This beautifully realized earthenware pot is a water storage vessel formed and decorated by a highly-skilled female potter. The vessel is distinguished by linear, geometric and foliage motifs that ornament the swelling body. The designs “are related to tattooing practices. These motifs are shared by both male and female practitioners – women pot makers, male tattooists, [and] male metal workers who create brass bracelets” (Alexander Bortolot, personal communication, email dated 7 April 2015).
Description:
Spherical ceramic vessel, dark in coloration, with a swelling body and a short neck. The upper portion of the pot is covered with foliage and wide zigzag motifs bordered by vertical registers of diamond-shaped patterns. The lower portion of the pot is ornamented with X-shaped and shallow crescent motifs bordered by horizontal registers of linear patterns that ring thepot. The neck and lip are similarly decorated with linear and stippled motifs.
Provenance:
David Roberts, South Africa, field collected in Mozambique, 1980s to --
Amyas Naegele, -- to 2015
Published References:
Bortolot, Alexander Ives. 2007. Revolutions: A century of Makonde Masquerade in Mozambique. New York: The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery.
Content Statement:
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