CLOSE LOOKS: "RITUAL HEALING VESSEL (ITINATE)"
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The Ritual Healing Vessel (Itinate) is just over eight inches tall, four inches wide, and is oriented vertically in its current installation in a vitrine among four other objects. The overall shape of this ceramic vessel resembles a figure eight; the form bulges at the top and bottom and narrows in the middle. Several asymmetries, including a spike protruding from the upper right side of the vessel, alter the uniformity of this shape. Viewed from the right side, an upward pointing spike on the back of the object is balanced by several additional protrusions on the front of the object. Its round base and the mount on which it sits indicate that it was not created to stand upright on its own.
Looking closely at the details and smaller shapes that make up this piece, it becomes evident that this vessel is also a figure. The hole in the middle of the object’s front is surrounded by an upper and lower lip, forming the figure’s mouth. Directly above the upper lip is a small bulging area with two carved vertical lines, forming nostrils. To the left and right of the nose are the figure’s eyes — small balls of clay seated within circular depressions in the face. The rounded form of the figure’s face is flanked by wings of clay that fan out level with the upper lip and circle the entire face. These wings are interrupted by a spine-like band of clay that extends from the figure’s nose and stretches over the top and down the back of its head, meeting the upward pointing spike on the back of the head. Small marks along this ridge create a spiny, spiky texture. These short textural lines are also carved into the figure’s upper lip, but the artist left the bottom lip smooth.
Crossing the top of the figure’s head, perpendicular to the spiny band that runs from the figure’s nose to the back of its head, and behind the wings of clay that surround the face, are additional ridges. Viewed from the right side, these ridges cover the back of the figure’s head vertically and end level with the upper lip. The artist also carved short, perpendicular lines into these ridges. The spike that protrudes from the right side of the vessel points slightly downward, also level with the figure’s mouth.
Viewing the vessel from the front, one sees that the neck-like area from where the bottom lip extends narrows slightly, forming the center of the figure-eight shape. The base of the figure’s neck is circled by a band of clay with the same spiny texture as the bands on the figure’s head. Three vertical spines of the same texture extend down the front of the figure’s bulging body from this collar. The center spine reaches almost to the base of the vessel — the other two are slightly shorter.
Viewing the vessel from the right side, one can see that the sides and back of the object are left mostly undetailed. Subtle variations in surface color and texture decorate the otherwise uncarved majority of the bottom half of the object. The matte quality, grainy texture, and chipped areas of the surface of this clay vessel reveal that it may have been left mostly unglazed, yet light still highlights the eye sockets, the upper and lower lips, the neck, the collar, and the body of the figure. Light and shadow further emphasize the texture of the ridges that decorate the object.
Despite a surface that looks mostly unglazed, shifts in color are visible on certain areas of the vessel. Splotches of gray, brown, and red that appear on the otherwise tan surface of the clay may hint at the object’s age and use, perhaps variations in the clay itself and in the firing process, or remnants of a glaze. Redness is visible on the wings of the clay that frame the face, on the upper and lower lips, on the eye sockets, on the nose, and on some of the ridges that cross the head.
The roundness of the figure’s eyes, the echoing shape of its brow, the verticality of its nostrils, and the openness of its mouth create a face that may read as intensely emotional. Lack of arms and legs prevent the viewer from reading the figure’s body language and pose, but a dramatic expression is conveyed nonetheless.
When I look at this vessel, I imagine what it might feel like to hold it in my hands: substantial, but not heavy, the pot’s surface granular and dry. Maybe my fingers rest underneath the spur that extends from its side. Does the roughly hourglass-shaped form give it this sense of tactility? Or the repeating grooved designs? They seem like they could have been made with a thumbnail or wedge-shaped tool. Arcs of clay pressed thin cross perpendicularly at the top, contributing to the creaturely appearance of the vessel. This effect is heightened by two circular impressions placed asymmetrically on either side of an oval protrusion marked with two vertical lines and above a mouth-like opening. This abstraction of a face creates a relationship between the body of the vessel and my body, looking at it. I’m aware that vessels like this were used in healing rituals by the Cham and other ethnic groups in northern Nigeria. Potters and diviners worked with their patients to transfer sickness to the clay medium; the pots often embodied symptoms of the illness, the repair of the body linked to the shaping of the vessel. As I look, I keep in my mind the person this vessel might have been created for, the care that went into the healing practice.
More broadly, I think about art itself, in all its variations, as the expressive form of human experience: what is art’s reparative function within that experience? How do its attributes code our symptoms?
- Erin Dickey earned her PhD in Art History at UNC-Chapel Hill, and is a former Object-Based Teaching Fellow at the Ackland Art Museum. Her research explores the interplay of technology and feminism in contemporary art.
Unidentified artist, Nigerian, Cham People, Ritual Healing Vessel (Itinate), clay, 8 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 4 in. (22.225 x 9.525 x 10.16 cm). Gift of Charles Jones African Art, 2006.35.3.
Unidentified artist, Nigerian, Cham People, Ritual Healing Vessel (Itinate), clay, 8 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 4 in. (22.225 x 9.525 x 10.16 cm). Gift of Charles Jones African Art, 2006.35.3.
When I look at this ritual healing vessel, I immediately gravitate toward the figurative, humanlike aspects of the object: I see two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. From there, it becomes more challenging to determine where the human ends and the vessel begins; my mind wanders through a list of questions about what this object was for, when it was made, and by whom. Having taught with similar objects as the Graduate Intern at the Ackland (2020-2021), I remind myself that this is often the same train of thought students have in the museum when first confronted with the unfamiliar. I refocus on the abundance of information it communicates just by looking. I notice the rough, mottled texture of the object’s surface. Then I see the colors shift from white to beige to brown to red. I note that it stands mainly vertically upon a flat base and appears to be one solid piece. What could this be made of? Clay? I observe the deep incisions running along various protrusions from the vessel’s main body. Possible tool marks? How was this made? I notice a raw edge along the top left side of the vessel that does not match the right. Is it damaged? Is it old? The more I look, the more questions flow, and possible answers emerge.
- Sarah Farkas is a PhD candidate in Art History at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is also the current Kress Interpretive Fellow at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
- This vessel corresponds to a particular type of ailment. What do you see that might tell you something about the ailment depicted? Think about the shapes and textures the artist used to create the form.
- Read the Ackland’s About the Art guide page for the Ritual Healing Vessels (Itinate) to learn about the specific condition that this vessel was created to heal. What has the artist done to represent this ailment with clay? What kinds of shapes and textures would you use to represent this malady?
- The About the Art guide page pairs the object with another Ritual Healing Vessel (Itinate). Consider that these vessels were created to serve the same general function, but for individuals with specific illnesses. What do you notice about the two vessels that is similar? What is different about them?
- View this artwork from all angles using the 3D model on the Ackland’s Sketchfab page. What new insights do you have about the vessel now that you’ve seen the sides, top, and bottom of the piece?
- View a 3D model of the Ritual Healing Vessel (Itinate). This model and others are available on the Ackland’s Sketchfab page.
- Learn about another Ritual Healing Vessel (Itinate) in the Ackland’s collection through an annotated 3D model on the Ackland’s Sketchfab page.
- Explore the three Ritual Healing Vessels (Itinate) in the Ackland’s collection through our eMuseum platform.
- Read more about the vessel featured on this Close Looks page in the Ackland’s About the Art guide page.
- Learn about the Cham Container for Ritual Healing (Itinate or Kwandalowa) at the Art Institute of Chicago.