The making of “Nok terracotta”

Abstract

The famous terracottas of the Nok culture of central Nigeria represent the oldest figurative art of sub-Saharan Africa. This article describes the reproduction of such a terracotta by a Nigerian craftsman. The technical aspects – clay preparation, tooling, production process – as well as the clear design of the finished product and the different stages that the artist has in mind during the entire process are particularly interesting.

Keywords

• Nok
• terracotta
• statuary
• art