Ceremonial Chief's Pot

115 - Featured Objects: Anonymous Donation of Western and Central African artifacts


Originating in the western and central regions of Africa, this group of over 70 artifacts includes stools, wooden bowls, musical instruments, coil currency, beer pots, honey pots, and cache sexe (beaded aprons for young girls), as well as many other items.

These objects, given by an anonymous donor in 2005, and representing many culture groups in Africa, support the Museum’s mission by helping interpret the diversity of cultures across the globe.


2005.01.0010 – Seed Pod Dance Rattle
2005.01.0011 – Coil Currency from Nigeria
2005.01.0015 – Stool from Tanzania
2005.01.0021 – Cache Sexe from the Kirdi peoples
2005.01.0030 – Wooden Bowl from the Tuareg peoples
2005.01.0041 – Chief’s Honey Pot

Reconstructing the History of an African Ceramic Tradition: Technology, Slavery and Agency in the Region of Kadiolo (Mali) by Barbara E. Frank, Cahiers d’Etudes africaines, 131, XXXIII-3, 1993, pp. 381-401.