Vase - Terracotta - Beautiful Mangbetu vase

Anthropomorphic Pottery - Mangbetu

In Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda... and as in many other African countries, it is the women who are the potters. Men are responsible for the extraction and transport of the clay. Everything else falls to the women.

The clay mixed with sand is trodden underfoot. The technique used to make the pots is the so-called "coil" method. The potter stacks the clay coils and smooths them with a spatula, a piece of calabash. The exterior walls, still damp, are decorated with motifs using a small reed braid.

The pots are left to dry for about a week, sometimes in the shade, sometimes in the sun. The firing takes place on the eve of the market. First, dried herbs are burned inside the pots to avoid too great a temperature difference between the inside and the outside. The pottery is piled on a bed made of branches or stones and old pots. It is covered with dried herbs. The firing lasts from 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.

A superb piece, of great finesse in the details.
A rare object on the market, especially of this quality and in this condition..

Ethnicity
Mangbetu / Makere
Country of origin
Congo, Democratic Republic
Main material
terracotta
Surface appearance
for use
Apparent condition
very good condition
Conservation status
as is
Height, cm
38
Weight, g
5219
Shipping Collissimo