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Medicine Container

A work made of gourd, wood, and glass beads.

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  • A work made of gourd, wood, and glass beads.

Date:

20th century

Artist:

Probably Hehe
Tanzania
Eastern and Southern Africa

About this artwork

Created to store medicinal mixtures, this type of gourd is owned by a ritual healer and facilitates communication between the spiritual and physical worlds. Activated by prayer and music, it assists a patient’s transformation from a state of conflict or misfortune to one of well-being. Figurative stoppers often represent a spirit being that temporarily inhabits the container. As participants in coastal and inland trade networks, cultural groups throughout Tanzania imported European glass beads and routinely used white ones as eyes in their sculptures.

Status

On View, Gallery 137

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Hehe

Title

Medicine Container

Place

Tanzania (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 1900–1999

Medium

Gourd, wood, and glass beads

Dimensions

30.5 × 11.4 cm (12 × 4 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Jane Stroud Wright in honor of Douglas Dawson

Reference Number

2017.255

Extended information about this artwork

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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