Massive, wide-mouthed containers with narrow bases—some up to five feet in diameter and weighting several hundred pounds—are made across a wide region of central Mali, Burkina Faso, and northern Ghana. Too big to move easily, these huge pots must be fired individually. Once installed in a courtyard or house they occupy the boundary between furniture, by nature moveable, and architecture. Women use these vessels for a variety of household purposes, foremost of which is the germinating of millet or guinea-corn by soaking it in water. This is the first step in brewing beer, the sale of which can be an important source of income. Such containers can also be used to store beer, water, or personal possessions.
This vessel’s entire surface is covered with a dark red slip that was vigorously burnished and mottled with dark fire marks. The maker applied a crisscrossing roulette pattern in a band around the shoulder; below this, soft pitch was used to render two large stick figures, which would have been applied after the work was fired, either by the potter or by a subsequent owner. This container has been attributed to the Bwa, who live west of the Nuna in Burkina Faso and southern Mali.