Lot 22
AFRICAN NEOLITHIC GREEN FELSITE POUNDER
TENERIAN CULTURE, CENTRAL SAHARA, C. 4TH – 2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
Antiquities and African & Oceanic Art
Auction: Antiquities - 31 July 2024 at 2pm
Description
carved and polished green felsite, of cylindrical form, with a pronounced recess at the handle with knob terminal at the base, presented on a bespoke black metal stand
Dimensions
33cm long
Provenance
Provenance:
Private collection, Belgium, formed late 1960s – present
Footnote
Note:
12,000 years ago, global climate shifts redirected Africa's seasonal monsoons northward, bringing rainfall to a vast expanse of the modern Sahara. This transformation led to the formation of lush watersheds spanning from Egypt to Mauritania, attracting diverse animal life and eventually human settlement. The present piece dates to around 6,000 - 5,000 years before the present day, when a people known as the Tenerian herded, hunted and cultivated crops beside great lakes amidst a savannah environment. The rains departed again around 2,500 B.C., and the Green Sahara became a desert once more, with only artefacts such as this grinding stone left to bear witness to the society which had once flourished.