Mangbetu Figurative Wine Vessel

Elegance, among the Mangbetu, had a shape. An elongated head, and a coiffure flaring behind it like a halo.

Mangbetu potters became known for vessels topped with a human head, and this wine vessel is one of them, modeled in terra cotta in the 20th century in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It stands ten inches tall. The crosshatched coiffure fans out behind the head. The eyes are softly closed, the ears pierced, and a broad smile shows carved teeth. A long neck leads to a globular body incised with curving bands of crosshatching, a ring of stamped circles at the shoulder. The surface is dark, burnished brown on a metal ring stand.

Pour the wine. The vessel is already smiling.