Gurage Mukecha or Coffee Grinding Vessel

Small, tapering, and warm red, with a faint ring just above the base.

This mukecha or coffee grinding vessel is Gurage, from Ethiopia, East Africa, and dates to the 19th century. It is wood. Wooden mortars are a common tool across the Horn of Africa, generally hollowed from a single block and used with a pestle to pound grain, spices or coffee. Narrow cylinder in burnished reddish brown that widens slightly at the shoulder, with a rounded opening at the top. A pale thin ring marks the lower body, and fine scratches show across the surface. It is 8 inches high and 7 in diameter.

Petite, polished, and quietly pleased with itself.