Technical case study:A monumental Nok terra cotta sculpture

Sarah BarackSummer Teachers Institute

in Technical Art History

The object suffered a catastrophic accident, leaving it in 50+ fragments, or sherds

During treatment, before fills were made to compensate for losses (note the visible break edges in the head, face, and leg)

Examples of Nok figures, with schematic drawing of a Nok fragment above

CT Scan of Nok figureNote multiple fragments contained within the object, not visible during

examination under visible light

Note highly stylized features and pierced pupils/nostrils

Coiling a pot, a traditional ceramic working technique

Open-pit firing, note the uneven heat and stacking of the pieces

Interior of the “Nok” sculpture; note the similarities between the coiling image above and the ring around the bottom of the stool seen here

Sherd from “Nok” sculpture; note the thick, brown adhesive line

Back of the “Nok” sculpture, view into head section before hair

reattached

Technical Study• FTIR (Fourier Transform

Infra-red Spectroscopy)• CT Scanning (Computer

Tomography• Thermoluminescence

Dating (TL)

FTIR

CT Scan

The sculpture entering the CT scanner, as seen from the control room

A scan image, capturing surface detail; note the break edges identifying

individual sherds

CT Scan

CT Scan images; arrows connote the small, square fragment present on the back of the sculpture

TL Dating

Note presence of holes in the middle of the square fragment

Technical case study:A Nok monumental terra cotta sculpture

THANK YOU toAXA Art for their support of this project