Head

The object on display is a clay head with a rough surface, earthy colour and conical shape with two triangular faces turned back to back. It was made of unfired clay. The material used for the sculpture is admixed with sand and small stones. The figurine was most probably dried in the sun. The purpose of its creation is unclear. Dating and identification of the ethnic group whose representatives made it is also problematic. Clay is a very durable material. Clay products can survive for centuries under favourable conditions. Clay shrinks in the range of five to twenty per cent during drying and firing in fires or kilns, and thicker objects dry more slowly than thinner ones. Items with sharp edges also dry more quickly than rounded ones. The object was donated to the National Museum in Szczecin by Oleńka Darkowska-Nidzgorska, an expert on African puppet theatre, who, together with her husband Denis Nidzgorski-Gordier, spent several years in Gabon, Benin, Togo, Rwanda and Niger.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron