Baganda Ceramic Vessel, Uganda

Five fat feet under one dark pot. It does not appear to be going anywhere.

This vessel is Baganda, from Uganda in East Africa, made of terra cotta in the 20th century. Baganda potters made smoke-blackened vessels for the household, for storing and serving water and banana beer, and an elaborate one might be kept for guests. The upper body is angular, with a wide sharp shoulder, and arcs incised in rows run around it. Small knobs circle the lower section above a raised band. Beneath, bulbous feet cluster like a bunch of gourds. Nineteen and a half inches high and 14.5 in diameter.

Pottery seldom looks so ready to walk off.