Djenne Ceramic Fetish Vessel

The whole body is covered in a fine crosshatch, as though wrapped in invisible netting.

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. Potters in Mali have long used cords, mats and carved rollers to press textures into wet clay, a technique still practiced in the region. Here a round, slightly flattened body is impressed all over with a basket-like pattern. A small hole pierces the shoulder, and the neck rises to a short conical stopper. The clay is pale cream with a dry, chalky surface. It is 7.25 inches high and 5.5 in diameter.

Textured all over, as if it refused to be ordinary on any side.