Wooden Nomoli

This is a very unusual item, being one of the only examples of a wooden carving from Sierra Leone, that resembles the ancient Nomoli steatite figures from the south-east. It is thought to be of the similar age. It has a detachable head, and sits in a kneeling position. This item came from the 1924 Sierra Leone exhibition in Wembley, London, put together by a number of commissioners, one of which was E. F. Sayers. E. F. Sayers had described an ancient wooden statuette, bearing a marked resemblance to this figure, in a cave near Kakoia, a Limba town in the north of Sierra Leone. It is possible, therefore, that this item is the figure from Kakoia.

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Further Information

• Type: Figures, sculpture
• Object: Wooden Nomoli
• Materials: Wood
• Culture Group: Other
• Dimensions: 500mm [H] x 140mm [W] x 140mm [C]
• Production Date: Pre 1925
• Associated Places: Kakoia
• Associated People: Sierra Leone Exhibition Commissioners
• Museum: British Museum
• Accession Number: BM:Af.1925.1125.1

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