Bamileke Ceramic Vessel, Cameroon

Figures walk the belly of this pot, and its collar is pierced like a fence.

This vessel is the work of the Bamileke peoples of Cameroon, 20th century, in terra cotta. In the Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke potters made containers for water and palm wine, and elaborately decorated examples could signal status at a chief's court. Applied figures stand among bands of chevrons around the shoulder. Above, the wide collar is pierced with open loops. The rounded lower body is left plain and dark, and a crack runs down from the neck. Twenty inches high and eighteen across.

An awful lot of decoration for something that also has to hold water.