Water Container
Early/mid–20th century
Baule Tanoh Sakassou, Côte d'Ivoire Coastal West Africa
Côte d'Ivoire
Well-made pots like this thin-walled water container are appreciated for the beauty they bring to a living space. Baule potters learn to produce such dark-colored, wide-bodied pots for a variety of household uses by proceeding from observation and imitation to formal education. To embellish the vessel displayed here, a potter etched lines into its body and highlighted them with kaolin (a clay mineral).
Blackened terracotta, wash, and kaolin