Human-headed pottery jar with narrow opening at back of head, on a piriform body with applied, incised and impressed decoration [RTS 17/9/2004].

Collection type: Object
Description: Human-headed pottery jar with narrow opening at back of head, on a piriform body with applied, incised and impressed decoration [RTS 17/9/2004].
Long description: Anthropomorphic jar, handmade from a well levigated clay with small to medium gold-coloured mica inclusions, slipped and burnished on the outside and fired a light pinkish brown colour (Pantone 7515C), mottled with black patches (Pantone black 7C). Some of the patches may be soot adhering to the surface, presumably from the firing process, as they are flaking off in places. Slight horizontal ridging up the lower body suggests that the vessel may have been coil built. The jar is roughly circular in plan view. The top of the vessel has been modelled in the shape of a female head, with a small oval opening in the back of the head. The back of the head is curved, with two raised sections on the top represented bunched hair; this hair is delineated by rows of impressed marks made with a tool that has a square or angular leading edge. These rows divide the hair into a number of sections, with a parting running down the centre, two angled partings on either side, and a row running around the entire edge of this raised area, then a single curving row running horizontally around the back of the head, just above the ears, and a vertical row down from the middle of this to the top of the neck. The hair itself is represented by a number of finely incised oblique and curving lines, following the shape of the head. The face is indicated using a combination of modelling, incision and impression. Modelled sections include the ears, eyes in the form of raised lentoid shaped areas with incised lines marking their inside edges, a pointed nose with deeply impressed circular nostrils at its base, slightly pouting lips with a horizontal line cutting into them to form the mouth, and a curved chin. Incised lines are used to further define the eyes, and to represent facial scarring, which consists of 3 lines meeting to form a 'crowsfoot' shape near the outside corner of each eye, and 5 vertical lines running down the cheeks from the base of each eye. Impressed marks are used for additional details, including groups of from 2 to 3 short dashes across the brow and cheeks, probably representing further scarring, and rows of impressed square marks defining the upper curve of the brow, running vertically down the forehead, and representing the eyebrows. The head sits on a short, slightly flaring neck, with a flat raised collar around its base, marked by incised lines above and below. This collar is decorated with a row of impressed squares running along its top and bottom edges, while between them is a repeating motif made up of pairs of vertical lines framing an X-shaped motif, with the upper and lower triangualar sections of this being filled in with incised hatching. The body of the jar is piriform in shape, with a high rounded shoulder and convex sides curving into a low disc base. Flattened rectangular strips have been applied to the top of the body and as four vertical bands running down at right angles from this towards the base, with a short strip running down to a circular raised disc added to the shoulder area between, making the actual surface of the vessel appear as a series of recessed panels. The upper band has been decorated with a row of impressed circles, a thickband of incised hatching, then a more narrow row of impressed marks, possibly square, although these are rather worn. The vertical ribs are decorated with a vertical band of incised crosshatching, framed by incised lines on all sides, while the roundels are defined by 1 or 2 concentric circles around their outer edge, with a vertical strip down the centre with a row of circular impressions running down it, flanked by vertical lines and a row of impressed squares. The centre of one roundel has been left blank, perhaps inadvertently. The semicircular spaces left on either side of this strip have been filled with incised crosshatching. Each recessed panel around these roundels is decorated with a border made of rows of impressed dots next to rows of impressed squares, running around the edge of the space, with another row around the outside of the roundel. The lower body, below the roundel, is decorated with a motif consisting of a central lozenge with a triangle extending from either side, and a third triangle extending from its base point. The body of these shapes are formed from rows of impressed squares, with a central line running horizontally across the top part of the motif, and vertically down the centre of the lozenge, and the base triangle filled with a mass of impressed marks applied in a crosshatched pattern, very tightly packed. Each corner, and various junction points are also marked by an impressed circle. This motif is repeated, with minor versions, in the lower part of every panel. The underside of the base is also decorated. This consists of a series of short lines radiating out from the centre, framed by 2 concentric circles, then an outer band made from 4 concentric circles, cut by pairs of short lines framing cross motifs. The decoration has been added using at least 3 types of tool. One has a sharp point and creates incised lines. The second has a more angular leading edge and creates small square impressions. The third is slightly larger, and circular. Some of the impressions made by this last tool are crescent shaped, rather than complete circles, and others have small raised centres, suggesting that this was probably a hollow cylinder, such as a grass stem, rather than a solid ended tool. The vessel is heavy, with a weight of approximately 1275 grams, suggesting that it is rather thick walled, and it is questionable whether it was intended to function as a container. It is nearly complete, with a small area of the tip of the nose damaged, and a minor crack and small chip to the edge of the base. It has a height of 222 mm; the top of the head measures 74 mm across; the shoulder has a width of 150 mm and the base is 72 by 70 mm in diameter [RTS 15/11/2004].
Geographical reference: South Sudan
Africa > Eastern Africa > South Sudan; Western Equatoria Li Rangu Dingba Yambio Tambura
Cultural groups: Zande
Person: Maker Mbitim; Field collector Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton; Field collector Hannah Powell-Cotton; PRM source Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1933
Date collected: 27 to 29 April 1933
Acquisition information: Donated: 1934
Materials and processes: Material Pottery, Process Handbuilt, Process Slipped, Process Decorated, Process Modelled, Process Impressed, Process Incised, Process Coiled Handbuilt
Dimensions: Width 74 mm head, Diameter 72 mm base, Height 222 mm, Width 150 mm shoulder, Weight 1275 g
Object numbers: Accession number: 1934.8.134 Other numbers: 1086
Research and responses: For a brief discussion of the works in the PRM’s collection associated with the Zande potter Mbitim (1930.86.42, 1930.86.43, 1930.86.44, 1931.66.2, 1931.66.3, 1934.8.132.7, 1934.8.132.8, 1934.8.133, 1934.8.134 [illustrated], 1934.8.135 [illustrated], 1950.12.117, 1950.12.118, 1996.53.1), as well as the tools associated with him (1934.8.132.1, 1934.8.132.2, 1934.8.132.3 [illustrated], 1934.8.132.4 [illustrated], 1934.8.132.5 [illustrated], 1934.8.132.6 [illustrated], 1934.8.132.7 [illustrated], 1934.8.132.8), see ‘An Artist of Exceptional Skill: The Zande Potter Mbitim’, by Rachael Sparks, in The Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Newsletter, no. 55 (March 2006), p. 10.
For further information about Mbitim and discussion of his work in museum collections (including the PRM), see ‘The Potter of Li Rangu’, by Inbal Livne, in Pieces of a Nation: South Sudanese Heritage and Museum Collections, edited by Zoe Cormack and Cherry Leonardi (Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2021), pp. 135–141, 202–203.
This object was obtained by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah between 27th and 29th April 1933 during a shooting expedition in the Southern Sudan; museum records do not indicate specifically where this was obtained, but they were collecting material from Li Rangu, Dinga, Yambio and the road to Tambura during this period. The most likely location is Li Rangu, where a Zande potter called Mbitim was producing vessels in this style. Powell-Cotton visited Mbitim's workshop on April 28th, collecting raw samples of clay and some of his tools (see 1934.8.132), as well as several examples of his work. This is thought to belong to that group because of its cultural provenance, and its stylistic similarity to vessels elsewhere that are known to have been made by Mbitim at that time, such as those now in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996.301-302) and the British Museum (1934.3-8.27, a water vessel in the form of a female figure, and 1931.4-11.3, another female headed jar; see N. Barley, Smashing Pots, fig. on p. 145 and J.C.H. King (ed.), 2000, Human image). These seem to be identical in style to our example - particularly with decorative details such as the raised strips and roundels, the impressed designs and shape of the facial features. For similar Zande bowls in the Pitt Rivers collection, see 1930.86.42-44, 1931.66.2-3; for anthropomorphic jars, see 1950.12.117-118 (larger than this example, and said to be water vessels); for bookends in the same style, see 1934.8.135 and 1996.53.1. In the 1930's when Powell-Cotton visited it, Li Rangu was a centre of foreign contact for the district (N. Barley, 1994, Smashing Pots, p. 144).
The mica inclusions noted in the clay of this example seem to be a characteristic of Zande pottery; mica occurs naturally in beds throughout the region, known as hilidiwe, meaning 'slough of the moon' (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 4). Schweinfurth noted the presence of mica in both Bongo and Zande pottery, which he suggested made their wares very brittle. He believed this mix to be naturally occurring and that potters did not know how to remove it from their fabrics: "... [Zande potters] have no idea of the method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand" (G. Schweinfurth, 1873, In the Heart of Africa Volume I, p. 292; Volume II, p. 25). This mica may well have been left in the clay deliberately, as it gives the vessels an attractive sparkle, and does not seem to have impaired the plasticity of the material, as the detailed modelling of several of these vessels demonstrates.
Larken discusses Zande customs regarding the collection and working of clay. Clay is usually found on the banks of a stream, and prepared by pounding it in a mortar before shaping it by hand. Tools are limited to pieces of gourd or a rounded pebble for smoothing; decoration is applied by something simple, such as a short stick bound with cord. He describes two kinds of vessels that are made, one with a low collar around the mouth, and another with a bow-shaped neck (see 1931.66.2-3). The smaller pots are said to be used for cooking meat, the larger ones for water or making bakinde; other pots are for brewing beer, while long-necked varieties are used for washing the face and hands - this last type may have a head adorning the neck. The Pitt Rivers Museum example would seem to be of this last type. Each type has its own Zande name. Decoration often covers the whole surface. Larken goes on to describe the firing and finishing: "When dry, pots are turned upside down and baked in the open, only certain kinds of wood being suitable for the fire. While still red-hot, they are splashed with water in which bark of the ndili tree has been soaked, in order to blacken them. A black polish is sometimes given to the smooth surfaces, by means of graphite grains, which are mixed with water and a little powdered ironstone, painted on the clay and gently but continually rubbed into it with a polishing-pebble before the pot is fired". The resulting vessel is not very strong, and only slightly porous, if at all; broad leaves may be used for a lid, if required (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, pp 129-131). According to Evans-Pritchard, all Zande potters were male (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
According to Larken, Zande men and women both practiced cicatrisation, but 'the face is usually not touched, except where an individual has come into contact with Arabs and copied their habit in this direction (P.M. Larken, 1926, "An Account of the Zande", Sudan Notes and Records IX no. 1, p. 31)'. This practice may have become more widespread since Larken's time, however, as most of the modelled human figures made by Mbitim (1996.53.1, 1934.8.133-135, 1950.12.117, 1928.67.4), or Zande woodcarvers (1928.67.4, 1932.30.14-15) are depicted with this kind of facial scarring [RTS 24/8/2005].
In May 2015 a digital photograph of this object was supplied to Ellen Lekka (Culture Specialist / UNESCO Juba – South Sudan) for use in 'South Sudan Traveling Exhibition: Pilot Phase', a project being carried out by UNESCO Juba in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of South Sudan, as part of the establishment of a public culture sector through the development of key institutions and as a step towards the creation of a National Museum. [JC 22 5 2014]
In an email to Alison Petch dated 1 September 2014, Inbal Livne (Powell Cotton Museum, Kent) writes: 'You have it down as possibly made by Mbitim. We have an identical one (on display) so I would confirm that he was definitely the artist. Additionally, Powell-Cotton and his wife wrote an article in MAN in 1933 about Mbitim and his work, which might be of interest? Our version of this piece is one of a set, where the potter created a series of models in all the different stages of production, so from a lump of clay to a full formed pot. There is also footage here (also on display) filmed in 1933 of Mbitim making one of these, although which one who knows! Interestingly he used the money he made from these pieces to fund the local malaria hospital. We’ve got a whole exhibit about him as PC collected a lot of pieces from him.' [AP 1 9 2014; JC 14 9 2014]
Associated publications: Pieces of a Nation: South Sudanese Heritage and Museum Collections, Editor: Zoe Cormack; Editor: Cherry Leonardi, 2021 An Artist of Exceptional Skill. The Zande Potter Mbitim. Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum newsletter. , Main author: Rachael Sparks, 2006

Search terms: Vessel, Pottery, Figure, Body Art, Food and Drink, Food Accessory