Bura Figurative Vessel Top, Based

Two slits for eyes and a nose like a small shark fin.

This figurative vessel top is Bura, from Niger, West Africa, and dates to the 11th to 15th century. It is terra cotta, on a base. Bura potters of the middle Niger valley made a wide variety of figurative tops for funerary jars, ranging from bold geometric heads to fuller human forms, and their exact role is still debated. This one has an oval head with narrow incised eyes, a pointed nose and a small chin, merging into a broad neck and the start of a shoulder. Fine stippling covers the whole surface. It is 4 inches wide and 10.75 high.

Few faces have done so much with so few lines.