VINTAGE UKHAMBA RITUAL INCISED CLAY BEER VESSEL ZULU PEOPLE SOUTH AFRICA

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VINTAGE UKHAMBA RITUAL INCISED CLAY BEER VESSEL ZULU PEOPLE SOUTH AFRICA:
$34.99

GJPaw sales is pleased to offer a gorgeous Ukhamba or ritual beer vessel,from the Zulu people, South Africa. The word ukhamba is a Zulu word for alarge clay vessel and the term is commonly used by all African cultures. Thevessel measures 7.5 inches in diameter by 6.5 inches in height (19.0 cm by 16.5cm). It is invery good condition and dates to the late 20th century. A fabulouscollector’s item, coming from an important mid-West collection of African art,it is guaranteed authentic and would make a fine addition to any collection ofZulu art or African art in general.

In Zulu, ukhambaconsists of two words: ukukhama (which means to squeeze out or compress out asin milking a cow) + bamba (to hold in place so as to receive that which issqueezed out). The ukhamba is a vessel, a reservoir, and a protector of thatwhich is valuable and good for physical and spiritual nourishment. It is acentral piece in the rite of social fellowship and that rite itself is treatedwith respect and studied deference. The clay pot is made out of earth, andsymbolizes the Eternal Mother and womb from which all emerge and gets buried inorder for others to emerge. The clay pot gives shape to its liquid contents andthis means the shaping of all human knowledge by a lived life on earth.

Ukhambapots are formed by building up coils of clay and smoothing them down with itemssuch as the back of a spoon or a water-worn rock. The pot is put to one sideuntil it has reached leather-hardness, when incised designs are created usingfound objects such as maize cobs, sharpened bicycle or umbrella spokes, combsand anything else that will create an attractive pattern. Originally, pots weremostly decorated by attaching lumps called amasumpa (warts) to stop the potfrom slipping but today the most intricate designs are to be found, rangingfrom leaves, houses and shields to complicated geometric patterns. When readyfor use the pot has to be polished, a task previously carried out with the useof animal fat. However, today shoe polish and floor polish have allowedcrafters the freedom to skip a second firing and to select a range of black,browns and reds to complement their many and varied designs.

GJPaw sales has been in theArt business for over 25years and is now expanding its operation to . Our goal is to bringthe same experience and excitement of collecting that we have been deliveringin-person to collectors across the globe at Primitive in Chicago. Every object wesell online has been carefully hand-selected with special attention to detail,quality, and significance. We ship worldwide. Add GJPaw to Sellers you Follow and pleasetake a moment to look at our other sale items.

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