Zande jar
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1950.12.118
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Zande
Maker:
Possibly Mbitim?
Date Made:
By 1931
Materials:
Pottery , Pigment
Process:
Handbuilt , Coiled Handbuilt ? , Slipped , Decorated , Modelled , Impressed Incised Painted
Dimensions:
Max H = 355, top head W = 102.5, shoulder W = 242, base diam = 83 mm [RTS 16/11/2004].
Weight:
2900 g
Other Owners:
By 1931, Harold Alfred MacMichael had risen to the post of Civil Secretary within the Sudan administration [RTS 15/11/2004].
Field Collector:
Harold Alfred MacMichael
PRM Source:
Harold Alfred MacMichael
Acquired:
Donated 1950
Collected Date:
1931
Description:
Anthropomorphic jar, handmade from a moderately well levigated clay with small to large gold-coloured mica and occasional large quartz inclusions, slipped and burnished on the outside, and fired an orangey brown colour (Pantone 7525C) with mottled black areas (Pantone black 7C).
Slight horizontal ridging up the vessel sides suggests that it may have been coil built.
The jar is circular in plan view.
The top of the vessel has been modelled in the shape of a female head, with a small sub-rectangular opening cut into the back of the head.
This area is curved, and modelled to represent a detailed hairstyle, made up of a series of convex bunches of hair.
The central part of this is a long vertical section that runs from the forehead down to the top of the neck, its surface decorated with parallel incised grooves down the length.
The rest of the hair is arranged in rows on either side of this, their partings at right angles to the central section.
Each row has a raised triangular peak where it reaches the centre, and is decorated with a line of impressed squares down its middle, flanked by oblique hatching running down in opposite directions on either side.
A narrow band made up of four incised grooves runs along the front of the hair, framing the face.
The hair is further decorated with rows of painted cream coloured dots (Pantone 7507C), that run down the centre of each bunch, and then as horizontal rows across the thick central part.
Some of these appear to have flaked away.
The face is shaped using a combination of plastic modelling, incision and impression. Modelled sections include the ears, which show detailed working of the interiors, undercut brows, eyes in the form of raised lentoid-shaped areas with incised grooves marking their outlines, a long nose with fleshy base, with deeply impressed circular nostrils, a slightly pouting mouth with a shallow groove running from the base of the nose to the top lip, and the broad chin that has been flattened along its front edge. Incised lines are used to further define the eyes and mouth, and to mark the eyebrows, which take the form of two parallel lines with faint impressed marks running between. Another vertical line runs from just below the hairline down to the tip of the nose. Other lines mark facial scarring, which consists of a combination of linear motifs: 3 lines meeting to form a 'crows foot' shape near the outside corner of each eye; a block of 6 to 7 vertical lines with 2 horizontal bars at its base running down from the base of each eye to the cheeks; a rectangle with a horizontal line across the centre at the corners of the mouth, and high on each cheek; similar rectangles with vertically hatched interiors on either temple, and then short groups of 4 vertical lines on the forehead above the inside corner of each eye. There may be rectangular groups of lines below the inside corners of the eyes as well, but these are quite faint. Finally, there are a few circular impressions, positioned at the ends of each eyebrow, where the eyebrows join in the centre, and at the top of the line running down the forehead.
The head sits on top of a long neck that flares out slightly to its base. This is decorated around its middle with 2 horizontal bands of impressed squares, framing a single row of impressed dots. There are traces of cream coloured pigment over the top of this that suggest there may have been painted dots superimposed over at least some of this design. A raised, slightly concave collar has been added around the base of the neck, and decorated with a band of incised crosshatching.
Below this is a globular body, with its maximum width just above the centre, and convex sides that flare down and in to a narrow flat base. A broad flat collar has been added to the top of this, standing out slightly from the line of the walls. This has been decorated a row of cream painted dots around the circumference, now mostly lost; a broader band of crosshatching; 2 rows of impressed squares with a row of impressed dots between; then another crosshatched band, with an irregular incised line running just inside its bottom edge. This edge has traces of a further row of painted cream dots. The body itself is divided into a series of broad bands of alternating decoration, with some bands left undecorated for contrast. This begins with just such a blank area, then has a broad band of incised crosshatching, framed at top and bottom by narrower bands of square impressed marks framing rows of dots. There is a space, then the same design, only this time the crosshatched area has been produced using the square-edged tool, so that each line of hatching is made up of a series of interrupted impression marks. Below this is another undecorated band, then a running band of lozenges, their corners formed by impressed dots, their sides by impressed angular marks, and their interiors filled with incised hatching; this band is framed at top and base by the same dot/square bands as used above. Another broad band of impressed crosshatching follows, using the angular tool, but with the hatching more closely spaced than before. A narrow undecorated band follows, then a narrow dot/square band and further angular impressed crosshatching, with a row of angular impressions running across its base. Finally, the flat underside of the jar is decorated with rows of angular marks radiating out from the centre, to form an 8-point star, framed by a circle of similar marks around its outer edge, and with the centre marked by a single impressed dot with three similar dots arranged around it.
The decoration has been added using at least 4 types of tool. One has a sharp point and creates incised lines and grooves. The second has a more angular leading edge and can produce square or wedge-shaped impressions. The third produces larger, circular impressions. Sometimes these seem to have internal spiral marks, suggesting the tool may have been rotated slightly when being pressed in. A fourth tool has been used to apply blobs of paint to the surface.
The jar is nearly complete; a small protruding section of hair has broken off and is missing, and there is slight wear to the edge of the base, while some of the painted decoration has flaked or worn away from the surface. Otherwise, it is intact and in good condition. It has a weight of approximately 2900 grams and a height of 355 mm; the top of the head measures 102.5 mm across; the shoulder has a width of 242 mm and the base is 83 mm in diameter.
Collected by Harold Alfred MacMichael in 1931, when he was Civil Secretary for the Sudanese Administration. MacMichael does not record its local name, but says that it was used as a water vessel; Larken also recorded that long-necked jars, sometimes decorated with heads, were used for washing the face and hands (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, p. 131 ). Similar vessels were collected by Powell-Cotton at Tambura and Li Rangu and later donated to the British Museum; see 1934.3-8.27, a water vessel in the form of a female figure, and 1931.4-11.3, another female headed jar. Both were made by the male potter Mbitim (see N. Barley, Smashing Pots, fig. on p. 145 and J.C.H. King (ed.), 2000, Human Image ). These seem to be identical in style to our example - with elements such as the raised strips and roundels, the impressed designs and the shape of facial features making it probable that Mbitim was also the potter of the Pitt Rivers example. For other vessels in the museum that may have been produced by Mbitim, see anthropomorphic jars 1934.8.134, 1950.12.117, bowls 1930.86.43-44, 1931.66.2-3, and book ends 1934.8.135 and 1996.53.1. Powell-Cotton had visited Mbitim's workshop on April 28th 1933, collecting raw samples of clay, some of his tools (see 1934.8.132) and finished examples of his work. He also filmed him in action (see Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). By this period, Li Rangu had developed as a centre for foreign contact in the region (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
The mica inclusions noted in the clay of this example seem to be a characteristic of Zande pottery; mica occurs naturally in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning 'slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of several of these vessels demonstrates. According to Larken, clay was usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools were limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing, while decoration was applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes the firing and finishing as follows: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
The head on this vessel shows facial scarring. According to Larken, while Zande men and women both practised cicatrisation, 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring.
This vessel is currently on display in the Lower Gallery, Case 129A.
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
The face is shaped using a combination of plastic modelling, incision and impression. Modelled sections include the ears, which show detailed working of the interiors, undercut brows, eyes in the form of raised lentoid-shaped areas with incised grooves marking their outlines, a long nose with fleshy base, with deeply impressed circular nostrils, a slightly pouting mouth with a shallow groove running from the base of the nose to the top lip, and the broad chin that has been flattened along its front edge. Incised lines are used to further define the eyes and mouth, and to mark the eyebrows, which take the form of two parallel lines with faint impressed marks running between. Another vertical line runs from just below the hairline down to the tip of the nose. Other lines mark facial scarring, which consists of a combination of linear motifs: 3 lines meeting to form a 'crows foot' shape near the outside corner of each eye; a block of 6 to 7 vertical lines with 2 horizontal bars at its base running down from the base of each eye to the cheeks; a rectangle with a horizontal line across the centre at the corners of the mouth, and high on each cheek; similar rectangles with vertically hatched interiors on either temple, and then short groups of 4 vertical lines on the forehead above the inside corner of each eye. There may be rectangular groups of lines below the inside corners of the eyes as well, but these are quite faint. Finally, there are a few circular impressions, positioned at the ends of each eyebrow, where the eyebrows join in the centre, and at the top of the line running down the forehead.
The head sits on top of a long neck that flares out slightly to its base. This is decorated around its middle with 2 horizontal bands of impressed squares, framing a single row of impressed dots. There are traces of cream coloured pigment over the top of this that suggest there may have been painted dots superimposed over at least some of this design. A raised, slightly concave collar has been added around the base of the neck, and decorated with a band of incised crosshatching.
Below this is a globular body, with its maximum width just above the centre, and convex sides that flare down and in to a narrow flat base. A broad flat collar has been added to the top of this, standing out slightly from the line of the walls. This has been decorated a row of cream painted dots around the circumference, now mostly lost; a broader band of crosshatching; 2 rows of impressed squares with a row of impressed dots between; then another crosshatched band, with an irregular incised line running just inside its bottom edge. This edge has traces of a further row of painted cream dots. The body itself is divided into a series of broad bands of alternating decoration, with some bands left undecorated for contrast. This begins with just such a blank area, then has a broad band of incised crosshatching, framed at top and bottom by narrower bands of square impressed marks framing rows of dots. There is a space, then the same design, only this time the crosshatched area has been produced using the square-edged tool, so that each line of hatching is made up of a series of interrupted impression marks. Below this is another undecorated band, then a running band of lozenges, their corners formed by impressed dots, their sides by impressed angular marks, and their interiors filled with incised hatching; this band is framed at top and base by the same dot/square bands as used above. Another broad band of impressed crosshatching follows, using the angular tool, but with the hatching more closely spaced than before. A narrow undecorated band follows, then a narrow dot/square band and further angular impressed crosshatching, with a row of angular impressions running across its base. Finally, the flat underside of the jar is decorated with rows of angular marks radiating out from the centre, to form an 8-point star, framed by a circle of similar marks around its outer edge, and with the centre marked by a single impressed dot with three similar dots arranged around it.
The decoration has been added using at least 4 types of tool. One has a sharp point and creates incised lines and grooves. The second has a more angular leading edge and can produce square or wedge-shaped impressions. The third produces larger, circular impressions. Sometimes these seem to have internal spiral marks, suggesting the tool may have been rotated slightly when being pressed in. A fourth tool has been used to apply blobs of paint to the surface.
The jar is nearly complete; a small protruding section of hair has broken off and is missing, and there is slight wear to the edge of the base, while some of the painted decoration has flaked or worn away from the surface. Otherwise, it is intact and in good condition. It has a weight of approximately 2900 grams and a height of 355 mm; the top of the head measures 102.5 mm across; the shoulder has a width of 242 mm and the base is 83 mm in diameter.
Collected by Harold Alfred MacMichael in 1931, when he was Civil Secretary for the Sudanese Administration. MacMichael does not record its local name, but says that it was used as a water vessel; Larken also recorded that long-necked jars, sometimes decorated with heads, were used for washing the face and hands (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, p. 131 ). Similar vessels were collected by Powell-Cotton at Tambura and Li Rangu and later donated to the British Museum; see 1934.3-8.27, a water vessel in the form of a female figure, and 1931.4-11.3, another female headed jar. Both were made by the male potter Mbitim (see N. Barley, Smashing Pots, fig. on p. 145 and J.C.H. King (ed.), 2000, Human Image ). These seem to be identical in style to our example - with elements such as the raised strips and roundels, the impressed designs and the shape of facial features making it probable that Mbitim was also the potter of the Pitt Rivers example. For other vessels in the museum that may have been produced by Mbitim, see anthropomorphic jars 1934.8.134, 1950.12.117, bowls 1930.86.43-44, 1931.66.2-3, and book ends 1934.8.135 and 1996.53.1. Powell-Cotton had visited Mbitim's workshop on April 28th 1933, collecting raw samples of clay, some of his tools (see 1934.8.132) and finished examples of his work. He also filmed him in action (see Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91). By this period, Li Rangu had developed as a centre for foreign contact in the region (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
The mica inclusions noted in the clay of this example seem to be a characteristic of Zande pottery; mica occurs naturally in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning 'slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of several of these vessels demonstrates. According to Larken, clay was usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools were limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing, while decoration was applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes the firing and finishing as follows: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
The head on this vessel shows facial scarring. According to Larken, while Zande men and women both practised cicatrisation, 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring.
This vessel is currently on display in the Lower Gallery, Case 129A.
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
19] - SIR HAROLD MACMICHAEL, G.C.M.G., D.S.O.
"NOUDS" TEYNHAM, KENT.
1950.12.118 - CENTRAL AFRICA, AZANDE TRIBE.
Pottery water jar, similar in shape to 117 ["well-modelled head on globular body"] but with slightly different style of hair-dressing, facial markings and features.
Height 35 cm, Max.
diam.
24 cm.
Both coll.
by donor in 1931.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].
Written on object - 1950.12.118. CENTRAL AFRICA, AZANDE. d.d. Sir Harold MacMichael. Water Jar. Coll. in 1931.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].
Written on object - 1950.12.118. CENTRAL AFRICA, AZANDE. d.d. Sir Harold MacMichael. Water Jar. Coll. in 1931.
