Cleveland Museum of Art

Pot

Date

1900s

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Southern Africa, South Africa, Zulu-style potter

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Within the Zulu culture (the Northern Nguni tribe), the making of beer pots is the traditional function of women. A potter will travel far searching in riverbeds or for anthills that can supply the correct clay for the vessels. Formed using the coil technique and smoothed using flattened stones, the pots are fired in a dug-out earthen "kiln," and covered with palm leaves, whose oil results in the blackened, shiny texture of the vessels. Years of use deepen this texture to a rich woody patina.

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