Bura Figurative Vessel Top, Based

Gray and black mottling over buff clay: the firing, still on record.

Bura potters of Niger modeled stylized heads to sit atop funerary jars, a practice known from the culture’s burial sites. This terra cotta vessel top dates to between the 11th and 15th centuries. Eight inches tall. The head is gently rounded, with a raised brow line, small round ears, a short nose, and thick lips set close beneath. It rises from a long flaring neck that widens at the base. The surface shows erosion and small losses consistent with its great age.

On a slim metal mount. Old things do not need to explain themselves.