Ewe Vessel with Standing Figure and 2 Lizards

He has held that bowl on his head for some time now.

This vessel with standing figure and two lizards is Ewe, from Togo in West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is terra cotta. Among the Ewe, as elsewhere in West Africa, figural clay vessels are associated with shrines and offerings, though their uses varied. A nude male figure stands on the shoulder of a round-bellied pot, arms raised to steady a shallow bowl. Lizards flank a square opening at his feet. The surface is mottled gray and tan, with pale patches. Seventeen inches high.

The lizards offer no assistance.