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African & Tribal Art :
Nok, Katsina, Sokoto : Nok Terracotta Head
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Nok Terracotta Head - PF.3820
Origin: Northern Nigeria
Circa: 250
BC
to 100
BC
Dimensions:
4.75" (12.1cm) high
x 4.5" (11.4cm) wide
Catalogue: V19
Collection: African
Style: Nok
Medium: Terracotta
$6,000.00
Location: United States
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Description |
Some of the earliest examples of sophisticated
sculpture in sub-Saharan Africa come from the
Nok culture, an Iron Age civilization that has
been dated between 900 B.C. and 200 A.D. The
terracotta sculptures range in size from small
pendants to life-size figures. We do not know
what the people called themselves, so the
civilization was named after the small tin-
mining village of Nok where the first objects
were discovered in 1928. Archaeological artifacts
have been found in throughout Nigeria, primarily
to the north of the Niger-Benue River confluence
and below the Jos escarpment detailing the
extent of their cultural influence. According to
some accounts, based on artistic similarities
between early Yoruba art forms and Nok forms,
there may be connections between Nok culture
and contemporary Yoruba peoples. What is clear
is that certain stylistic tendencies prevalent in
black African art today may have originated in
the sculptures of the Nok.
- (PF.3820)
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