AIC: African Art (Bot)
@aicafricanart.bsky.social
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Sharing artworks from the Art Institute of African Art department. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social
Sharing artworks from the Art Institute of African Art department. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social
![The lower Gongola River valley, a ruggedly hilly region that lies west of the confluence wit the Benue River in northeast Nigeria, is home to diverse communities that share historical and at times cultural and linguistic ties. Here elaborately formed and embellished pottery is often used to facilitate interactions with spirits for veneration and healing, with neighbors influencing each other’s styles and practices. Among the region’s Adamawa-language speakers, the making of such pottery for curative rituals is particularly highly developed, and pots for this purpose are made in a seemingly endless variety. With their swollen bulges, jagged scales, scabby patches, and sharp points, ritual healing containers, like this one, give graphic form to the pain and discomfort of disease.Among the Bëna, who live east of the Gongola River in the Ga’anda Hills, pots such as this one are made to contain the spirit called Ngwarkandangra, who is appealed to in rituals to heal skin diseases. These pots have a globular base and a crooked neck that is enveloped in spiky projections, a powerful image of the symptoms that will be eased when the disease is successfully cured. [See also 2005.269, 2005.280, and 2005.281].
Gift of Keith Achepohl](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6kg6a55n56myfeiqhqn74vfv/bafkreifhgmbgl6ff3wlcbaeefhq276ot73lvg44a2cskzj4cfhsfadwp2q)
![In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Luba kingdom grew in strength and influence, dominating a large region centered on the resource-rich Upemba Depression, lying along the Lualaba River in south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kaonde, Lomotwa, Lunda, and Zela all live in the outer reaches of the Luba kingdom, and their pottery reflects the regional influence of Luba ceramics as well as its broader cultural diversity.This bottle has been fully given over to the human form, depicting a woman holding a highly stylized baby in her left arm. Such vessels usually hold water or alcohol, whether palm wine, home-brewed beer, or even distilled liquor. They may also be used to pour libations in honor of ancestors or may be placed on shrines or graves. [See also 2005.284].
Gift of Keith Achepohl](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6kg6a55n56myfeiqhqn74vfv/bafkreiamuwathz2znp55vynr75eitk55ajqiqfn2rhfm67qtj27kkafecu)
![Across the Gur-speaking region, individuals and families establish altars to honor and commune with influential spirits. Making altar vessels is the work of highly accomplished potters. The spikes on these vessels reflect a practice that is found across West Africa. Among the Lobi, such spikes symbolize fertility, fecundity, and protection. On this vessel, a small ladle sits atop the lid, presumably for pouring substances in or out of the vessel. [See also 1998.520].
Gift of Keith Achepohl](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6kg6a55n56myfeiqhqn74vfv/bafkreihhn5le5empwytmhejnh7uotp3x3ihplmi3sdluw3r6g4v4ztmmb4)
