Soul pot "kusson" ·  Nigeria, Jen · ID: 3033545

Description

terracotta, polychrome paint, in anthropomorphic form, bulbous corpus modelled with handle-shaped arms, spout, min. dam., fissures, minor missing parts, rest.,
a number of ethnic groups in north-eastern Nigeria bury their dead twice. In the period between the first and second burial - lasting from several month to one year - a receptacle, a “soul or ancestral pot”, is produced for locking up the dead person’s soul so that it might not roam around and cause harm.

The object Soul pot “kusson” with the object ID 3033545 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 303 achieved a sales price of EUR 800.

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Comparing literature

Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 308 Stößel, Arnulf, Afrikanische Keramik, München 1984, p. 306