Lid, E57.50

Small clay figurine/head representative of "Buffalo" [head] mask of Senufo people of Ivory Coast. Figurine appears to be of fired clay (gray) with black coating. Head is hemisphere with two eyes, long nose, and flat wide mouth. Nose and right ear are somewhat damaged exposing gray fired clay. Under side is like the flared collar of a mask. Base - protruding from collar - is a stubby cylinder. Possibly this is a stopper - as in a bottle stopper - for some vessel. Clay vessels with tops/stoppers are sometimes found in traditional shrines in West Africa.

Senufo

Ivory Coast/West Africa

Clay/terracotta

Small clay figurine/head representative of "Buffalo" [head] mask of Senufo people of Ivory Coast. Figurine appears to be of fired clay (gray) with black coating. Head is hemisphere with two eyes, long nose, and flat wide mouth. Nose and right ear are somewhat damaged exposing gray fired clay. Under side is like the flared collar of a mask. Base - protruding from collar - is a stubby cylinder. Possibly this is a stopper - as in a bottle stopper - for some vessel. Clay vessels with tops/stoppers are sometimes found in traditional shrines in West Africa.

Base of stopper to top of head = approx. 56.6mm Back of collar to front of mouth = approx. 61.2mm.. —Joel A Vanderburg

Africa Collection File:
Bottle top, black earthenware in form of horizontal mask

Collected by: G Ulrich

Locality, according to Joel Vanderburg: Ivory Coast