Bottle

The Uele River lies north of the Congo River and intersects with it by way of the Ubangi. Here dense forest gradually gives way to more open savanna, granting farmers access to rich resources for making ironwork and pottery, which they have exploited since at least 2300 B.C. The homeland of the Yacoma people lies near the confluence of the Uele and Ubangi rivers, and they have taken advantage of this locale by actively engaging in river trade, which flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and included fine pottery. The artistry of this bottle lies in its well-honed angles, each accentuated by textured embellishment. These sharp shifts seem to defy the medium of clay, which more naturally accommodates gentle transitions and rounded forms. Complementing its crisp shape, the highly burnished surface stands in high contrast to the red and white pigments that were rubbed into its stippled bands and triangles. Yacoma potters have explored variations on this theme, as other published examples readily demonstrate.