Lobi Beer Fermentation Vessel

Millet or sorghum beer, brewed by women, shared at gatherings, markets and ceremonies. It all starts with a pot that can take it.

This large Lobi vessel from Burkina Faso, terra cotta, 20th century, was made for the fermentation of beer. Twenty and a half inches tall, it has a broad, egg-shaped body covered entirely in close rows of projecting conical bosses, with a small knob at the top and a low ring foot below.

The surface is a dusty, dark earthen brown. Bold. Spiky. Sculptural.

Do not pat it on the head. It is not that sort of pot.