Makonde Ceramic Fetish Doll, Based

A hand on each hip, a horn on the head, and no small opinion of itself.

Makonde artists of Tanzania, East Africa, made this fetish doll in terra cotta, cloth and horn in the late 19th or early 20th century. Figures of this kind are often associated with protective or healing power in the region. This one stands upright with both hands on its hips, a flattened, snouted face and rounded ears. Strips of cloth wrap the torso and a small horn rises at the crown. The clay has weathered to a dark, rough brown. It is mounted on a stand.

About 9 inches tall. Small, confident, and certain that it was invited.