Bura Figurative Vessel Top, Based

Just under eleven inches of Bura clay, modeled between the 11th and 15th centuries in what is now Niger. It once crowned a funerary jar.

Bura burial grounds held many such vessels, and their heads and figures are among the earliest known clay sculpture from the region. This one is a long, gently swelling column with a rounded top. A sharp ridge runs down the forehead to form the nose. Small, hollow, almond-shaped eyes sit to either side, and a knob of a mouth below. A faint flaring rim marks the lower edge. The sandy orange clay is softly abraded across its surface.

Quiet company. Very old company.