Beer pot c. mid 20th century

This beer pot was made by the Nyakyusa people, and even though we don’t know the exact date, I can imagine it was built by hand with a turning motion, the walls rising slowly. I love imagining how this form emerged, the pinching and pulling, the slow, repetitive coiling, smoothing it all out, working by feel alone. It reminds me of the haptic pleasure of painting. I wonder if the maker was thinking about other pots or just letting the form come into being, led by intuition and memory. Then, there’s the firing process, the alchemy of heat transforming the clay. The dark lower half and the smoky gray body suggest a firing pit. The two red circles are like eyes, or maybe portals. The slightly irregular shape and the subtle surface variations speak to the maker's touch and the organic nature of the materials. It’s as if this beer pot is speaking to pots everywhere.