Bura Figurative Vessel Top, Based

Pinched nostrils, a narrow mouth, a knob of a chin. The sculptor was economical with everything but patience.

This elongated terra cotta head and neck once crowned a Bura vessel in Niger, made between the 11th and 15th centuries. Funerary sites along the Niger valley have yielded many such forms, set atop jars that marked the resting places of the dead. The features are small and close together, the ears modest and pressed to a long, column-like head. A break midway has been rejoined on its custom mount, and the orange clay is pitted and eroded.

About nine inches tall. Quiet. Almost watchful.