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HOME :
African & Tribal Art :
Bura : Bura Conical Vessel with a Face
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Bura Conical Vessel with a Face - PF.5488
Origin: Burkina Faso/Niger
Circa: 3
rd
Century AD
to 11
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
23" (58.4cm) high
Collection: African
Style: Bura
Medium: Terracotta
$9,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
In 1975, a young man by chance found two clay
heads. He gave them to his children to play with
and not until three years later did the
Department of Art and Archaeology learn about
this find (luckily there was still one of the heads
left). Later excavations uncovered several
gravesites along both banks of the Niger River,
the geographical divider between the modern
nations of Niger and Burkina Faso. In the grave
complexes, various terracotta works were found
and assigned to the 3rd-11th centuries. This
phallically designed, conical receptacle is richly
ornamented with raised patterns perhaps
imitating ritual scarification or elaborate textile
motifs. Vessels such as this one were discovered
buried with their opening down, allegedly filled
with clothes and belongings of the deceased that
they might find necessary in the afterlife. Surely
the symbolic power of the form is evident.
Perhaps this receptacle also related to notions of
fertility in the afterlife and rebirth in the next
world. The stylized features of the face are
minimized compared to the size of the vessel.
The small eyes, arched nose, and pursed lips are
characteristic of the Bura style and can be seen
on other smaller figures found entombed
alongside these vessels. This fascinating work is
a relic of a lost civilization. Demonstrating their
extraordinary artistic vision, this receptacle also
hints at their religious and spiritual beliefs. Alas,
this fragile terracotta sculpture is the last echo of
a civilization’s voice sounded almost a thousand
years before.
- (PF.5488)
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