Vase - Terracotta - Beautiful Mangbetu vase

Anthropomorphic Pottery - Mangbetu

In Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda... and like in many other African countries, it is the women who are the potters. The men are responsible for extracting and transporting the clay. Everything else is up to the women.

The clay mixed with sand is kneaded underfoot. The technique used to make the pots is the so-called “coil” method. The potter lays the clay coils on top of one another and smooths them with a spatula, a piece of calabash. The exterior walls, still damp, are decorated with motifs using a small juncus braid.

The pots are left to dry for about a week, sometimes in the shade, sometimes in the sun. Firing takes place the day before the market. First, dry herbs are burned inside the pots to avoid too great a temperature difference between the interior and the exterior. The pottery is stacked on a bed made of branches or stones and old pots. It is covered with dry herbs. The firing lasts one to two hours.

The potter removes each pot from the kiln with a long pole and sprinkles them with water mixed with ash.

The pots will be taken to the market the next day to be sold or exchanged.

Superb piece, with exquisite detail.
Rare item on the market, especially of this quality and in this condition.

Ethnicity
Mangbetu / Makere
Country of origin
Congo, DRC
Main material
earthenware"