H x W x D: 12.5 x 22.8 x 22.8 cm (4 15/16 x 9 x 9 in.)
Type:
Ceramics
Geography:
Tanzania
Date:
Mid-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.
The pronounced carinated shoulder that divides the upper and lower portions of the container into symmetrical halves is typical of vessels from southeastern Tanzania. In addition, a blackish gray coating, possibly graphite, around the rim of the vessel creates a pattern that has both curvilinear and straight elements. A reddish brown band on the rest of the vessel's upper half produces a refined and subtle color variation that emphasizes the bowl's form. The bottom half of the vessel is coated with the black coloring and displays no discernible patterning except perhaps the marks of a scraping instrument used to shape the vessel. The bowl probably contained water or beer.
Description:
Bowl composed of a pronounced carinated shoulder dividing the upper and lower portions of the container into symmetrical halves. There is a blackish gray coating, possibly graphite, around the rim of the vessel that creates a pattern that has both curvilinear and straight elements. A reddish brown band on the rest of the vessel's upper half produces a refined and subtle color variation that emphasizes the vessel's form. The bottom half of the vessel displays some of the black coloring, but otherwise no discernible patterning except perhaps the marks of a scraping instrument used to shape the vessel.
Provenance:
Michael Graham-Stewart, London, -- to 1990
Exhibition History:
Ceramics at the National Museum of African Art 3rd level Pots, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 8, 1998 to the present
Content Statement:
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