Jar
Jar
Jar
Jar

Currently not on view

Jar,

20th century

Songye artist
1998-690

This jar, with its ample body and wide neck, was used to collect and store water. While European-style vessels have replaced traditional Songye cooking pots, the cooling capability of jars of this type has kept them in use today. Songye pots are usually adorned with arcs, parallel lines, or other patterns that are incised into the clay with a banana-stem fragment. A piece of gourd with a serrated edge is used to create the more delicate decoration. After firing, such pots are coated with a substance thought to be botanical.

Information

Title
Jar
Dates

20th century

Maker
Songye artist
Medium
Terracotta and colorant
Dimensions
h. 46.3 cm., diam. 43.2 cm. (18 1/4 x 17 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951
Object Number
1998-690
Place Made

Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Culture
African, Songye
Type
jars, ceramics
Materials
terracotta, colorant, ceramic
Techniques
firing (technique), incising
Subject
geometric patterns

John B. Elliott, New York, NY; Princeton University Art Museum, 1998

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