Djenne Ceramic Fetish Vessel

Fine ribbing slants down the whole body, as if combed into wet clay.

This fetish vessel is Djenne, from the Sanga area of Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 16th to 18th century. It is terra cotta. In the inland Niger Delta, clay is commonly textured with cords and combs before firing, giving even plain vessels a lively surface. This one is a tall teardrop with a short neck and a flat-topped lip. Close vertical grooves cover nearly the whole body, and the pale buff clay is dusted with grey and orange. It is 8.75 inches high and 5.25 in diameter.

Understated, with a good deal going on underneath.