Mangbetu Ceramic Figurative Vessel

Round eyes, a jutting tongue and a hairdo like a rising sun.

This figurative vessel is Mangbetu, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is incised terra cotta. Pots like this are among the best-known Mangbetu art forms, and scholars generally see them as part of a broader regional tradition of figurative prestige objects. Here a tall, disk-shaped crest sits over a pricked head with bulging eyes and a long tongue running down between the hands. The arms bend outward into thick, decorated rings before meeting at the chin. The globular body is incised with diamond lattice and zigzags. It is 13.5 inches high and 8 in diameter.

Expressive, to put it mildly.