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Head

Part of the collection: Terracotta from the Niger

Popularization note

The most common carving material used in Africa is wood. Stone is used much less frequently, and clay is the least frequently used material, from which figurines and other cult objects were modelled in some ethnic groups.The African tradition of firing clay sculptures dates to the first millennium BC, as exemplified by finds from the Nok Culture of Central Nigeria or the later terracotta items discovered in the Djenne-Jeno region of modern Mali. In traditional African communities, the sculptor is usually a blacksmith, often belonging to an endogamous professional caste. On the other hand, Clay figure making is the domain of women. They are most often made by one of the blacksmith's wives, who specialises in pottery. The presented object shows a clay head of a human figure with a cylindrical shape and a square face. The figure has a characteristic beard depicted by diagonal incisions. The figure was not fired in the kiln but only dried.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron

Information about the object

Information about this object

Author / creator

unknown

Dimensions

cały obiekt: height: 11,5 cm, width: 5,9 cm

Object type

sculpture

Creation time / dating

około 1301 — 1989

Creation / finding place

powstanie: Republika Nigru / Republika Mali; znalezienie: Republika Nigru

Identification number

MNS/AF/6571

Location / status

object is not displayed now

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