Baganda Ceramic Vessel, Uganda

A clay pot standing on a ring of round clay feet, as if it might leave.

This vessel is Baganda, from Uganda in East Africa, made of terra cotta in the 20th century. Among the Baganda of Uganda, blackened pots were household and serving wares, used for water and banana beer, and finer shapes could signal the status of the home. This one has a stepped rim and a ridged waist, with rainbow-like arcs incised around the body. Small pointed knobs sit above a cluster of large, bulbous, incised feet. The surface is dark and matte. It is 20.5 inches high and 16 in diameter.

Nobody ever set this on a shelf by accident.