Luzira Head

Luzira Head
The Luzira Head
Material	Terracotta
Size	17 cm high
Created	1000 AD
Present location	British Museum, London
Registration	Af1931,0105.14

The Luzira Head locally known as the Mpanga Head is the name of a terracotta head found at Luzira, Uganda. Estimated to be about 1000 years old, it is one of the oldest Sub-saharan sculptures yet discovered in Africa. Since 1931, it has been part of the British Museum's ethnographic collection. ^[1]

Description

The Luzira Head is a unique terracotta bust of a woman. The head has very narrow, protruding eyes and mouth with a diminutive nose. Along the forehead are three cicatrices. The hair is matted and falls either side of the head. The lower part of the figure was also found during the original excavations. It is tripod-shaped and like the head is hollow and made of baked clay.

Discovery

The head and torso, along with a number of other artefacts, were excavated by the British geologist Edward James Wayland between 1929 and 1930. They were unearthed in a prison compound at the site of Luzira, in the suburbs of Kampala, Uganda. Other objects discovered at the time included over one hundred pottery sherds, fourteen terracotta pieces, a pottery vessel, an iron spear and an axe similar to the story of Ibrahim and the idols. But unfortunately the whereabouts of the Luzira axe are unknown. It is conjectured that the site was once an ancient Buganda shrine. Radio-carbon dating has indicated that the objects found there are approximately a thousand years old. ^[2]

References

1. "Object: The Luzira Head". Africa, Oceania and the Americas. British Museum. Af1931,0105.14.
2. Reid, Andrew; Ashley, Ceri Z. (March 2008). "A context for the Luzira Head". Antiquity. 82 (315): 99–112. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00096472. ISSN   0003-598X. Gale   A177449644. ProQuest   217547212.

Further reading

• Wayland, E. J. (1930) [for the Year ended 31st December, 1929]. "Archaeological Discoveries at Luzira". Part II: Research Notes. Annual Report of the Geological Survey Department. Uganda Protectorate. Entebbe: Printed by the Government Printer, Uganda; Published by Command of His Excellency the Governor. p. 41. HathiTrust uc1.e0000354555.
• Wayland, E. J.; Burkitt, M. C.; Braunholtz, H. J. (February 1933). "Archaeological Discoveries at Luzira". Original articles; Uganda : Archaeology. Man: a monthly record of anthropological science. XXXIII 29: 25–30, Plate B. doi:10.2307/2790402. ISSN   0025-1496. JSTOR   2790402.
• Braunholtz, H. J. (April 1936). "Pottery Figure from Luzira, Uganda". Correspondence. Man. XXXVI 92: 71–72. ISSN   0025-1496. JSTOR   2790485.
• Chaplin, James Harvey (1966–1967). The prehistoric art of the Lake Victoria region (M.A. thesis). Kampala, Uganda: Makerere University College, University of East Africa. pp. 195–210, 263–8. Makerere University Library Catalogue: chamo:153599, chamo:29506; 109014 (AF); Call Number U 01 C43; Barcode 001065947[1?].
• Posnansky, Merrick; Chaplin, J. H. (December 1968). "Terracotta Figures from Entebbe, Uganda". Man: the journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. New Series. 3 (4): 644–650. doi:10.2307/2798585. ISSN   0025-1496. JSTOR   2798585.
• Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain) (1995). "2.21: Luzira Head". In Phillips, Tom (ed.). Africa: The Art of a Continent. Eastern Africa. The entry ends in "MP" -- this seems like it might be the author's initials?. Munich, London, & New York: Prestel. p. 140. ISBN   978-3-7913-1603-1, 3-7913-2004-1. Google Books 9v0kAQAAMAAJ. Internet Archive africaartofconti0000unse_u6e2.