Bura Figurative Vessel Top

Big ears. Cupped, flaring, entirely alert. The Bura potter wanted this one to listen.

The Bura culture of Niger is known chiefly through the terra cotta recovered from its burial sites, where sculpted tops like this were set over funerary jars. This one was made between the 11th and 15th centuries. It tapers from a rounded head to a narrow lower edge. A long, ridged nose ends in a bulbous tip.

The clay is a dusty peach peppered with dark specks, with orange showing through and a chipped lower rim. Nine inches tall. Say something quietly. It will hear.