Anthropomorphic Jar Mangbetu Drc

 anthropomorphic jar "sundu "mangbetu .During the second half of the 19th century, when the kingdom was at its most powerful, Mangbetu aristocrats surrounded themselves with a wide variety of finely crafted utilitarian objects: boxes, jars, stools, musical instruments and weapons. A distinctive tradition of anthropomorphic sculpture associated with the Mangbetu culture developed around 1900. Although these forms predated the colonial presence, European patrons greatly increased their demand. These works show the elaborate reed-reinforced hairstyles and elongated heads once common among the Mangbetu, who in the past shaped the skulls of infants with light pressure. African potters, mainly women, hand construct a variety of vessels which they embellish with designs and motifs before firing them at low temperatures. Containers intended for daily use hold water or serve as cooking utensils. They also make vessels for use in special ceremonies or as part of an assemblage of objects placed in a shrine. The tradition of figurative pottery, which no longer exists, originated in northeastern Congo in the late 19th century, when the Mangbetu and other groups produced works for Europeans and Africans. Jars like this example were black or almost black in color with very burnished surfaces. The elongated female head of the vessel resting on a well-proportioned neck, the mouth shaped like an elaborate hairstyle, the delicate facial features and the roulette decoration are attributes consistent with what has been called the Mangbetu style. . Many were collected from Niangara, the seat of the colonial district of northeastern Congo, where the Zande, Abarambo, and other ethnic groups with their own pottery traditions resided. It is possible that a potter from another ethnic group produced this vessel both for Europeans who admired Mangbetu styles of personal adornment or for African rulers who commissioned prestige works as gifts. Figurative container modeled to represent a Mangbetu woman. The elongated head and upswept hairstyle tied tightly around the middle flares out and tilts back to form the mouth of the jar. The eyes are partially closed, the rounded nostrils and the lips reveal the teeth. The head rests on a well-proportioned neck and at the back there is a wide flat handle which connects the body and the head of the container. formed of 3 round shapes which feature breasts at the front The vessel has surface decoration in roulette on the hairstyle, handle, middle of the forehead, nose, cheeks and along the sides of the vessel, curving towards the rear.