Lidded wood pot with exterior dark stain, band of zig zag pattern work in raised relief around neck of vessel, and abstract rendering of a roofline or stool as handle upon lid.
Provenance:
Unknown artist, Barotseland, Zambia; possibly sold to a European tourist at a “Native Curios Store” in Victoria Falls, mid-20th century [1]. Sale, Christie’s, London, 1980 [2], to Udo Horstmann (born 1941) and Wally Horstmann, Zug, Switzerland; sold to the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., 2019.
[1] Lozi King Lewanika (reigned 1878-1916) established a “native curios store” at the expatriate hub of Victoria Falls, catering to the growing market of Euro-American missionaries, traders, and explorers, ca. 1902-1905. See: Karen Milbourne, “Lewanika’s Workshop and the Vision of Lozi Arts, Zambia,” in African Art and Agency in the Workshop, ed. Sidney Littlefield Kafsir and Till Förster (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013).
[2] Sale name and exact date undetermined
Published References:
Bassani, Ezio, Michael Bockemuhl, and Patrick McNaughton. 2002. The Power of Form: African Art from the Horstmann Collection. Milan: Skira Editore. p. 212.
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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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/
