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Burnished pots
Ganda, late 19th - early 20th century AD
From Uganda
Pottery making is carried out in the dry season in many parts of
Africa for practical and symbolic reasons. The heat of the sun is
required to dry them to a certain hardness before firing. If pots
are not sufficiently hard, cracks appear. During the rainy season
people work in the fields, leaving little time for pottery. It is
also considered important that pots are fired during the dry season
to avoid supernatural consequences such as the destruction of
pots.
This pot, glazed with graphite, is reproduced in the shape of a
gourd and would be placed on an ornamental woven pot-ring of
vegetable fibre.
Pots of this kind were made for the royal court and for other
notables, in contrast with the coarser red ware commonly used.
Unlike in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, in Uganda the potters
are men, and the royal potters, Kujona, were a special group who
received land in exchange for pottery.
J. Mack (ed.), Africa: arts and cultures (London, The British Museum Press, 2000)
N. Barley, Smashing pots, feats of clay f (London, The British Museum Press, 1994)