Mossi Pot or Water Container or Storage Burkina Faso

Title: Mossi Pot or Water Container or Storage Burkina Faso
Type of Object: pot, container
Ethnic Group: Mossi
Country of Origin: Burkina Faso
Materials: clay
Approximate Age: Unknown, probably 20th century
Dimensions: 17 inches x 16 inch diameter
Overall Condition: Fair.  Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.
Damage, Repair: Indigenous repair on mouth's edges, stratches

Additional Information: A  large pot with incised desigs around the body

The Mossi are well-known for their masks usually with complex superstructures and impressive geometrically-incised planks, rising sometimes to great heights. While not unknown, free-standing statues of the Mossi and their neighbors are rare, but can be extremely beautiful and expressive. They are thought to be representations of ancestors, but their use is poorly understood. The art of pottery is also developed among  the Mossi. Potters are often wives of Smiths according to Christopher, Roy. They produce variety of utilitarian objects and kitchen utensils (such as vessels, bowls, vases, pots), and ritual pots and containers. Some are simply modeled. Others have elaborate and sometimes figural designs. Our pot has incised designs around. After the pot was formed and dryied, the potter had to cut designs like this They come in various sizes and shapes and might be used for ritual purpose, for storing foodstuff, water, local beer and wine, and other libation, and for cooking. This one was probably used as a millet beer pot. This pot still has a very mild aroma of what it once contained.  

The potting procedures used by the Mossi potters to make pots like this are basically the same than anywhere else in Burkina Faso or other parts of Africa. The potter proceeds by preparing the clay body, forming the pot, drying it, and decorating the pot. The surface on this container is blackened, which implies the pot was fired. Once the pot was fired it was set aside to coll. There are no decorative motifs on the present example. 

The Mossi states were established in the 15th century after bands of Mossi horsemen moved north, out of an area which is now northern Ghana, conquering less powerful cultures, like the Dogon, Nuna, and Kurumba. The first Mossi emperor was Moro Naba, who reigned from Ougadougou, which is the modern-day capital of what is now known as Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta. For almost 400 years the Mossi ruled effectively, even resisting the invasion of the Muslim Fulani, who were rarely challenged in their southward expansion. In 1897, the first French explorers arrived in the area, and established colonial rule. During French occupation the Mossi were heavily exploited for labor, transported, essentially as slaves, into the rice plantations of what is now Cote d'Ivoire. It was only in 1960 that the country of Burkina Faso gained its independence from the French. Since that time, the Mossi have been a dominant force in Burkina politics, and their influence runs throughout the country, not only politically but artistically, resulting in an inevitable merging of styles throughout the country.

 I have examined this piece and agree with the desription
Niangi Batulukisi, PhD

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