looking for info on 50 year old stone carving,

[joann pontes]

[Fred Thompson]

stone??

[joann pontes]

yes, stone

[joann pontes]

yes, stone

[tomsantiquesetcetera]

Can we see pics of bottom and backside?

How tall is it?

What's its history, provenance?

Looks like wood to me. There are some woods that sink in water. Another, quebracho, measures 1.9 on the mohs scale. (Diamond is 10.0).

[joann pontes]

[joann pontes]

About 8 inches tall

[Molly]

Personally, 

I am thinking either Tibet or Nigeria.  the uniform "layers" on your statue could be folds of fabric or "tiers" like I observed in some royal headwear.  It is a small start.  Any more information will help, maybe a few more photos.  :)

[joann pontes]

[Molly]

Why are you certain it is stone?

[Molly]

The Kingdom of Benin

[joann pontes]

The person that owns it told me it was stone, and it was given to him by the person who originally bought it somewhere in the Mediterranean around 50 years ago.

[tomsantiquesetcetera]

Looks like "Shona stone", Zimbabwe, Africa.  https://www.icollector.com/Nicholas-Tandi-exquisite-African-Shona-s...

I opened my link and noticed it calls the stone, "verdite stone" and also shona stone... 

Google, African carved brown stone.  When it opens click "Images", many similar to look at.

You are a good photographer!

UP-DATED:  Shona is the tribe after which this style was named. The stone is verdite which comes in different colors.

PS I saw a 15" piece of rough verdite listed at $400. USD