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This serene ceramic sculpture of a human head
was made by one of the most inscrutable groups
in pre-colonial Africa: the Bura. It is a columnar
piece with a broken base – implying that it may
have once been part of a larger object – and an
oval, upwards-pointed face with a pointed chin.
The neck/torso is widest at the base, which is
encircled by a double-strand necklace. The neck
slims towards the head. The cup-shaped ears
are mounted centrally and slightly backwards.
The eyes are coffee-bean format, the mouth
similar but with flared, thin lips. The nose is
short and comparatively flat, with carefully
modelled nostrils. The face is decorated with a
pair of vertical keloid scarifications on each
temple and a group of three such scars at the
apex of the head, surmounted by a small
eminence that presumably denotes a gathered
coiffure. Unusually for the Bura, the sex is
ambiguous – pieces are typically male or so
schematic that assigning gender is impossible.
This may be a rare representation of a female
torso. While comparative samples are nugatory,
the necklaces may imply that the person
depicted had a certain social status. The back of
the figure is plain, which implies that the piece
was designed to be seen from the front – and,
given the face’s orientation, from above –
perhaps as a devotional object or idol.
The Bura are a true paradox: almost nothing is
known of this shadowy Nigerian/Malian group.
They appear to have originated in the first half of
the first millennium AD, although the only
archaeologically-excavated site (Nyamey) dates
between the 14th and 16th centuries. They are
contemporary with – and probably related to –
the Djenne Kingdom, the Koma, the Teneku and
a satellite culture known as the Inland Niger
Delta. Insofar as can be ascertained, the Bura
share certain characteristics with these groups;
for our purposes, these include extensive
ceramic and stone sculptural traditions. The Bura
appear to have been sedentary agriculturists who
buried their dead in tall, conical urns, often
surmounted by small figures. Their utilitarian
vessels are usually plain, while other “containers”
– the function of which is not understood – are
often decorated with incised and stamped
patterns. Their best-known art form is radically
reductivist anthropomorphic stone statues, with
heads rendered as squares, triangles and ovals,
with the body suggested by a columnar,
monolithic shape beneath. Phallic objects are
also known; some phallomorphic objects may
have been staffs, perhaps regalia pertaining to
leaders of Bura groups. Ceramic heads are
usually more complex than their stone
counterparts, with incised decoration and
variable treatment of facial proportions and
features. There are a few very rare equestrian
figures: these bear some resemblance to Djenne
pieces. Almost no intact human or equestrian
figures are known.
The role of these figures is almost totally
obscure. Equestrian figures probably represent
high status individuals, and the very few full-
body representations of humans may be
portraits or ancestor figures. Intuitively – as with
so many other groups both inside and beyond
Africa – figures with exaggerated sexual
characteristics would tend to be associated with
fertility and fecundity, as would any artefact
modelled in the shape of pudenda (although the
sceptre-like qualities of some such pieces
should be noted – see above). The distribution of
decoration on some ceramic pieces (notably
phalluses) may suggest that they were designed
to be viewed from one angle only – perhaps as
adorational pieces. Many pieces are believed to
have been found in burials, perhaps implying an
importance that would have been linked to social
standing and status.
This is a rare Bura sculpture, and a striking and
attractive piece of ancient art from one of Africa’s
lost civilisations.
- (DC.323 (LSO))
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