Djenne Ceramic Fetish Vessel

Pale as an egg, with a row of small knobs running down its front like buttons.

This fetish vessel is Djenne, from the Sanga area of Mali, West Africa, and dates to the 16th – 18th C. It is terra cotta. The terra cotta traditions of the Inland Niger Delta are known mostly through excavated pieces, and their meanings are generally reconstructed with caution. The vessel has a full oval body rising to a narrow neck with a ringed lip. A vertical line of rounded studs runs down one face, more studs ring its sides, and a long raised serpentine ridge curves down the back. The surface is a chalky cream. It is 13.25 inches high and 9 in diameter.

Simple in outline, deliberate in every bump.