Female figure

Since the 1940s, low-fired fragments of ceramic figures have been unearthed at various locations throughout the Inland Niger Delta region, an area that once had highly developed urban centers. The majority of the ceramics have appeared on the market without any excavation documentation and are among the earliest known surviving artforms in sub-Saharan Africa dating from the 11th to 17th centuries. The previous owner of this work dated it from the 10th to 13th centuries. The makers were from the various peoples in the region, but it is not known whether they were men or women. Using a mixture of coarse clay and added grog (crushed pot sherds), the potters modeled the figures by hand. Most surviving examples are solid, like this example. The surface of this figure lacks the polished surface of many examples, perhaps the result of erosion.