Vessel

Kurumba artist

mid 20th century

Clay

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A dark, textured clay vessel with incised wavy line patterns stands on four short legs against a plain background. Large jars like this one, inherited via the chiefly female lineage, signaled the owner’s privileged status. Designed to preserve selected seeds, they are sometimes called “granaries, ” yet they could also store a woman’s valuables, particularly textiles. The raised patterns on the surface, unique to each vessel and representing the abdominal scarifications worn by Kurumba women, highlight the personal connection between the owner, the vessel, and its contents. Gallery G254 The David Draper Dayton Fund