Pots with long necks surmounted by animal heads are known to have come from the area around the present-day capital of Mali. These objects were recovered from pillagers, obscuring their original context. Stylistically similar figurative and animal sculptures were also found in Bankoni and Moribabougou, burried together in groupings. This vessel depicts what is likely to be a sheep's head.

A pair of holes are punctured in the upper frontal shoulder, rendering the vessel incapable of holding or dispensing liquid, suggesting that this piece had a different purpose. It is possible that it was intended to contain a spiritual presence or that it contained organic material that burned off during the firing process.