My art
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Art in traditional African pottery making by Milica Velimirovic
“Pottery has historically been studied as ‘primitive craft ‘and something that doesn’t have
financial of cultural value. Back to the 15th century when European, Arab, and American men wrote the early historical of the African societies they didn’t consider pottery as ‘art’ and consequently, neither did their audiences in their home countries. African pottery is mainly hand-built. One of the constants in their traditional pottery production is that they are usually hand crafted without the use of a wheel. Maid pots are mostly used in everyday life of agricultural communities and their artistic expression is restricted to form and surface texture.
woman is allowed to make the pottery, while in others it is only the men. In some cultures, Many superstitions and rituals are present in there had to be a cleansing ritual before any pottery exploits, where in some tribes, only the work on pottery can begin, and in others, a man
Rituals in pottery making
“Bamana potter Seban Fané, Kunògò, Mali, 1991.
© Photograph by Barbara E. Frank.
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