Nigerian Ceramic Figurative Vessel

A long neck, a small hat, and a man with something to say.

This figurative vessel comes from Karaba, Nigeria, in West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is terra cotta. Potters in Nigeria have made vessels with human features for shrines and ceremonies, as well as for holding water or beer, and the neck often becomes the figure. Here a bearded face with an open mouth tops a very long neck, and two short arms grip the shoulders of a round body. Incised triangles mark the chest above a small raised navel. It rests on a woven ring. Thirty and a half inches high and fifteen in diameter.

He has been in mid-sentence for some time.