H x W x D: 32.1 x 32.3 x 32.1 cm (12 5/8 x 12 3/4 x 12 5/8 in.)
Type:
Ceramics
Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Angola
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
African potters--primarily women--handbuild a variety of vessels that they embellish with beautiful colors, designs and motifs before firing them at low temperatures. Containers made for daily use hold water or serve as cooking utensils. They also make vessels to be used in special ceremonies or that become part of an assemblage of objects placed in a shrine.
This elliptical-shaped vessel was probably built in two sections and then joined. The shoulder area contains a deeply carved, incised pattern that has the look of carved wood. The vessel was probably used to store or transport water.
Description:
Liight colored, elliptical shaped vessel with a short wide neck. Around the rim are horizontal grooved incisions and below these diagonal ones. Around the shoulder are interlocking diamond shaped motifs framed by horizontal incisions and crisscrossed lines.
Provenance:
Colonial estate collection, before 1920
Exhibition History:
Purpose and Perfection: Pottery as a Woman's Art in Central Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 15, 1992-June 15, 1997
Content Statement:
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