An important, rare and antique seated statue in the great classical Nok style. This statue adopts a position characteristic of "seated men with crossed arms": the figure rests on a circular stool with a slightly curved edge, the arms crossed on the knees, the right forearm resting on the left. Nok culture, Nigeria Date: 650 BC - 350 AD Thermoluminescence test, Alliance Science Art - Francine Maurer, Ref : 14.11.28 - TL8307 (17/09/1994) Fine-grained ochre terracotta with slight mineral inclusions, visible old missing parts, especially on the headpiece, fine old cracks, beautiful ochre terracotta slip. H. Height : 58 cm Provenance : Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels Marc Blanpain Collection, Brussels Publications and exhibitions: Boullier et Person, " La statuaire masculine Nok. Iconographie des personnages assis", in Tribal Arts, Spring 1999, n° 21, p.102, #12 Schaedler, Earth and Ore. 2500 Years of African Art in Terra-cotta and Metal, 1997, p. 204, #379, Burgrieden-Rot, Germany, Museum Villa Rot, June - November 1998 Grunne (de), Dreams of Beauty. African Sculptures from the Blanpain Collection, 2005, #63, Luxembourg, Banque Générale du Luxembourg, October 25 - December 2 2005