Récipient avec couvercle
Description
wood,
Carved from one piece of wood and decorated with a linear pattern of deeply incised parallel grooves, this lidded vessel is a true feat of virtuosity on the part of its maker.
The vessel rests on four short feet which are repeated in the same
arrangement on the lid. This suggests that the lid, inverted, served as
a separate small container, also resting on four feet.
This type of vessel was made between 1840 and 1920. It was assumed that it was used to store liquids or cooked food. In fact, however, most of these containers show no traces of such usage. Therefore, it is conceivable that they were created for sale as virtuoso examples of African craftsmanship.
However, the signs of wear visible on this vessel seem to indicate that it was actually in use and not made for sale.
A formally comparable object published in Petridis, 2011, p. 55, ill. 29.
One explanation of their function is that these works served as display objects for chiefs and kings, who treasured them as expressions of their own elevated status.
Yet another explanation is that they were used as storage vessels for snuff and belonged to important individuals who distributed snuff during elaborate festivals organized to honor the ancestors.