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These findings and others – such as terracotta figurines, coins, shell jewellery and stone and copper plate inscriptions - have helped archaeologists establish seven cultural sequences or phases in the area, starting from around the 2nd Century BCE and dating all the way up to the 19th Century CE.

Colorful stage lights flashed on the terracotta tiles of Gustavino’s vaulted ceilings.

Beyond the memories, the only trace of the great man is La Casa — the rambling, Spanish-style home with a terracotta roof, stucco walls and inlaid ceramic tiles that Valenzuela built for his family during the exhilarating, and financially remunerative, days of Fernandomania.

Established in 1957 – three years before independence - the museum houses objects from across the country, including Ife bronze and terracotta heads, Benin brass plaques and ivories, and Ibibio masks and costumes.

Shiny stoneware sphinxes in modulated natural hues, an 11-foot mound of raffia crowned by the feminine symbol of a cowrie shell, a suspended cluster of several dozen breast-shaped terracotta gourds with golden nipples and pierced by metal antennas — sculpture’s most ancient substance is typically made sleek and modern in her hands.