Inspired by the natural world, Nupe ceramicists fired this water vessel in the shape of a gourd. The vessel''s varied surface textures and colours come from its functional design. The dimpling and geometric markings were engraved to give the drinker a better grip, creating the hand worn texture and off-coloured streaks.
The rounded bottom was designed to rest on a half-buried vessel support inside of a Nupe house, stacked between other similar vessel forms. The top rim of this vessel shows evidence of having been used in this way, with subtle wear around the inside of the top rim.
Unfortunately the post has been broken at some point and repaired but it still looks great.