Bottle (Ensumbi)

Arts of Africa

Mid–/late 20th century

Nyoro or related peoples
Uganda
Eastern and Southern Africa

This delicate, gourd-shaped bottle is coil built with extremely thin walls and is colored a dark brownish black. The use of gourd bottles, well documented in the region, undoubtedly inspired the creation of ceramic examples such as this one. Both gourds and gourd-shaped ceramic bottles fulfill the same purpose of carrying beer or drinking water. [see also 2003.382 and 2003.384].

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Nyoro
Title: Bottle (Ensumbi)
Place: Uganda (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1950–1999
Medium: Terracotta
Dimensions: 12 × 17.8 cm (8 1/4 × 7 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Keith Achepohl
Reference Number: 2003.383

Kathleen Bickford Berzock, For Hearth and Altar: African Ceramics from the Keith Achepohl Collection (The Art Institute and Yale University Press, 2005), pp. 170-171.

Art Institute of Chicago, For Hearth and Altar: African Ceramics from the Keith Achepohl Collection, Dec. 3, 2005–Feb. 20, 2006, cat. 108.

Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, Ill., by 2001; sold to Keith Acehpohl, Iowa City, Iowa, 2001; given to the Art Institute, 2003.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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