Baganda Milk Jug with Native Repair

Rough bark of a vessel, with a zipper of metal up its middle.

This is a Baganda milk jug from Uganda, East Africa, made in wood in the 20th century and repaired with aluminum. Such vessels are commonly used for milk and prized enough to be mended. A burled, knotty body, red-brown and scored with age, leans slightly to one side. A line of chevron-shaped aluminum scales runs down the front and a second small patch is set near the base. The rim is thin and uneven where the wood has worn.

About 15 inches tall. Earthy, uneven, and honest about its past.