Lydenburg Heads
E609439
The Lydenburg Heads are a group of remarkable Early Iron Age terracotta masks from South Africa, among the oldest known African sculptures of their kind and significant for understanding early southern African societies.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
archaeological artifact collection
ⓘ
ceramic mask ⓘ terracotta sculpture ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
early farming communities in South Africa
ⓘ
ritual specialists or leaders in early farming communities ⓘ southern African Iron Age archaeology ⓘ |
| chronologicalContext | early first millennium CE ⓘ |
| classification | African terracotta heads ⓘ |
| continent | Africa ⓘ |
| country | South Africa ⓘ |
| culture | Early Iron Age southern African society ⓘ |
| currentLocation |
Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
South African Museum collections NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | schoolboy from Lydenburg area ⓘ |
| discoveredIn | 1957 ⓘ |
| discoverySite | near Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa ⓘ |
| earliestDate | c. 500 CE ⓘ |
| feature |
animal-like or horn-like projections on some heads
ⓘ
applied clay strips ⓘ facial scarification patterns ⓘ hollow construction ⓘ incised decoration ⓘ stylized human faces ⓘ |
| functionHypothesis |
used in ancestor veneration rituals
ⓘ
used in initiation ceremonies ⓘ |
| iconography |
emphasis on eyes and mouth
ⓘ
possible depiction of masks worn over the head ⓘ |
| importanceInCollections | key examples of early southern African figurative art ⓘ |
| latestDate | c. 800 CE ⓘ |
| locatedIn | Mpumalanga Province NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| material |
clay
ⓘ
terracotta ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Lydenburg NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| numberOfItems | 7 ⓘ |
| period | Early Iron Age NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| preservationState | fragmentary but reconstructable ⓘ |
| productionTechnique |
hand-built clay modeling
ⓘ
low-temperature firing ⓘ |
| region | southern Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| researchField |
African art history
ⓘ
anthropology ⓘ archaeology ⓘ |
| significance |
among the oldest known African Iron Age sculptures of their kind
ⓘ
important for understanding early southern African societies ⓘ |
| use |
ceremonial use
ⓘ
ritual use ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.