Soapstone head

Kissi, possibly 17th or 18th century AD
From Sierra Leone

Although rare in sub-Saharan Africa, soapstone carvings are found in a small area embracing parts of the modern states of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Most of the sculptures are of human form with some carved heads. Those found in Sierra Leone are called nomoli and were found by local people buried in soil or in waterways during the course of their preparation of farm lands. The Mende people believe them to be from the previous owners of the land and make offerings to increase their harvest.

The pieces from Kissi country such as this tend to be different in style; the Kissi worship them in the belief that they represent their ancestors. Scholars have concluded that these sculptures were probably made by the ancestors of the Kissi peoples who inhabited lands currently occupied by the Mende. However, it is very difficult to date the sculptures with any certainty or to know for what purpose they were originally carved. However, it seems likely that they are at least several hundred years old.

T. Phillips (ed.), Africa, the art of a continent (London, Royal Academy, 1995)