Zande bowl
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1930.86.42
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan]
Cultural Group:
Zande
Maker:
Possibly Mbitim?
Date Made:
By 1930
Materials:
Pottery
Process:
Handbuilt Coiled? , Fire-Hardened , Decorated , Incised , Impressed , Burnished
Dimensions:
Ht = 134, rim diam ext. = 197 x 190, rim int. = 183 x 178, base diam = 80 mm [RTS 4/4/2005].
Weight:
804.4 g
Other Owners:
Probably collected by Evans-Pritchard himself during his fieldwork amongst the Zande, which took place during 1927, part of 1928 and 1929 and for several months during 1930 [CM; RTS 6/7/2004].
Field Collector:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
PRM Source:
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Acquired:
Purchased 31 December 1930
Collected Date:
1927 - 1930
Description:
Hand made pottery bowl with slightly irregular walls, possibly coil made.
It has been formed from a moderately well levigated clay mixed with numerous small to large gold coloured mica inclusions, fired a mottled pinkish brown (Pantone 7515C) to black (Pantone black 7C) inside and out; the surfaces have a burnished sheen.
The vessel is circular in plan view, and consists of an everted rim with a narrow flat, bevelled upper surface on a bow-shaped exterior that flares convexly in to a short, broad, concave neck, before turning out to a high carinated shoulder, then down and in to a narrow flat base.
The edge of the rim has been tooled to create 5 parallel grooves that run around its circumference.
On the interior, the mouth slopes down concavely to the neck, where the junction is marked by 2 similar grooves.
The rest of the interior has been left plain, except for the centre of the base which is decorated with 2 concentric grooves.
The exterior is more elaborately decorated, with a band of impressed squares immediately below the rim, and 2 parallel grooves below, then at the top and base of the short neck, 2 pairs of grooves with a thin raised collar covered with a row of impressed squares between.
The upper shoulder area below is covered with 2 rows of impressed squares, framing a row of broad vertically impressed lines, with the clay between each line being raised slightly to create a fluted effect.
This pattern is repeated immediately below the shoulder, but each raised section has an additional row of impressed marks running down it; while the space between these 2 bands of fluting is filled with incised crosshatching.
The lower body has been divided into 5 sections by vertical bands of decoration.
Each of these bands has been formed by double vertical rows of impressed marks, divided by horizontal cross bars into 5 sections, that alternate between plain squares and textured, impressed squares.
The ends of each cross bar is marked with an impressed dot.
The body area between each of these vertical dividers has been filled with a shallow, semicircle filled with impressed squares, that curves down from the shoulder.
Single dotted arc lines radiate below these, anchored at either end to the impressed dots flanking the vertical bands.
Just above the base, the design is finished off with 2 parallel rows of impressed squares framing a textured band, broken at the base of each vertical divider by a plain, untextured square.
Finally, there is a circular impression at the centre of the base underside, with a series of dotted lines radiating out from it.
The bowl is complete and intact, with a weight of 804.4 grams.
It has a height of 134 mm, an external rim diameter of 197 by 190 mm and an internal mouth diameter of 183 by 178 mm; the base has a diameter of 80 mm.
This vessel was probably collected by Evans-Pritchard himself during his fieldwork amongst the Zande, which took place during 1927, part of 1928 and 1929 and for several months during 1930. He did not record its local name, although Larken tells us that the Zande had a specific term for each different type of pot. Smaller vessels were used for cooking meat, and larger ones for water, making bakinde, or brewing beer (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, p. 131). For other Zande bowls in the collection, made in similar style and using the same type of clay, see 1930.86.43-44 and 1931.66.2-3; for anthropomorphic jars in the same fabric, see 1934.8.134 and 1950.12.117-8; for bookends in the same style, see 1934.8.135 and 1996.53.1. The potter is not named, but may have been Mbitim, from whom Powell-Cotton visited at Li Rangu on April 28th 1933, collecting raw samples of clay, some of his tools (see 1934.8.132) and finished examples of his work, which seems to be of similar style to the Evans-Pritchard pieces. Powell-Cotton also filmed him in action (see Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91).
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. 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 and pottery production was "... an art of the Ambomu, who made certain types of pottery... used for carrying water, ablutions, brewing beer, boiling oil, roasting and boiling met, etc. On the whole it was asserted that small-mouthed pots were Mbomu and that designs with larger mouths came from the south, especially from the Mangbetu." (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1971, The Azande , p. 95). (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
This vessel was probably collected by Evans-Pritchard himself during his fieldwork amongst the Zande, which took place during 1927, part of 1928 and 1929 and for several months during 1930. He did not record its local name, although Larken tells us that the Zande had a specific term for each different type of pot. Smaller vessels were used for cooking meat, and larger ones for water, making bakinde, or brewing beer (P.M. Larken, 1927, "Impressions of the Azande", Sudan Notes and Records X, p. 131). For other Zande bowls in the collection, made in similar style and using the same type of clay, see 1930.86.43-44 and 1931.66.2-3; for anthropomorphic jars in the same fabric, see 1934.8.134 and 1950.12.117-8; for bookends in the same style, see 1934.8.135 and 1996.53.1. The potter is not named, but may have been Mbitim, from whom Powell-Cotton visited at Li Rangu on April 28th 1933, collecting raw samples of clay, some of his tools (see 1934.8.132) and finished examples of his work, which seems to be of similar style to the Evans-Pritchard pieces. Powell-Cotton also filmed him in action (see Mrs Powell Cotton, "Village Handicrafts in the Sudan", Man 34 (112), pp 90-91).
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. 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 and pottery production was "... an art of the Ambomu, who made certain types of pottery... used for carrying water, ablutions, brewing beer, boiling oil, roasting and boiling met, etc. On the whole it was asserted that small-mouthed pots were Mbomu and that designs with larger mouths came from the south, especially from the Mangbetu." (E.E. Evans-Pritchard, 1971, The Azande , p. 95). (Evans-Pritchard 1971, The Azande, p. 95).
Rachael Sparks 24/8/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[BIV, p.
138] - 1930 [insert] 86 [end insert]
E.E.
EVANS PRITCHARD
31 Dec.
Specimens collected by himself in the EASTERN SUDAN, etc.
[...] [p.
139, insert] 42-44 [end insert] - [1 of] 3 decorated
black
reddish pottery bowls, AZANDE.
[...] [Base of p.
139, total of items 1930.86.1-65] - P[ai]d by cheque 31 Dec £
25-0-0
.
Added Accession Book Entry [page opposite 138] - 1930.86 See Related Documents File for letter from Henry Balfour to Evans-Pritchard concerning the purchase of this collection.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].
Related Documents File - This contains a letter from Balfour to Evans-Pritchard, dated 31 December 1930 that specifies the objects which he would like to purchase for the Pitt Rivers Museum, and suggests a price of £25, which was one quarter of his annual budget. The list matches the objects ultimately accessioned quite closely. This item may be listed as one of "2 pots" [although there seem to be three ceramic vessels accessioned as part of this group, not two; see also 1930.86.43-4].
RDF 1930.86 also contains a letter from Evans-Pritchard to Mr. Malcolm dated 12 December 1930, offering him some 81 Zande and Nuer objects. As Malcolm was curator of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, it seems unlikely that these objects were ever sent to the Pitt Rivers Museum and this letter is only useful as background for Evans-Pritchard's attritudes to the intended future use of his material, and as evidence for the temporary storage of these objects in Professor Seligman's office in the London School of Economics at the time. The file also contains an undated list of 48 objects, which does not seem to match accessioned material and could be the list of rejected items that Balfour mentions in the letter described above [RTS 17/5/2004].
Written on object - BAHR-EL-GHAZAL, AZANDE, coll. EVANS-PRITCHARD. PURCH. 31.12.1930 [black ink], 1930.86,42 [white ink; RTS 23/3/2005].
Added Accession Book Entry [page opposite 138] - 1930.86 See Related Documents File for letter from Henry Balfour to Evans-Pritchard concerning the purchase of this collection.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 3/2/2004].
Related Documents File - This contains a letter from Balfour to Evans-Pritchard, dated 31 December 1930 that specifies the objects which he would like to purchase for the Pitt Rivers Museum, and suggests a price of £25, which was one quarter of his annual budget. The list matches the objects ultimately accessioned quite closely. This item may be listed as one of "2 pots" [although there seem to be three ceramic vessels accessioned as part of this group, not two; see also 1930.86.43-4].
RDF 1930.86 also contains a letter from Evans-Pritchard to Mr. Malcolm dated 12 December 1930, offering him some 81 Zande and Nuer objects. As Malcolm was curator of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, it seems unlikely that these objects were ever sent to the Pitt Rivers Museum and this letter is only useful as background for Evans-Pritchard's attritudes to the intended future use of his material, and as evidence for the temporary storage of these objects in Professor Seligman's office in the London School of Economics at the time. The file also contains an undated list of 48 objects, which does not seem to match accessioned material and could be the list of rejected items that Balfour mentions in the letter described above [RTS 17/5/2004].
Written on object - BAHR-EL-GHAZAL, AZANDE, coll. EVANS-PRITCHARD. PURCH. 31.12.1930 [black ink], 1930.86,42 [white ink; RTS 23/3/2005].
