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Palm Wine Vessel (kuh mendu)

1900s
Terracotta
Overall: 45 cm (17 11/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1998.94
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan
Public Domain
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Description

Made by a female potter nearly a century ago, this palm wine vessel represents past and present cultural practices in the Cameroon Grassfields (northwest and western Cameroon). Women in the pottery-producing centers of Babessi and Bamessing hand-built these vessels. Their process alludes to pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Passing knowledge from mother to daughter since at least the 1700s, making pottery is a female economic, social, and artistic contribution. Yet many motifs refer to royal or male power, such as the lizards on this vessel. Elegant palm wine vessels like this were appropriate for ritual and hospitality in Cameroon Grassfields royal courts.
Palm Wine Vessel (kuh mendu)

Palm Wine Vessel (kuh mendu)

1900s

Cameroon, probably Babessi or Bamessing, Cameroon Grassfields potter

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