Cephalomorphic vessel - Culture Zande

Masculine cephaloform ceramic vessel. It has four openings: one at the top, two at the sides and another at the back. All of these are perforated in order to be able to pour liquids. The area of the hair, flattened against the rounded skull, is marked by a series of incisions, which reack as far as the neck. The oval of the face, softly rounded, is framed by scarifications that also appear on the eyebrows, the centre of both cheeks and under the lower lip. As is habitual in all the peoples of this area of the river Congo, the eyes are lengthened and divided in two by a fine central line, the nose is flattened and wide, the lips are protruding and the mounth is slightly open. The piece presens a patina that gives it a shiny finish, as though it were metallic. This iconography is owed to the Mangbetu, where it arose in the first quarter of the tweentieh century.