Cup (kopa)
Cup (kopa)
Cup (kopa)
Cup (kopa)

Currently not on view

Cup (kopa),

20th century, before 1975

Suku artist
2013-35

Double-mouthed drinking vessels were used as personal cups by Suku headmen or regional chiefs for the ritual consumption of palm wine; these cups doubled as symbols of authority. This cup’s surface has been smoothed from generations of use, while its shape might derive from a common drinking vessel made from a pumpkin gourd split in half.

Information

Title
Cup (kopa)
Dates

20th century, before 1975

Maker
Suku artist
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
5.9 x 9.4 x 4.8 cm (2 5/16 x 3 11/16 x 1 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Perry E. H. Smith, Class of 1957
Object Number
2013-35
Place Made

Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Totshi area

Culture
African, Pende
Type
double cups, woodwork
Materials
wood
Techniques
carving, incising
Subject
geometric patterns, nudes, female, prestige, gourd, figures (representations)

purchased by Perry E.H. Smith in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1971 and circa 1975; Princeton University Art Museum, 2013

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