Akan Ceramic Figural Vessel, Based

One arm reaches out. The mouth is open. Whatever was being said has been left unfinished.

This figural vessel of terra cotta was made by the Akan peoples of Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 19th century. Akan terra cotta figures and heads were generally made to honor the dead, set up by families at funerals and memorial sites to remember important people, though practice varied from place to place. The figure has a dark, tubular body, a ringed neck, studded hair, narrow incised eyes and a pierced nose. Rough, exposed clay shows at the ends of both arms and along the lower edge. Fifteen inches high.

It has held that expression for a long time. We would not interrupt.