Azande Anthropomorphic Medicine Vessel

Three points at the crown, and a mouth just parted. Medicine does not announce itself.

This anthropomorphic vessel in terra cotta is Azande, made in the Central African Republic in the 20th century. The name refers to a culturally diverse group of peoples brought together under shared rule over the past two hundred years, and their potters made distinctive vessels crowned with human heads. A round bowl on a flared foot supports a wide, stepped shoulder with incised bands of triangles and zigzags. A long neck rises to the head.

The clay is blackened, with a soft, matte surface. Fourteen and a half inches tall. Fill it with nothing in particular. It is a vessel with its own opinions.