Bura Terracotta Funerary Figure Foot
Bura Terracotta Funerary Figure Foot
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The Bura Asinda-Sikka culture, c. 200-1200AD, Niger or Burkina Faso, West Africa.
This fascinating ancient terracotta foot fragment, dating from 200-1200 AD, is a compelling remnant of the Bura Asinda-Sikka culture of West Africa. A rare survival from a larger sculptural figure, this fragment offers insight into the artistic traditions and symbolic representations of one of the Sahel’s most enigmatic civilizations.
The Bura culture, flourishing in the lower Niger River valley of present-day Niger and Burkina Faso, was uncovered in 1975 near Niamey, Niger, with the accidental discovery of the Bura-Asinda-Sikka necropolis. Excavations in the early 1980s revealed an advanced society that thrived between the 3rd and 13th centuries AD, leaving behind a wealth of distinctive terracotta funerary art.
Bura artisans are known for their tubular and ovoid anthropomorphic urns, often adorned with stylized figures, mounted horsemen, or sculptural heads. Fragments such as this one provide crucial evidence of their sculptural techniques and artistic conventions, where human figures were crafted with elegant simplicity and often featured elongated or abstracted forms. The presence of human figures in burial sites suggests their role in ancestral veneration, ritual offerings, or protective symbolism.
A rare and evocative artifact, this terracotta foot fragment is a valuable piece of West Africa’s early artistic heritage. A remarkable addition for collectors and institutions dedicated to African antiquities.
Good condition. Age-related wear with a chips, nicks, and scratches on surface. Size approx. 8,0cm x 3,9cm x 3,2cm.
Provenance: Dutch private collection
References and further reading:
Bura Funerary Urns: Niger Terracottas: An Interpretive Limbo?, Michelle Gilbert, African Arts, The MIT Press, Vol. 53, No.1, Spring 2020, pp. 66-75.
Earth and Ore: 2500 Years of African Art in Terra-cotta and Metal, Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, Panterra, January 1, 1997.
Un "Village des Morts" à Bura en Republique du Niger', Boube Gado, in J. Devisse (ed.), Vallées du Niger, Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1993, pp. 365-74.
One Hundred Years of Archaeology in Niger, Anne C. Haour, Journal of World Prehistory, Vol.17. No.2, June 2003, pp. 181-234.
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