This Algerian pouring vessel was created and decorated in the tradition of the Kabyle-Berber culture, and it was intended for use in the traditional storage and serving of drinking liquids. Like other Algerian pottery, the vessel was hand-thrown in red terracotta clay and then decorated with colored mineral slips using brushes of goat hair set into wet clay handles. The artist’s hand is clearly evident in the varied bands of green and brown and in the fast, gestural brushwork of flowing black, ribbonlike embellishments. The crazing on the surface of this vessel indicates that the artist then applied a ceramic glaze before the final firing; this strongly suggests that the vessel was intended for real use, for purely decorative vessels are generally covered in a shiny resin rather than a glaze.

For more information, you may contact the researcher(s) noted in the title of this exhibit entry, or Dr. Billie Follensbee, the professor of the course, at BillieFollensbee@MissouriState.edu