This is the rating and price for Ancient African Nok Terracotta Head - Ex Malter

Description : West Africa, Central Nigeria, ca 500 BCE to 200 CE. A carved terracotta head created by this ancient African culture. This terracotta example is made of a coarse, quartz-tempered clay. The features were hand-modeled and show a remarkable sophistication for such an early date in Iron Age, Sub-Saharan Africa. The style of Nok facial features shows similarity to more historic and contemporary bronze and wooden sculptures found among the Benin and Yoruba peoples of Nigeria. It has been said these ancient figures represent the beginnings of black African art. Mounted on wooden base. Size: 4-1/2 x 3-1/4 x 2-3/4 (11.4 x 8.3 x 7 cm), 6-7/8 (17.5 cm) high on base. Classical Nok terracotta 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 ancient structures are practically non-existent today. However, it has been suggested the terracotta figures, which this head came from, were ancestral effigies kept in shrine houses. Provenance: Ex-private Bates Collection, Clarksville, IA, ex-Joel Malter Collection, acquired before 1990 All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #110709
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