NAK 0619-7
São Grave Bronze Equestrian Figure, Cameroon
This miniature patinated bronze equestrian figure was found in a burial ground in Wandala during an excavation in 1963.
Note especially the horse’s head, which does not resemble a “horse’s head”, but more like a “dinosaur”, referring to the petrified dinosaur found more than 2000 years ago in an area north of the Chad lake – http://mau.rs/en/past-exhibitions/kotoko-equestrians,-guardians-of-the-soul.html
Archaeologists have discovered bronze, pottery and ornaments made by the São people whose civilization flourished south of Lake Chad from the sixth-century BC to the sixteenth century. Over fifteen thousand pottery finds from the early civilization have been discovered.
Evidence of the São Civilization (500 BC-1500 AD) in present day eastern Nigeria, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon, near Lake Chad has traced its history to around 300 BC based on the discovery of pottery and terracotta sculptures at several sites in the area. Some burial grounds show people buried in the fetal position inside large jars (pictured below) similar to some burial sites in Egypt. New excavations from the region of the Sao have revealed evidence of an even earlier civilization referred to by archaeologists as the Gajiganna – Zilum Complexdating back to at least 1800 BC.
Measure: H: 40 mm, L: 44 mm, D: 12 Millimeter – Weight: 22 Grams.
Condition: Despite age and (or because of) long-standing stay in a tomb, this figure is in an exceptionally good condition.
Provenience: Acquired from the ‘chief’ of ‘The Makari Tribe’, Kingdom of Wandala.
– ‘Certificate of origin is available’.
