Nigerian Ceramic Funerary Marker

A small face at the top of a great clay disc, made to stand over a grave.

This funerary marker of terra cotta is Dakakari work from Northern Nigeria, West Africa, dated to the late 19th or early 20th century. Dakakari communities are known for setting fired clay sculptures on graves to honor respected members of the community, with forms that vary widely. Here a broad round disc with notched borders rises on slender legs from a domed base. A modeled face with round ears sits near the top, above raised lines like heavy stitching. Dark smudges cross the orange clay. Twenty-nine inches high.

It has the patience its job required.