Object Details
- Label Text
- African potters--primarily women--handbuild a variety of vessels they embellish with beautiful colors, designs and motifs which they then fire at low temperatures. The artists make containers for daily use such as holding water or cooking food over an open fire. They also make vessels to be used in special ceremonies or that become part of an assemblage of objects placed in a shrine.
- This bottle is particularly interesting because it was turned on a potter's wheel--a technology that was imported from Europe and was once used by a few coastal Kongo peoples. However, this technique was later abandoned for an unknown reason.
- Description
- A buff colored vessel with a flat base, burnished surface and a funnel shaped neck and stopper. Punctate designs go around the bottom, shoulder and top.
- Provenance
- Walshaert collection, Antwerp, before 1930
- Marc Leo Felix, Brussels, -- to 1989
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Kongo artist
- Date
- ca. 1910
- Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program
- Medium
- Ceramic
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 31.2 x 16.3 x 16.2 cm (12 5/16 x 6 7/16 x 6 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Ceramics
