Gurage Mukecha or Coffee Grinding Vessel

The kitchen tool, in dark wood, that has survived a century of coffee.

This mukecha, a coffee or spice grinding vessel, was carved in wood by Gurage people of Ethiopia, East Africa, in the 19th century. Wooden mortars and pestles of this kind are commonly used across the Horn of Africa for crushing grain, spices and coffee. The mortar is a thick, cylindrical block with a shallow well in the top and a slightly flared base. A long wooden pestle leans in it at an angle. The wood is deeply darkened and smooth.

About 7.5 inches tall, with the pestle. Humble, honest, and ready to work.