Vessel

Lobi people, Burkina Faso, African

Mid to late 20th century

  • Titles Vessel (Descriptive)
  • Medium fired clay and slip
  • Dimensions 24 x 21 in. Diam. (61 x 53.3 cm)
  • Credit Line Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Dick Jemison Collection of African Pottery, AFI.304.2012
  • Work Type vessel
  • Classification Containers

See More of the Collection

Brown ovoid vessel indents deeply at neck and rim flares outward. Shoulder and mid-section of vessel have roulette pattern; vertical line bisects body of vessel with two sets of raised bumps on either side.
Helmet mask composed of long plank, heavy, hemispherical brow ridge, and tall, vertical, jointed horns. Small square eyes just below brow ridge on either side of the nose are pierced through the plank. Plank divided vertically by raised ridge extending from nose to raised umbilicus, located in bottom third of mask. No mouth is evident. Mask bears traces of symmetrical geometric patterns in red, black and white pigments. A sacred mask owned and worn solely by blacksmiths among the Bobo people; associated with the cult of Dwo.
Dark blackish-brown vessel with rounded bottom has inward-curving neck and everted rim; shoulder has repeating diamonds with protruding oval inside each.
Round, brownish vessel with four knob handles has large spout opening at top, and numerous spout openings around shoulder; appliqued snake figure winds around openings, and red pigment is applied to spouts and snake.