Calabar - Nigeria (No reserve price)

Calabar neck support from Nigeria

Small terracotta neck rest engraved with geometric motifs. The wide circular opening, topped with small holes, evokes a face. These terracottas are finely incised with surface patterns reminiscent of Kuba textile designs.

The Qua, who occupied a zone of the Calabar River located in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria between the 10th and 11th centuries, are among the little-known peoples of the ancient African cultures now vanished. Clay support figurines are very rare in Africa but are very common among the ceramics uncovered from the Qua Calabar people. The first Qua ceramics were discovered during excavations carried out in the Calabar region for road construction. These ceramics stand out for the richness and abstraction of their shapes, as well as for their colors and patinas.