Vessel for Serving Beer (Ukhamba)

Zulu potters use a variety of patterns to ornament beer vessels, the textures of which stand in strong contrast to the pots’ highly burnished surfaces. Patterns often run in chains around the shoulders of a pot or take the form of large shapes placed in a pleasingly off-balance manner. The technique of applying raised welts—called amasumpa or “warts”—to fill in patterns is among the oldest forms of Zulu pottery decoration. Here amasumpa are used to define a chain of triangles. On the large serving vessel on the adjacent platform, larger welts are used to render a doublehooked motif.