Provenance: From the collection of Jerald Barnes, a former US diplomat who collected in West Africa. A written provenance statement is included with your purchase.
Ask a question
More photos, measurements or condition details. We reply within 24 hours.+
Overview
A terracotta head of a bearded man in the Sokoto tradition of north-west Nigeria, mounted on a metal rod with a dark stepped block base. The forehead is high and domed, with a heavy brow ridge that overhangs narrow, pierced eyes. Below are a short nose with pierced nostrils and full, slightly parted lips. A pointed beard marked with fine grooves juts forward from the chin, and ridged bands circle the neck. A raised rim frames the face like the edge of a cap, with grooved bands running around the back of the head. The coarse orange-red clay is full of small pale mineral grains, which gives the surface a speckled, granular look. It suits a shelf, desk, mantel or a collection of African terracotta.
About Age and Authenticity
This piece comes from a collection lot (ex Barnes) in which a companion piece was thermoluminescence (TL) tested by Artemis Testing Lab in February 2021, with an estimated age of about 2,200 years (±350). This piece itself has not been tested. We make no claim about its age and sell it as is. Buyers are welcome to arrange their own TL testing.
Background
Sokoto terracottas take their name from Sokoto State in the far north-west of Nigeria, where they have been found. They are generally dated to about 500 BCE to 200 CE, roughly the same period as the better-known Nok terracottas of central Nigeria and the Katsina terracottas found between the two regions. Together these three traditions are the earliest known figurative sculpture in West Africa.
Sokoto has been far less studied than Nok. Few pieces come from recorded excavations, so much less is known about the people who made them and how the sculptures were used. One common suggestion is that they stood on or near graves. The style is plainer and more severe than Nok: the forms are simplified, the hair and jewellery are less detailed, and the faces have a heavy brow that overhangs narrow eyes and gives a stern look. Many of the heads are bearded men. Like Nok pieces, they are hollow and built by hand from coarse clay, and the original surface has usually worn to a grainy texture.
This head shows these features: a heavy overhanging brow, narrow pierced eyes, pierced nostrils, a grooved beard and ringed bands at the neck. It is a fragment of a larger figure and is unmarked. It is from the collection of Jerald Barnes, an American collector who lived in West Africa for over a decade.
Condition
A fragment broken from a larger figure, with an uneven old break below the neck and part of one shoulder remaining. There is a loss at the top back of the head, where rough clay shows, and a darker rough patch on the break edge at the front of the neck. The surface is weathered and granular, with dark spots and earth deposits in the recesses. No repairs are visible. The stand has light marks. Please see all photos.
Dimensions & Weight
The head alone is about 7.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches (H x W x D), and about 11.5 inches high on its stand. The head and stand together weigh about 5 lb 13.8 oz.
Shipping
Free standard shipping within the US, packed securely.
