Description:

Ancient Africa, north/central Nigeria, Nok culture, ca. 500 BCE to 600 CE. A hand-built pottery head from a larger, hollow-bodied figure. The characteristically elongated head presents with incised ovoid eyes and impressed pupils, a flush nose with enormous nostrils, puffy lips, and a shallow groove surrounding the forehead. 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 since none of these sculptures has ever been found in situ, and any remains of their ancient structures are practically non-existent today. However, it has been suggested the hollow terracotta figures, which this head came from, were ancestral effigies kept in shrine houses. Size: 1.875" W x 3.625" H (4.8 cm x 9.2 cm); 5.125" H (13 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: ex-private Pearson collection, Denver, Colorado, USA

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#144819

  • Condition: This is a fragment of a larger sculpture. Minor age-commensurate nicks and abrasions to neck and head, softening to some finer details, and light encrustations within some recessed areas. Nice earthen deposits throughout.

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July 25, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000