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Nok terracotta figures

Africa tradition · 5 examples · indicative market tier: Under $500 (entry level & living craft)

The Nok culture is a population whose material remains are named after the Ham village of Nok in southern Kaduna State of Nigeria, where their terracotta sculptures were first discovered in 1928. The Nok people and the Gajiganna people may have migrated from the Central Sahara, along with pearl millet and pottery, and diverged prior to arriving in the northern region of modern-day Nigeria. This may have led to their respective settlements in the regions of Gajiganna and Nok. Wikipedia →

Types & examples

Head, Nok culture, terracotta, Honolulu Museum of Art, 8349.1
Head, Nok culture, terracotta, Honolulu Museum of Art, 8349.1
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Kneeling figure, Nok culture, terracotta, Honolulu Museum of Art, 8348.1
Kneeling figure, Nok culture, terracotta, Honolulu Museum of Art, 8348.1
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Male Head, Nok culture, Kaduna, Plateau, or Nassarawa state, Nigeria, 550-50 BC, terracott
Male Head, Nok culture, Kaduna, Plateau, or Nassarawa state, Nigeria, 550-50 BC, terracott
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Image of Nok Terracotta
Image of Nok Terracotta
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Erected Nok Terracotta
Erected Nok Terracotta
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where to buy

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Each link opens a live, image-rich search for this craft on that marketplace. Listings rotate constantly; authenticate significant pieces independently — attribution quality varies widely outside museum collections.