Jar

Description

Yoruba potters in the Ekiti region typically build a jar’s walls and rims from a hollowed-out lump of clay. After the completed jar has hardened, the potter inverts it and scrapes the outside of the base until it is evenly thin and smooth. The form of this elaborately decorated vessel echoes a type of domestic storage container with knobs on opposing sides that serve as handles.

Provenance

Alexander Gallery, St. Louis, MO, by 2005; sold to Keith Achepohl, Iowa City, IA, by 2005; given to the Art Institute, 2005.

Jar

Yoruba

Early/mid–20th century

Accession Number

185702

Medium

Terracotta

Dimensions

50.2 × 42 × 35.6 cm (19 3/4 × 16 1/2 × 14 in.)

Classification

vessel

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Keith Achepohl