Stone Standing Figure

A bird has settled on top of the head and nobody seems to mind.

This standing figure is from Africa, in carved stone. Stone figures are found in several African traditions, often linked to ancestors or to sites of memory, though meanings vary widely from place to place. A spread-winged bird crowns the head like a headdress. Below, the face is broad, with heavy-lidded eyes, a flat nose and a band of beard at the chin. The hands meet over the stomach, and the lower body is wrapped in incised horizontal bands, all in a soft gray stone.

The bird has clearly been there a while and intends to stay.