Due to its age and exceptionally realistic depiction, this bust is of great significance in the history of art. Dated to 2,300 years ago following radiocarbon dating, it belongs to the early phase of the Nok culture.

The facial features are striking. Whilst the large eyes are depicted in the slightly abstract style typical of the Nok culture – a style later echoed in the Ife culture – the nose and mouth are strikingly atypical. I have repeatedly and cautiously pointed out that Mediterranean stylistic features can already be found in the Nok culture around the turn of the millennium. In the case of this bust, too, it can be surmised that the hairstyle should be interpreted as Mediterranean Berber or European – either straight or wavy. European, because at that time Germanic ethnic groups were already present in the North African region even before their actual migration. Although the author is not aware of any historical connection to sub-Saharan Africa in the literature, such assumptions are inevitable when attempting to classify stylistic features. This is particularly true given that some Berbers can be ethnically classified as Germanic, whose habitat extends into the Sahel to this day.

Dieser in der Tat weit hergeholte Gedanke auf Europäer setzt sich fort bei der Mütze und dem oberen Teil des Hemdes oder Umhang, der wie eine römische Toga auf der linken Schulter geknotet ist.