Male figure

This sculpture depicts a political ruler, a religious leader, or a person of high social rank. Although his precise identity is not known, his features offer some clues. His beard is a timeless and conventional masculine symbol of advanced age and wisdom; the incised lines around his neck probably represent a coiled necklace with pendants or rings of fat; and the staff, scepter, weapon, or adze slung over his shoulder is a symbol of power and leadership.

The Museum's hollow figure is stylistically similar to terracotta sculptures that have been unearthed in Sokoto State in the northwestern corner of Nigeria. A carefully modeled hairstyle and elaborate beard frame his face; heavy, down-turned eyelids conceal his pierced eyes; incised lines form eyelashes; and his mouth is opened slightly. Textured patterns under his eyes further emphasize them. These features combine to give the figure a severe expression. His disproportionately large navel, indicative of a herniated navel, is common in the sculptures of sub-Saharan
cultures.

Dating Sokoto sculpture is problematic. Unlike the terracottas dating from 500 to 200 BC excavated in Nok, a village near the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, the Sokoto figures have not, until recently, been documented in situ. The few examples that have been analyzed by thermoluminescence yield dates as early as 200 BC to AD 200.(1) This male bust is the oldest work of art from sub-Saharan Africa in the Museum's permanent collection.

The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, cat. 1, pp. 40-41

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NOTES:

1. Phillips, Tom, ed. Africa: The Art of a Continent. London: Royal Academy of Arts; Munich: Prestel, 1995. p. 531.