Bura Figurative Funerary Marker, Based

A shield for a face. Slit eyes. A narrow ridge of nose. Then nothing at all below the neck but a plain block of stone.

Bura culture, Niger, carved sometime between the 11th and 15th centuries. Archaeological work in the Niger River valley has shown that the Bura marked burials with sculpted jars and figures of clay and stone. This one has a stylized head on a long cylindrical neck, and a finely striated cap that still holds traces of red. The buff stone is pitted and rough across the body, smoother on the head.

Sixteen inches, on a slender mount. Otherworldly, and unbothered by it.