Bura Figurative Vessel Top, Based

Age, honestly worn. There is a certain dignity in that.

The Bura people of Niger made this vessel top in the 11th to 15th centuries to crown a burial jar. The head is a tall, smooth oval rising from a cylindrical neck, the face gathered into a small area at the center: a bulbous nose, darkened at the tip, a small projecting mouth, one rounded ear. Fine crazing and a network of cracks cover one side of head and neck, and there is an old loss at the lower edge. The clay is a warm brick orange.

Nine and a half inches. It makes no attempt to look younger.