medicine gourd, unrecorded Bondei, Kwere, or Makonde artist

Artwork Overview

Image not available
unrecorded Bondei, Kwere, or Makonde artist, artist
medicine gourd, 1925–1990
Where object was made: Tanzania
Material/technique: plant fiber; braiding; possibly staining; wood; gourd; beads; carving
Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 22 x 9.5 cm not including cord
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 8 11/16 x 3 3/4 in
Credit line: Anonymous gift
Accession number: 2020.0141.a,b
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body

Many groups in Tanzania rely on uganga, the art of healing, to cure illness. Anthropomorphic gourds like this one hold medicines, oils, and other sacred substances. The figural stoppers are often associated with ancestral spirits that could become a symbolic medium through which the medicinal contents work.

Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body

Many groups in Tanzania rely on uganga, the art of healing, to cure illness. Anthropomorphic gourds like this one hold medicines, oils, and other sacred substances. The figural stoppers are often associated with ancestral spirits that could become a symbolic medium through which the medicinal contents work.

Exhibitions

Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
2021
Healing, Knowing, Seeing the Body
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
2021