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Catalog Data

Maker:
Kabyle artist  Search this
Medium:
Ceramic
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 38.4 x 26 x 20.4 cm (15 1/8 x 10 1/4 x 8 1/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Kabylie, Algeria
Date:
Mid-19th century
Label Text:
The inhabitants of the mountainous Kabyle region along the Mediterranean coast in northeastern Algeria are farmers primarily. They are also superb artists noted for their jewelry, textiles, mats, basketry, pottery and house murals.
In North Africa, wheel-thrown pottery, which is made by men, dates from the 7th century B.C. when the Phoenicians introduced the potter's wheel to the Algerian coast. Handbuilt pottery, which is made by women, is an older, probably indigenous tradition that dates back 2000 years before the birth of Christ.
To this day, Kabyle women coil and decorate pottery with beautiful, geometric designs for their own household use and for sale. Kabyle women handbuild vessels of various sizes and shapes for holding water, milk and oil, for cooking and eating food and for making oil lamps. The designs they select to adorn these household items resemble those used in their henna patterns and weavings. The intimate scale of this lamp suggests that it was used for an indoor activity, perhaps a light for reading or writing.
Description:
Oil lamp with a flared base topped by a circluar platform which supports two arches supporting two circluar, smoke colored holders. In between them is a round shaped structure with a red colored cone shaped top. At the bottom of each holder and structure are perforations. At the back, a handle projects outward from the cone topped structure and ends just below the circular platform. The lamp itself has a yellow colored body covered with red and black geometric motifs in the shape of triangles and rectangles, some of which are filled in with crisscross lines and checkerboard patterns.
Provenance:
M. Jansen, Brussels, -- to ca. 1976
Colette Ghysels, Brussels, ca.1976 to 2000
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (deinstalled July 9, 2019)
African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Topic:
geometric motif  Search this
male  Search this
Credit Line:
Purchased with funds provided by the Annie Laurie Aitken Endowment
Object number:
2000-16-1
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source:
National Museum of African Art
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys708e453f2-ffb5-4e8c-b085-f5212af6a828
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmafa_2000-16-1