A terracotta vessel from the Foubiegouo chiefdom. A rounded body rises into an animal head with a wide open mouth, and the front of the vessel is marked with relief arms and white drips.

1. Form and Modelling

The vessel is built as a plump, smooth-walled sphere that narrows to a short neck and opens into a head. The head has round ears, two raised eyes, a small ridge on the crown and a broad, ring-shaped mouth held wide open, which forms the opening of the vessel. Fine incised lines mark the cheeks.

At the neck and upper chest, a collar of small raised bumps spreads downward. Two flat, rounded arms are applied in relief on either side of the chest, outlined in red slip. A small red disc sits at the centre of the belly. The lower body below this is smooth and undecorated.

2. Context

The collection catalogue lists the piece as a transformation ritual vessel from the Foubiegouo chiefdom, and refers the reader to a second vessel in the collection for comparison.

3. Surface

The clay is a warm brown, darker on the lower body and lighter reddish at the head. White streaks run down the front from the chest, in places pooling at the lower edge, and a pale crust covers parts of the collar and arms. The vessel stands on a ring of coiled, plaited fibre.

Summary

A clay vessel whose open-mouthed animal head and relief arms give the rounded body the presence of a figure.