231056 - Old Terracotta Sokoto head - Nigeria

Antique Terracotta Sokoto head - Nigeria.
This Sokoto head was collected in my private collection in 1997.
This superb and highly characteristic head measures 13 cm in height and 18 deep.
The art of Sokoto was born in the middle valley of the Niger, and reveals a refined and highly evolved civilization.This civilization is contemporary with the civilization of Nok. The geographical areas overlapand the exchanges between the two peoples were to be important.
Among the pieces listed during the excavations, are mainly preserved isolated heads, mostly male,originally belonging to statues of figures standing in a frontal attitude.
Sokoto heads generally adopt the same characteristic construction: globular skull, high forehead cleared, pupil pierced and underlined by a semicircle, flat, triangular face.A few examples are distinguished by the formal treatment accorded to the face.
Literature.: Karl-Ferdinand Schaedler, Erde und Erz, 2500 Jahre Afrikanische Kunst aus Terrakotta und Metall, 1997Literature: Frederick John Lamp, Ancient Terracotta Figurines from Northern Nigeria. Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, 2011.