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Source Description
Within the Zulu culture (the Northern Nguni tribe), the making of beer pots is the traditional function of women. A potter will travel far searching in riverbeds or for anthills that can supply the correct clay for the vessels. Formed using the coil technique and smoothed using flattened stones, the pots are fired in a dug-out earthen "kiln," and covered with palm leaves, whose oil results in the blackened, shiny texture of the vessels. Years of use deepen this texture to a rich woody patina.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
160912
label
Pot
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160912
contentType
object
title
Pot
description
Within the Zulu culture (the Northern Nguni tribe), the making of beer pots is the traditional function of women. A potter will travel far searching in riverbeds or for anthills that can supply the correct clay for the vessels. Formed using the coil technique and smoothed using flattened stones, the pots are fired in a dug-out earthen "kiln," and covered with palm leaves, whose oil results in the blackened, shiny texture of the vessels. Years of use deepen this texture to a rich woody patina.
date
1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79982914
genreSpecific
Vessels
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 26.7 x 25.4 cm (10 1/2 x 10 in.)
cul
Southern Africa, South Africa, Zulu-style potter
accession
1999.192
Source extras
tec
Terracotta
tombstone
Pot, 1900s. Southern Africa, South Africa, Zulu-style potter. Terracotta; overall: 26.7 x 25.4 cm (10 1/2 x 10 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Bernie and Sue Pucker in memory of Robert P. Bergman, 1999.192
collection
African Art
citations
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Mrs. Paul Wurzburger Donates Major Calder Mobile to Cleveland Museum of Art, Korean Painting, Japanese Ceramic, Italian Drawing and other Works Acquired” September 8, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
citation
Smith, Fred T., Judith Perani, Joseph L. Underwood, and Martha J. Ehrlich. The Visual Arts of Africa : Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 342, no. 12.4
creditline
Gift of Bernie and Sue Pucker in memory of Robert P. Bergman
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:21:56.503000
sourceId
160912
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Terracotta
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d8b2936464c13707