Standing figure
- Object Name
- Standing figure
- Culture / Site
- Nok culture, Nigeria
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Date
- 1st millennium BCE
- Dimensions
- 68 cm high
- Credit Line
- National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abuja, Nigeria, IFA 1 881–1885. Photograph by Stefan Rühl, Werbefotografie Rühl & Bormann, Darmstadt. Photograph © Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Archäologie und Archäobotanik Afrikas, Germany
- Section
- The Long Reach of the Sahara
- Description
This standing figure from the Nok Culture in North-Central Nigeria is one of the oldest known terracotta sculptures to be excavated from a site in Africa. Dating to the first century CE, it is one of over 1,000 such figures that have been excavated in the region, pointing to a rich material culture in the Central Sudan long before the medieval period. The figure is depicted wearing a beaded necklace and belt, providing evidence that beads were already deeply ingrained culturally and tied to leadership and wealth before medieval trans-Saharan trade increased the availability of glass beads in the region. These are likely semi-precious stone beads, which have been found in abundance at Nok sites. The corpus of sculptures from Nok, considered the earliest known terracotta sculptures from Africa south of the Sahara Desert, are among the ancient traditions that have been threatened by illegal looting in Western Africa. Protecting these and other examples of tangible and intangible cultural heritage is essential for passing this heritage on to future generations.