**Originally Listed At $350**

West Africa, Nigeria, Yoruba, ca. first half of the 20th century CE. A hand-built earthenware pot lid depicting a figure with a raised head who holds a small olla in both hands. The face exhibits coffee-bean-shaped eyes, a thin mouth beneath a narrow nose, horizontal scarification marks across the cheeks, and a crested coiffure that drapes down behind the neck and doubles as a handle. A pair of lateral perforations are meant to hold a narrow pole when lifting the lid off of a pot as well as ventilation holes for steam to escape. Black-brown slip pigment covering the lid has faded to reveal areas of the orange-brown earthenware beneath. Size: 5.625" W x 6.3" H (14.3 cm x 16 cm)

Provenance: ex-private Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA collection; ex-old private Ohio, USA collection, acquired in the 1950s

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#156723

Nicks and abrasions to arms, dish, head, and base, with softening to some finer details, and light fading to original pigment, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits and remains of pigment throughout.