pot | Spencer Museum of Art

unrecorded Frafra artist, artist

pot, 1925–1990

Where object was made: Ghana

Material/technique: appliqué; ceramic; impressing

Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 41 x 42 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 16 1/8 x 16 9/16 in

Credit line: Anonymous gift

Accession number: 2020.0164

On display: Stewart Gallery

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Until the latter part of the 20th century, most mainstream museums displayed African objects as ethnographic specimens or “primitive” curiosities. Even after museums began sharing African art, ceramics remained relatively underrepresented despite longstanding pottery-making traditions throughout the continent. These four monumental examples are part of the Spencer Museum’s collection of more than 2,000 works of art by African artists in a variety of mediums.

Intersections

Exhibition Label:
"Earthly Vessels: African Ceramics," Sep-2009, Nancy Mahaney
Being of and Coming from the Earth--African potters believe that as an element of the Earth, clay conveys significant life-sustaining forces to everything shaped from it. Duko, the general name for pot among the Gurensi, is a container of life and tradition. The concept of container is extended to include compounds, household rooms, granaries, shrines, and graves, which are also made of clay. The Gur-speaking people (including the Gurensi and the Kassena) are collectively known as the Frafra.