Mossi Biiga or Doll / Fertility Figure

Bird-beaked, or just very nosy.

Mossi artists of Burkina Faso, West Africa, carved this biiga, or doll, in wood in the 20th century. Biiga are commonly carried by girls and women and are associated with fertility. Here the head sweeps forward into a long, curved snout, almost like a heron’s, atop a tall tapering body with a small bump for a breast. There is no base, only a clean, flat bottom. The wood is dark and smooth, worn to a soft shine.

About 15 inches tall. Leans in like it heard something good.