H x W x D: 54.3 x 34.8 x 34.3 cm (21 3/8 x 13 11/16 x 13 1/2 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Chad
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
Chad is a country of small farmers and pastoralists. While archaeological ceramic figures of people and animals suggest a different artistic tradition, it is the practical personal object that can be seen in more recent times. Although threatened by imported plastic and metalware, elaborately pyroengraved gourd vessels from the Sara and related peoples of Chad are used for water and food bowls, cups and larger transport containers for milk or market products.
This large gourd would also have been for storage and shows a different decorating technique from the more commonly collected engraving. It is striking for its sheer size and the almost perfect egg form. The feel of the silken surface of the gourd and the contrasting texture of the fiber-and-leather neck are reminders that such objects were handled and that they were meant to appeal to hand as well as eye.
Description:
Large ovoid gourd with woven plant fiber neck, attached and trimmed in leather.
Provenance:
G. Michael Junge, Washington, D.C., ca. 1980 to 2001
Exhibition History:
BIG/small, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-July 23, 2006
Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
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