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Head
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Akan sculptures made head forms as idealized portraits of the deceased. Made of terracotta, a low-termperature fired ceramic, this head features simple shapes of triangles, curves, and lozenges to represent the nose, mouth, and eyes. The style of this terracotta memorial head allows us to date it, and locate its likely place of manufacture. Scholars believe that this small, hollow-backed style sculpture is from the Ahinsan funerary site and was made between 1650 and 1700.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineHead, 1650–1700. Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Akan-style artist. Terracotta; overall: 12.7 cm (5 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White, 1975.157
