Lobi Terra Cotta Vessel

Lobi potters, traditionally women, built every pot by hand.

This one, made in Burkina Faso in the 20th century, served storage, cooking or shrine use, as Lobi vessels did. It is globular, about seven inches tall, with a flared neck and a strongly decorated shoulder: panels of incised horizontal hatching crossed by X-shaped motifs and divided by notched vertical lines.

Two applied wavy ridges with notched edges circle the widest point. The lower body is left plain. The terra cotta is a dark gray-brown, rough and earthy, with a darker, smoother tone below the decoration.

Decoration, rationed. Used where it counts.