Baganda Ceramic Ceremonial Pot

A face looks out from the neck, and below it a herringbone of ribs fans out across the belly.

This ceremonial pot is Baganda, from Uganda, East Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is terra cotta. Pottery has long been an important craft in Buganda, where fine vessels are generally associated with royal households and ceremony. A simple face with round eyes and a small mouth is modeled on the flared neck, which is ringed with incised lines. Raised ridges radiate down from a central spine on each side, giving the body a ribbed, angular profile. The surface is a dark, even brown. It is 19.5 inches high and 15.25 in diameter.

Few pots look back at the person holding them.