Vessel 1930

This vessel was made by the Mangbetu people, though we're not sure exactly when. It's clay, and it’s like a poem made of earth and water. There’s something so intimate about clay, isn't there? You can see the maker's hand in the way the vessel is shaped, the smoothing and the scoring. The lines etched around the face and the headdress aren’t just decoration; they’re a record of a process, like the rings on a tree. And the shape, that elongated head… it’s so specific, so stylized. What does it mean? Look at the surface, the way the colors swirl and blend. It’s not just one color, it’s a whole world of browns and blacks and greens, like a landscape. The texture is smooth, worn smooth, like it’s been held and touched and loved. The handle, like a small ear, is subtly shaped, and it curves to a point. This makes me think of Picasso and the way that different views of the face can be shown at once. Art is an ongoing conversation, a dialogue between hands and minds across time.