Description
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.
Provenance
Willy Okwerekwu, Calif., by 2000; sold to Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, Ill., 2000; given to Keith Achepohl, 2000; given to the Art Institute, 2005.
Accession Number
185699
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
39.4 × 40.6 cm (15 1/2 × 16 in.)
Classification
vessel
Credit Line
Gift of Keith Achepohl