Mambila Terra Cotta Figurative Vessel

Give the pot a face and it stops being a pot. Among Mambila potters in Cameroon, modeling a human figure into the body gave an ordinary container a distinctly personal character.

This vessel dates to the 20th century and stands twelve and a half inches tall on a metal ring stand. The head forms the spout, its mouth opened wide in a rounded O with a whitened rim. Traces of orange-red pigment remain on the face and hands, which meet over the chest above a beaded collar. The full, rounded body below carries vertical rows of raised studs and outlined arms.

It looks about to speak, or to sing. Either would be fine.