Altar Vessel

Arts of Africa

Early/mid–20th century

Gur-speaking peoples, possibly Lobi
Burkina Faso
Northern Africa and the Sahel

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].

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Gur
Title: Altar Vessel
Place: Burkina Faso (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 1900–1950
Medium: Terracotta and sacrificial material
Dimensions: 33.1 × 27.4 × 27.4 cm (13 × 10 3/4 × 10 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Keith Achepohl
Reference Number: 2005.235

Kathleen Bickford Berzock, For Hearth and Altar: African Ceramics from the Keith Achepohl Collection (The Art Institute and Yale University Press, 2005), pp. 73-74.

Art Institute of Chicago, For Hearth and Altar: African Ceramics from the Keith Achepohl Collection, Dec. 3, 2005–Feb. 20, 2006, cat. 31.

Unnamed owner, United States, 1993; sold to Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, Ill., 1993; sold to Keith Achepohl, Iowa City, Iowa, 1993; given to the Art Institute, 2005.

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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