Nok, situated on the Jos Plateau in central Nigeria. The exact use of these portrait-like figures has yet to be discovered; none of these sculptures has ever been found in situ and any remains of these ancient structures are practically non-existent today. However, it has been suggested the hollow terracotta figures were ancestral effigies kept in shrine houses. In addition, the style of Nok facial features shows parallels with contemporaneous bronze and wooden sculptures created by the Benin and Yoruba peoples of Nigeria. It has been said these ancient Nok figures represent the beginnings of African art.

Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, acquired in 2015; ex-Andrew Berz at Berz Gallery of African Art, San Francisco, California, USA

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#162919

Fragment of larger piece. Two stable pressure fissures to near chin. A few minor abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with lovely earthen deposits throughout.