Vase - Terracotta - Beautiful Mangbetu vase

Anthropomorphic Pottery - Mangbetu

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

The clay mixed with sand is trodden underfoot. The technique used for making 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 outer walls, still damp, are decorated with motifs using a small rush 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 piled on a bed of branches or stones and old pots. It is covered with dry 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.

Superb piece, of great finesse in the details.
Rare object on the market, especially of this quality and in this condition..

Ethnicity
Mangbetu / Makere
Country of origin
Congo, DR Congo
Main material
fired clay (terracotta)
Surface appearance
for everyday use
Apparent condition
very good condition
Conservation status
in its natural state
Height, cm
38
Weight, g
5219
Shipping Collissimo