**Originally Listed At $900**
Africa, Nigeria, Katsina or Sokoto, ca. 500 BCE to 200 CE. A rare and unusual hand built and modeled anthropomorphic lid from a funerary urn with elaborate hand incised designs created by the Katsina or Sokoto culture (both contemporary to the Nok culture) of ancient Nigeria. Nude, aside from her triple band necklace and single bracelet, she is a very dynamic figure with an expressive visage and female form, her breasts and umbilicus clearly defined. The figure possesses a large head with a domed shaped coiffure and incised straight hair, a columnar neck and body with the exception of protruding limbs and breasts, her facial features rendered as coffee bean shaped eyes, an open ovoid mouth with jutting jaw, full nose, protuberant ears, and some suggestions of scarification. She appears to be singing or chanting with her mouth open, downturned eyes, left hand placed just beneath her breast, and right hand set upon one upraised knee. Very few of these figures remain. A rare and special figure associated with fertility and fecundity from one of Africa's most understudied cultures. Size: 5.5" W x 12.5" H (14 cm x 31.8 cm)
Most Katsina figures were originally attached to the tops of globular vessels, suggesting that they were intended to be funerary markers. Katsina, Nok, and Soweto artisans all created large, hollow, thin-walled, low-fired, terracotta human sculptures. The materials used were terracotta mixed with mica and quartz for longevity; figures were covered with a slip, and burnished with pebbles. For further reference, see Frederick John Lamp "Ancient Terracotta Figures from Northern Nigeria," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 2011, New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 2011: 48-57.
Provenance: Ex-Peter Arnovick Collection, Los Altos, California
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#112317
Condition
Intact with surface abrasions and minor losses as shown.