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This object was created by the Bura culture.
The
Bura culture refers to a set of archeological
sites
in the lower Niger River valley of Niger and
Burkina Faso. More specifically, the Iron-Age
civilization exemplified by the Bura culture was
centered in the southwest portion of modern-
day Niger and in the southeast part of
contemporary Burkina Faso. 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.
The piece is phallus in shape, although the
surface of the sculpture reveals a human face
flanked by ears protruding from its sides. Its
head and body are greatly adorned with small
incisions and reshaped clay, creating
simplistic
details. 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. Many pieces of the
Bura
culture are also believed to have been found in
burials, perhaps implying an importance that
would have been linked to social standing and
status.
- (PH.0243)
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