H x W x D: 30.1 x 33.2 x 33.2 cm (11 7/8 x 13 1/16 x 13 1/16 in.)
Type:
Ceramics
Geography:
Mozambique
Date:
Early to 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.
This vessel probably held water. It has delicate incisions around its neck and shoulders heightened by its burnished surface. When a Makonde potter dies, a pottery vessel is broken and placed at the grave in honor of the deceased.
Description:
Elliptical vessel with a red colored, burnished body and wide neck. It is decorated with incised lines on the neck and directly under it.
Provenance:
M. Garrebeek, -- to 1997
Colette Ghysels, Brussels, 1997 to 2000
Exhibition History:
Currents: Water in African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 2016-ongoing
Beautiful Bodies: Form and Decoration of African Pottery, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 6, 2001-January 6, 2002
Content Statement:
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