West Africa, Inland Nigeria, Gongola River Valley, Dakakari or Ga'anda culture, ca. 1950s CE. A fascinating handmade pottery ritual libation vessel resembling an adorable zoomorphic figure. Extensively decorated with incised strips of clay, the hollow creature displays a bulbous body with four tab-shaped legs, a petite pointed tail, a protruding navel, and delineated genitalia. The charming animal's sizable head features a large, open mouth, slender, coffee-bean shaped eyes, and a top loop that resembles a snout, all flanked by two lengthy ears. While Dakakari household pottery is relatively uniform in its style; the creativity of this culture's artisans really shines in examples such as this one, which was made to hold ritual libations for the deceased. Size: 5.25" W x 8.25" H (13.3 cm x 21 cm)

Pottery of this kind was observed in Dakakari funerary sites through the 1950s, but it recalls that of the Sokoto (among others), the ancestors of the Dakakari who lived 2000 years ago in the same part of Nigeria. Ethnographic accounts say that some graves had up to fifteen pieces of pottery like this placed around them. Dakakari women were the potters and passed their skills down via their daughters.

Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, acquired in 2016; ex-Gallery Jatad, Houston, Texas, USA

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#162786

Chip to lower proper right leg. Upper right leg and right ear possibly reattached with restoration over break lines. Expected surface wear to the body that does not impact the shape, including nicks and abrasions. Otherwise, very nice with lovely earthen deposits.