A clay vessel of the Chamba from northern Cameroon, modelled as a human figure. The rounded, gourd-like body forms the pot, and the head above it has a wide open mouth.

1. Form and Modelling

The body swells into a full belly and narrows towards the shoulders. Both arms are raised and bent to the sides of the head, leaving two open loops between arm and face. The face is modelled in low relief: small round eyes, a long nose with a pierced nostril, and a hollowed, open mouth. Small knobs rise along the top of the head. Two nipples and a navel are set on the body.

2. Context

According to the collection catalogue, the pot comes from Yeli village in the Trans-Faro Province. The catalogue refers the reader to a related Chamba ancestral pot, which it describes as coming from a domestic altar in front of a hut and as a means of communicating with the ancestor the pot represents. Before such contact, a millet beer offering was made.

3. Surface

The surface is matte and brown-grey, with reddish patches on the head and arms and a darker smudge on one arm. Pale deposits are visible on the chest. The pot stands on a braided fibre ring.

Summary

A Chamba ancestral pot in the form of a figure with raised arms, from the village of Yeli.