Nupe Ceramic Storage Vessel

A pantry you could not misplace.

This storage vessel is incised and painted terra cotta, made by the Nupe people of Nigeria, West Africa, in the late 19th or early 20th century. Large jars like it kept water, grain and other household goods cool and safe, and Nupe potters were known for lavishing decoration on such everyday forms. Ochre panels divided by slanting lines circle the shoulder, among bands of fine wavy incising and raised, notched ridges. Lower down the color gives way to a smoky gray. Twenty-five inches high and 20 in diameter.

Someone took great trouble over a thing meant to hold millet.