Bambara Ceramic Vessel, Mali

A fat round belly, a short neck, and a chevron collar scratched just below the rim.

This vessel is Bambara, from Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is terra cotta. Bambara potters, traditionally women, built large jars by hand for storing water and grain, often finishing the surface with roulette impressions. This one swells into a broad ovoid body on a small foot, with a thick everted rim. A band of incised chevrons circles the shoulder, and the body below is covered in fine textured impressions. Pale whitish deposits mottle the warm orange and gray clay. It is 17 inches high and 21 in diameter.

Built to hold plenty, and it shows.