Vessel
Igbo
1925–1975
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- 39.4 × 40.6 cm (15 1/2 × 16 in.)
- Genre
- vessel
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
ritualmodeling (forming)ceremonial objectsvesselterracotta (sculpture)ceramicsdrinking vesselDrinkingafrican Artarts of AfricaCoastal West Africaritual objectsigboincisingRankceramichand-modelingterracottaHierarchy
About
This type of spherical pot with a short neck and linear ornamentation functioned as a symbol of rank for titled men in the hierarchical Igbo society. During ceremonies where titles were conferred, it would be used to serve palm wine to titleholders and other honored guests. This vessel’s surface decoration is unusually dynamic due to the textural contrasts between vertical and horizontal lines, and between smoothly burnished and bumpy incised areas.
