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A work made of terracotta and iron.

Female Figure (Ntkekpe)

Mid–20th century

Igbo Wawa or vicinity, Nigeria Coastal West Africa

Nigeria

Among the Igbo, women are typically responsible for making pottery and other ceramic sculpture. Terracotta figures like this example would have been part of a shrine or placed in a domestic garden or at the entrance of a compound. The figure is seated on a traditional three-tiered Igbo stool and wears anklets, bracelets, and thick coils of waist beads, all indicators of her high status and wealth.

Terracotta and iron

Arts of Africa