Water Bottle

The region of present-day Zambia, in south-central Africa, has been a nexus of trade and migration for centuries. A flow of people, practices, and goods has resulted in a cultural overlap and blending that are reflected in the form and function of the arts, including pottery.
During the late nineteenth century, it was also the northern Zambezi River in Barotseland that King Lewanika united the dominant Lozi population with other diverse minority communities including the Mbunda and Tonga. A skilled and visionary leader, Lewanika carefully positioned his kingdom to be successful politically and economically in the difficult period that led to colonial rule. Among his actions were the promotion and sale of art to European clients.
This water bottle shapes some of the classic characteristics of the pottery made during Lewanika’s reign. These include, most notably, a highly distinctive flared lip; a two-toned palette of yellow-orange and red-orange that is generously marked by dark flashes from firing; and the stacking of shapes—here in the form of multiple cones—to create an inventive, towerlike structure. The inclusion of leafy stems on the neck may suggest that this piece was made in the mid-twentieth century, when a delicate, botanical style was in fashion. The work was brought to the United States in the mid-1990s by an American missionary and his Mbunda wife, who reported that it had been made by an Mbunda potter.