Bura Figurative Vessel Top, Based

Quietly watchful. Orange clay. Eight and a quarter inches of patience.

The Bura culture of Niger is known through the burial grounds of the Niger River valley, where terra cotta heads and figures crowned funerary jars. This vessel top was made between the 11th and 15th centuries. A smooth, rounded head with a pronounced ridge down the brow sits atop a tapering column with a flared collar near the base. The face is gentle: a small nose, full lips, one ear modeled in relief.

The surface is dry and weathered. A metal mount holds it upright. Tuck it into a corner where it can keep an eye on things.