Grandma's African coin pot (large, hand coiled, six unique faces)

Hi everyone, thanks for letting me join your awesome forum! I was hoping to get a bit of advise on what to do when you feel like you've exhausted every resource imaginable trying to identify a piece of pottery. This piece belongs to my grandmother who purchased it when she lived in Salem Oregon almost forty years ago. Unfortunately my grandma is in the later stages of dementia so it's next to impossible for her to remember anything about it. I have tried reaching out to museums, art galleries, and artists with similar styles but have come up empty every time. I have talked to pottery appraisers and well known pottery auctions houses and nobody has a clue as to where it came from. I even asked a US studio pottery identification group on facebook that has over 13,000 members and no one has seen anything like it. I have gone over every inch of it and have found zero markings of any kind. The piece is about 24" in height and as far as I know it's named "many faces". I truly feel a piece this unique warrants the time and effort I've spent trying to find even the smallest amount of information on it. Thanks to the group for any insight you may be able to provide. Take care. (sorry if the images are too large)

it is a high-quality piece but the lack of a maker's mark will make it very difficult to identity

I would take a magnifying glass and check for maker;s marks

From the base and top it is originally a very well wheel thrown stoneware large lidded pot. The lid has been cut like that before firing, as would have the sgrafitto decoration been made. From the look of the undecorated side it suggests it has been wood fired. That is not a process that usually happens in the middle of a densely populated city!
The rest of the decoration, and the faces have then been applied and it has been re-fired. Probably several times.
From there perhaps one possibly needs to be a bit more speculative. Are those faces of African looking origin? The pot possibly looks somewhat African in feel. Equally one has got to think of what purpose? There is a great deal of work gone into this pot. A statement piece? A presentation piece? A specific gift?
Why 6 faces? Why looking the way they are? Why the decorative holes in the top? How old is it?
What was the general opinion of the people who you showed it to? As a piece of Ceramic Art it might did it split people's opinion? And why?
Questions.... Questions!

Looks African, or Western by an African potter. May be based on a drum design. Have you tried tapping it to see if it plays?

I think it's relatively modern. I would suggest a 1970s date. The faces are too accurate and correct for an old piece. They look like they have ben cast from real people, eyes are closed. The top is the best bit for me.

dantheman - that's what I've been running into. It's hard to believe someone would create something like this without leaving their mark on it.

philpot - Thank you for such an insightful reply! Some of the things you said about the top and bottom being split and it most likely being wood fired is truly fascinating! The general consensus of those who have seen it has all been "wow it's amazing, but we really have no idea." That's why I'm hoping that someone will stumble across this thread in time who possibly has seen something similar. Time will tell.

NaomiM - I have tapped on the top a few times and it's doesn't seem to possess any acoustic properties. Thanks for the idea though!

Crawford St. - My grandmother bought it in the early 80's so the time frame you where thinking it was created in is probably accurate.

As an update I had an online appraisal done hoping it would be able to shed some light on finding out the artist. They said it was for sure an African American incense burner because of the holes in the top. Does this sound right to anyone else? I was pretty disappointed with the report they provided overall.

I would not have paid them for that

Oh dear . Maybe try the ceramics colleges like Archie Bray and see if it's an ex-alumni.
Also worth asking curators at some of the museums and universities -

https://libarts.source.colostate.edu/vessels-of-history-present-and-future-collaboration-demonstrates-the-importance-of-pottery-at-csu/

https://www.amoca.org/members/exhibitions/new-acquisitions-armstrong/photos/

The stoneware ware body tells me that it was not made in Africa and so the African/American attribution is what I would have said. Living in the UK, I would not be able to say anything else, as I haven't seen anything here or in Europe like it but Naomi's suggestions seem a way forward.

NaomiM - Thank you for those links!! They both look like very good directions to ask questions. Someone out there has to know something about it. I won't give up searching that's for sure.