east african jug? please help

Discussion in 'Tribal Art' started by gaetano73, Aug 16, 2019.

  1. gaetano73

    gaetano73 Member

    Hello,
    Does anyone knows what is this ? it's antique or fake?
    I've seen something similar in ethiopian tribal art but i could be wrong....
     

    Attached Files:

  2. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

  3. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

  4. gaetano73

    gaetano73 Member

  5. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

    Hello gaetano.
    It does not look like anything "real" that I have seen. The carved figure is quite crude. Perhaps a few more views might be helpful, so I can see if it might have a reasonable function. Can you tell if the basic form is made of wood, or gourd, or pottery? Is the carved figure a stopper - does it come out? Can you tell if the carved figure is ivory? (If it is ivory, you may be able to see faint, curved crosshatching lines on some surfaces such as the top of the head. These are characteristic of elephant ivory, and known as Schreger lines.)
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
  6. all_fakes

    all_fakes Well-Known Member

    I'm seeing this as made of pottery, with a great many impressed cowrie-shells. The shells do give it an African vibe; but the general appearance looks more like studio pottery, like someone's impression of African-ness.
     
  7. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    It's a modern decorator piece from the look of it. Nothing fake or antique, just funky/cool/interesting.
     
  8. Jivvy

    Jivvy the research is my favorite

    @gaetano73 I think more info (see @2manybooks post) and pictures are needed before anything can be decided.
     
    i need help likes this.
  9. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

  10. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

    Interesting. I notice they don't give any more specific provenance beyond "Africa", and describe it as a "smoking pot", which turns out to be a very difficult term to research ;). I assume they mean a type of water pipe, for smoking tobacco.
    My feeling is that these may be from the Congo area, and may be related to pipes made by the Hemba/Luba, such as these:
    [​IMG]
    http://eafri.blogspot.com/2010/05/calabash-water-pipe-wood-tar-used.html

    upload_2019-8-16_22-18-56.jpeg
     
    Figtree3, Any Jewelry and i need help like this.
  11. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

  12. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

    Great finds, inh! The first one looks very like the op's. (https://www.icollector.com/19th-c-African-water-pipe-water-bottle_i11710915)
    I tried searching for African water pipes and came up with all kinds of nonsense. You have the touch.
    I am not sure I buy the 19th century attribution. They strike me as made for sale - the style is very generic "Africany". But I might be wrong.
     
  13. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    I didn’t buy the attribution either, so I just posted photo. I don’t know if they are tourist type items, but OP can do further investigation. :)
    I called it “shell and bone african water pipe”
     
  14. gaetano73

    gaetano73 Member

    Thanks guys you're the best.....it's a water pipe almost exactly like the one posted, mad of mud, bone and shells.....but the mine is someway less attractive( the carving on the bone is very rough, so the work on the shells).....so it really could be a water pipe, but probably from 20th century...
     
  15. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    If you do any further investigation and find out more specifics, we’d love an update. :)
     
    Christmasjoy likes this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: east african
Forum Title Date
Tribal Art Ancient (or at least trying to be) Egyptian Ushabti opinion Dec 4, 2022
Tribal Art Eastern North American basket Jun 17, 2022
Tribal Art Can someone tell me something about this (antique) large decorated Middle Eastern water jug? Mar 7, 2020
Tribal Art Could this be a tribal artifact from the middle east? Aug 18, 2017
Tribal Art Unusual African Carving Yesterday at 9:27 AM

Share This Page