Dogon Ceramic Vessel, Mali

Orange as a desert sunset, with triangles painted at the shoulder.

Dogon makers of Mali, West Africa, created this vessel in terra cotta in the 20th century. Painted and stamped clay jars are commonly used for water or grain in the Sahel, and their patterns often mark one village or maker from another. The wide, rounded body is a deep orange with white mineral bloom, and the shoulder carries dark outlined triangles and stamped bands. A short neck flares into a narrow rim.

About sixteen inches tall and eighteen wide. Warm color, steady shape.