Africa is a continent renowned for its diverse cultures and rich artistic traditions. One of the most fascinating aspects of African art is its pottery. The art of crafting pottery has been an integral part of African culture for centuries, with each region having its distinct style and techniques. Today, we unpack the history, the genius behind the techniques, along with 7 pottery styles that can hold their own in any contemporary space.
It is customary in Western societies for the arts to be considered under such categories as arts and crafts. Thus, the Western concept of fine and applied arts has contributed immensely to the categorization of much of the material culture of traditional Africa under the arts and crafts rubrics.
Drawing distinctions between art and traditional African societies underlines the necessity to recognize changes that have occurred in Africa, particularly within the last century. To understand the limited relevancy of certain terms and to differentiate between ancient, traditional, and current trends in the arts, a categorization of African art into traditional and contemporary domains becomes a useful classification.
Our focus here will be on the West African subregion, although much of what we discuss also applies to Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
Changes in the arts were conceptual and nominal at first. As European colonialists settled down to govern the arbitrarily demarcated geographical territories in Africa, alien modes of social, religious, and political intercourse were introduced. Over time, this resulted in major alterations.
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Today there is a proliferation of art departments in West African institutions. The subject is routinely taught in many secondary schools across West Africa. Alongside the development of formal art institutions were art workshops that were established to cater to the needs of talented but educationally disadvantaged Africans.
Contemporary Africa is a confluence of ideas and practices, some of which are still being resolved. Nowhere is this more visibly telescoped than in the arts. Equally apparent is the role of the expatriate in the discovery and study of ancient and traditional arts of Africa.
The History of African Pottery
The history of African pottery can be traced back thousands of years. The earliest evidence of pottery on the African continent dates back to around 10,000 BC in the Sahara region.
The oldest art form known so far in subSaharan Africa is the pottery-sculpture from Nigeria. Generally referred to as Nok terracotta figures, they have been dated from 500 B.c. to A.O. A casual find forty-five years ago by a worker at a tin-mining deposit in northern Nigeria revealed a beautiful terracotta head, which was promptly used as a scarecrow on the man's farm.
Although there is no unanimity on the hypothesis that Nok was artistically ancestral to lfe, it is generally agreed that in their degree of competence and the sureness of their hands, these two cultures possessed identical technological proficiency.
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The schematized assertiveness of much of Nok terracottas and the fluid, poetic realism of lfe pottery-figures encourages one to draw the inference that a physical expression of tangible and intangible worlds was involved in both instances.
West African Pottery Made in Burkina Faso
In this video Bwa, Jelly, and Mossi potters in Burkina Faso, Ashanti potters in Kumasi Ghana, and Igbo and Yoruba potters in Nigeria are featured. These potters demonstrate the five major techniques used by potters in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Nigeria. The techniques include concave mold, convex mold, coiling, direct pull, and hammer and anvil. There are also clips of pottery firing included.
Clay is found in various places throughout Africa depending on the location. The clay usually has a grainy texture and looks grayish brown. Once the potters collect the clay, they break it up into smaller pieces then leave it out to dry. When the clay dries, the pieces get pounded together in a pottery instrument called a mortar. The mortar mashes it together and makes it easier for the potters to remove unwanted rocks or stones. Crushed clay (also called grog) and water is then added in order to reduce drying or cracking and to make the clay the proper consistency.
Women then take the clay and shape and fashion it into the desired shape entirely by hand or they pour the clay into a mold made of wood, calabash or pottery. The potters use several different tools to construct the designs on the pottery. Potters engrave ridges along the edges or draw pictures on the pots to give them more of an artistic look. Designing these pieces takes many hours because artistic expression is very important in these communities.
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Once the potter finishes making the pot, it is dried in the sun for days before being taken to be fired. The pots bake on a fire pit for about 45 minutes until they are searing hot and ready to be drawn from the heat. Potters usually use a large stick to lift them off the fire before placing them in a hole to cool. Sometimes potters apply bark liquid to the surface to leave a glossy black finish; sometimes plant dyes are used to add color to the pots after or during the firing process.
Traditional pottery manufacture in Africa is carried out in five basic steps:
- Preparing the clay
- Molding
- Drying
- Firing
- Decorating
Making a pot starts with the mining and preparation of clay, then blending it with water until it reaches a malleable state. Temper or matter like ground sand, pebbles or old pottery, chopped dried grass and dung or crushed chaff from winnowing grains and rice is kneaded in to the clay to decrease the shrinkage that occurs during the drying and firing processes. Pots are generally coiled around a flattened base and then molded and smoothed into shape. Sometimes an actual mold of pottery, wood or a calabash is used. Once the desired form is achieved they are left to be sundried before being wood fired for the first time for at least 4 hours at a low temperature.
Decoration of vessels happens once the pot has completely dried. The potter can choose between adding extra shapes (like human or animal figures and geometric or abstract forms) to the surface or incising motifs like zigzags or cross hatchings with a sharp blade or combs. Handles or lids can be molded and attached to adorn the pots or textural patterns can be impressed with roulette.
After applying decorations, the pots are left in the sun to dry, or if in a place where it rains often, they are placed in a dry hut or room or near a fire to dry. If it is very wet, they are pre-fired, where individual pots are held for a short time over a fire to remove the moisture. Women of the same household often fire together with twenty-five to thirty-five pieces as average per firing. Bamana potters place their large pots upright on a bed of wood during firing and encircle the smaller pots around the larger. Branches are positioned on top of the pile to separate and secure the vessels. Within about an hour of lighting the fire, the women use long wooden poles fitted with iron hooks called wolosow to hook or maneuver the pots from the fire. The women begin with removing the smaller pots and immediately plunge the pots into a special bath that blackens the surface.
In the rain forest areas of West Africa, where streams and rivers are abundant, clay is usually mined close to existing watercourses and is dug from the banks of streams when the water is low. Enough clay is dug while the pits are accessible to keep the potters supplied throughout the rainy season, when the pits are full of water. In the more arid regions, the best time to dig is after the fall harvest and before the beginning of the dry season. The men and women can recognize where the best quality clay is found by the telltale cracks. The men use axes and hoes to dig, up to two meters down, for the purest deposits of clay. They then fill huge basins with clay which is passed to the women at the surface, who distribute the clay equally among themselves.
To avoid the pottery cracking, tempers are used consisting of finely chopped straw, dried animal dung pounded into a powder, or the chaff left when rice or millet is winnowed. Also ground-up dried river mud or, most commonly, shards of old pottery are used, after being reduced to a fine powder by pounding in a wooden mortar.
The Diversity of African Pottery Styles
The diversity of African cultures is reflected in the various pottery styles found across the continent. Each region has its unique techniques, motifs, and forms.
- The Ndebele people of South Africa are renowned for their vibrant geometric patterns painted on pottery.
- The Berber people of North Africa have a long history of pottery making. Their pottery often features intricate geometric patterns and symbols inspired by nature.
- The Yoruba people of Nigeria are known for their skill in pottery making. Their works include large sculptures, cooking pots, and vessels with intricate carvings.
- The Makonde people of East Africa are renowned for their wooden carvings, but they also have a tradition of pottery making.
- The Himba people of Namibia and Angola create unique pottery using a distinctive red clay.
Some pottery styles are unique to certain regions, for example the singon is found in Soninke, Bamana, Maninka, Somono, and Fula cultures across the north but it is rarely seen in Jula and not at all in Senufo or other potteries to the south or east.
Here are some standout designs that reveal how wide African pottery really is:
- Known as ukhamba, this pot was designed for sharing sorghum beer during rituals or community gatherings. Its rounded shape, delicate walls, and lack of foot make it perfect for communal use. The small bumps covering the surface aren’t decoration-they help you hold it.
- Bamana women have kept pottery traditions alive for centuries. Their pots, used for cooking or carrying water, often feature symbolic carvings across the surface.
- Women in southeastern Nigeria made these for ceremony. They coil by hand. Raised floral motifs and incised lines cover the surface-showing exactly how detailed hand-built pottery can be. Igbo design thinks deeply.
- A tall neck rises above a round base. Vase-like proportions that reveal generations of refinement.
- The Lobi made various ceramic styles and this brewing pot is one of them. It starts with a lump of clay at the base, then walls build upward with careful coils. Spikes on the surface were used to discourage children from touching it. Finally, handles on each side mean it was designed to sit over heat, to be held and moved.
- In Nigeria’s Niger state, the Nupe people had a long tradition of creating beautiful African pottery pieces. This design is genius. Two chambers, one on top of the other, separated by a narrow neck. Liquids poured in the top filter slowly to the bottom. The Nupe people didn’t just create pottery-they engineered it.
- Her name matters. Ladi Kwali brought Nigerian pottery to the world in the mid-1900s. She took traditional techniques and evolved them-mixing ancient methods with modern glazing and fine carving. Her pots feature animals and plants, connecting nature to craft. She was so celebrated that Nigeria put her on their currency.
African pottery pieces are conversations across time. Generations of knowledge-about clay, fire, and what a community needed-all in a seemingly simple pot. No two pieces are the same, and that’s the magic of it. Styles shift as you move across the continent. In West Africa, pots are built with coiled layers that rise like sculpture. Down south, burnished finishes shimmer like polished stone. And these vessels weren’t made for shelves. They held water, brewed stews, and served as communal dishes.
These pots deserve to be seen. A bold ceramic piece on a console table in your entryway or on a living room side table creates immediate impact. It sets the tone. If you have a chimney ledge, use it. Height spotlights the piece. A wall niche frames pottery like a gallery. Curated. Architectural.
Thankfully, in this day and age, you don’t need to travel far to bring African pottery into your space. By looking in the right place, these beautiful pieces can be yours to admire and showcase in your own space. Once utilitarian, these vessels now stand proudly as sculptural statements. They invite admiration, spark curiosity, and bring a piece of African heritage into everyday spaces.
Interested in African ceramic crafts? Among the Kabyle Berber cultures of northern Algeria, traditional handmade ceramics are a female artform. These vessels were developed to be primarily functional, for cooking, serving, and storing food, but they illustrate aesthetic sensibilities in their graceful, well-proportioned forms. Ceramic techniques and preferences have long been handed down from mother to daughter and shared among larger families, and each community eventually developed its own identifiable shapes, forms, and painted details.
African pottery is often made using clay, a versatile material readily available in many regions of the continent. The clay is shaped into various forms and then fired to harden it. Traditional methods of firing pottery include open fires, pit firing, and kiln firing.
In West Africa, pottery is used for utilitarian, magical, social, commemorative, and religious purposes. In eastern Nigeria, among the Igbo, Ibibio, and the Kalabari, pots are used for musical instruments. In earlier times, before pipe-borne water and the refrigerator became a feature of everyday life, pots were used for a variety of domestic chores, including the storage and cooling of water and the preparation of meals. Even now, in some societies, local beer or palm wine is brewed in large pots that have been inserted halfway into holes dug in the ground.
In some cultures, like the Dakakari in northwestern Nigeria and the Akan in Ghana, pottery-sculptures are used as part of the rituals connected with the dead. Among the Dakakari, pottery-sculptures are erected on the graves of those marked for honor. The Akan produce pottery-heads that become the focus of attention during the post-interment ceremonies commemorating the departed, a tradition more than three centuries old. These terracotta heads are often located at or around the grave of the deceased or in a shrine so dedicated, where they are treated as a medium of exchange between the dead and the living.
Quite distinct from figural pottery, but clearly related to funeral ceremonies among the Ashanti in Ghana are the sacred pots that are used by the relations of the departed.
Traditional African pottery holds immense cultural significance for the communities that create it:
- Pottery vessels are used to store and preserve food, water, and other essential commodities. The porous nature of clay helps to regulate moisture, keeping the contents fresh for an extended period.
- Pottery plays a significant role in African rituals and ceremonies. It is often used in the preparation and serving of traditional meals during celebrations and religious festivals.
- Africa is known for its vibrant and diverse art forms, and pottery is no exception. African potters use various techniques such as coiling, molding, and sculpting to create intricately designed vessels.
- Traditional African pottery also holds social significance within communities. It is often used as dowry items during marriage ceremonies, serving as a symbol of wealth and status.
While traditional African pottery continues to be valued for its cultural significance, it has also gained recognition in the global art market. Many contemporary African potters are innovating and blending traditional techniques with modern artistic styles to create unique and captivating pieces.
African pottery has also become an important source of income for many African communities. The sale of pottery pieces provides economic opportunities and sustains the ancient craft.
Although the introduction of Western concepts has affected contemporary African art, pottery remains remarkably one art form that has demonstrated a capacity for flexibility, resilience, and synthesis. For example, pottery was made, with few exceptions, by women in traditional African societies. Today, it still is, although they no longer have exclusive control over the production of pottery.
One reason for this is Western education. As art colleges were established, pottery or, as it was more elegantly called, ceramics became one of the standard art subjects. Today the situation has changed. The teaching of pottery in formal and informal institutions has significantly elevated the status of pottery as both an art and a craft.
There have been, however, instances where a synthesis of the old and the new, of craftsmanship and creativity, has been achieved. Michael Cardew had been teaching pottery in Ghana. In the nineteen-forties, he went to Abuja, Nigeria, where he established the Abuja Training Center. By the time he retired in 1965, the Center had acquired an international reputation through Cardew's pioneering work as well as through the unique style of Madam Ladi Kwali. By combining traditional pottery skills with modern techniques, Kwali imbued pottery with a creative touch that earned her national and international recognition.
The second example is the work of Raphael Ige Ibigbami at the Obafemi Awolowo University in IIe-Ife. Ibigbami is a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, the oldest art college in Nigeria. Through formal classes and informal workshops, Ibigbami seeks to impart his knowledge of pottery to Nigerian potters of various persuasions: from the young art student to the old casual lover of the art; from traditional potters-mainly women to professional experimentalists.
Traditional African pottery is a testament to the rich cultural tapestry of the continent. Through its practical uses, symbolic meanings, and artistic expressions, African pottery continues to captivate and inspire people worldwide.
At Paulski Art, we celebrate the beauty and cultural significance of traditional African pottery. Our collection showcases unique pieces from different regions of Africa, each with its distinct style and story. Discover the vibrant world of African pottery at Paulski Art and bring the essence of Africa into your space.
| Pottery | Description |
|---|---|
| Jidaga | Water jar |
| Sheminfaga | Chicken watering pot |
| Bamadaga | “Crocodile”/medicine pot; raised nodules warn people not to touch it |
