Object Details
- 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 elliptical-shaped body and funnel neck of this water bottle is typical of vessels from the northeastern Congo region. The overall decorative patterns are a combination of grooves and impressions.
- Description
- Dark-colored bottle with a long cone or funnel-shaped neck rising out of a bowl with a scalloped edge. Both neck and body have a series of motifs consisting of elongated ovals framing applied horizontal strips.
- Provenance
- Count Lippens collection, Belgium, before 1930
- Exhibition History
- Purpose and Perfection: Pottery as a Woman's Art in Central Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 15, 1992-October 31, 1997
- Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Mamvu artist
- Date
- Early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program
- Medium
- Ceramic, resin
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 23.5 x 15.9 x 15.8 cm (9 1/4 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Ceramics
