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Bura Phallic Funerary Terracotta Urn

Bura Phallic Funerary Terracotta Urn

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The Bura Asinda-Sikka culture, c. 200-1200AD, Niger or Burkina Faso, West Africa.

This awe-inspiring, massive, and intricately decorated phallic funerary vessel is a masterpiece of the enigmatic Bura culture. Such steles were traditionally buried in the ground, positioned with the opening facing downward. Featuring navel-like projections adorned with patterned designs reminiscent of Dogon spiritual symbolism (Nommo worship), this urn carries echoes of a deep, ritualistic past.

The Bura culture flourished along the lower Niger River valley in what is now Niger and Burkina Faso, thriving from the 3rd to the 13th century AD. The necropolis at Bura-Asinda-Sikka, discovered accidentally in 1975 and excavated in the early 1980s, provides key insights into this mysterious civilization. Found in the Tillabéry Region near the Niger capital, Niamey, this site unearthed an array of artifacts showcasing the Bura’s unique artistic and cultural practices.

The Bura are renowned for their tubular and oval-shaped anthropomorphic terracotta urns, as well as round or semi-ovoid vessels. These urns often feature striking details, such as mounted horsemen, standing figures, or sculptural heads, typically flat and minimalist in style, yet decorated with longitudinal bulges or relief patterns. Many urns also bear symbolic phallic or breast-like protrusions, alongside anthropomorphic features like eyes, coiffures, and noses. Bura burial customs reflect a rich spiritual tradition. Sedentary agriculturalists, the Bura buried their dead in tall, oval urns laid upside down. These urns, often placed in close proximity to one another, contained human bones—frequently intact skulls—and were accompanied by clothing, iron arrowheads, or offerings of food for the afterlife.

This phalliform funerary urn, with its elaborate design and symbolism, offers a rare glimpse into the life, death, and beliefs of the Bura-Asinda-Sikka culture, underscoring its significance as one of West Africa’s most fascinating yet enigmatic ancient civilizations.

Good condition. Age-related wear. Rich deposits on interior and exterior. Traces of red pigment. Chip, fractures and missing pieces. Size approx. 64,0cm x 14,0cm x 14,5cm. 

Provenance: Dutch private collection

For a similar examples see:

Vessel, High Museum of Art, Accession number: 2004.231  (https://high.org/collection/vessel-14/)

Grave Marker, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession number: 1998.478.1 (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/317898)

Funerary Vessel, Birmingham Museum of Art, Accession number: 165.2012 (https://www.artsbma.org/collection/funerary-vessel/)

Figurative Funerary Vessel, New Orleans Museum of Art, Accession number: 2006.96.4  (https://noma.org/collection/figurative-funerary-vessel-2/)

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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