A large three-legged terra cotta container made by a potter of the Bura in Niger between the Third and the Eleventh Century exhibits careful shaping and decoration that implies that it was of special importance. It and similar other examples from that area were usually found buried upside down. Terra cotta, 21 ¾ by 16 ¼ inches.

Although pottery making is a communal event, each pot ispurely the creation of the artist who made it and the objectsreveal much about not only the maker, but also the tribe, regionand customs.

In most communities pottery was made by women – although men assumed that responsibility in communities such as the Berber oasis where there was a water supply sufficient to operate a wheel. Throughout Africa, the potter and the blacksmith were linked closely. Often the wife of the blacksmith was the village potter and certain rites and requirements were accrued to her, the tradition commonly passed from one generation to another.

Interestingly, in the few regions where both men and women were potters, they practiced separately and often employed very different techniques. Throughout the continent, men and women have always maintained distinct and separate responsibilities and pursuits.

The production process itself was also ritualistic. Gathering clay could be accomplished only in the dry season and it was a rigorous procedure with frequent prohibitions and requirements. Once the clay was transported to the potter’s village, it underwent preparation for use, steps that included drying, refining out impurities, storage and then soaking for several days. Temper was added as required.

Firing usually occurred in the open, although potters in the Yoruba, the Hausa and the Mossi communities used low-walled kilns without roofs, on top of which they stacked pots and other materials to contain the heat. Some potters fired their pots in shallow pits, but less frequently. Firing, with grass, dung, millet shafts, straw or wood as fuel, was accomplished at a relatively low heat, resulting in wares that did not disintegrate when wet and that expanded and contracted easily.

Glaze was not usual, but pigments were often applied as slip. Deep decorative incisions were made while the pot was still wet; once it dried to a leathery state, finer incisions were made. Burnishing effected a strengthening of the particles of the pot itself and lent a compelling sheen to the vessel..

Because they were fired at a low temperature, African pots sweated, making them ideal for keeping liquids cool; their plasticity also rendering them suitable for use over a fire. Despite their wide range in style, they retained a universal functionality.

African pots are highly individual and each is obviously handmade. Their enormous appeal lies in their singularity. Such pots are highly functional: they are used for ritual and for storage of food and water, for cooking and serving food and for storage of valuables. Those made to store and transport water were lightweight with large bodies and narrow necks to lessen spillage. Vessels used to store grain are heavier as they were not intended for transport. They also had wide mouths and sat on short legs to discourage rodent or insect infestation. Pots used for cooking had round bottoms that conducted heat evenly.

An Osun shrine jar exhibits the gutsy design elements that characterize vessels by the Yoruba people. The Osun festival was the primary event in the calendar in Osogbo, and the jar would have been made for a shrine dedicated to the goddess. Early/mid-Twentieth Century, Yoruba, Osogbo or vicinity, Nigeria, terra cotta, 23 ½ by 12 ¼ inches.

Except for those pots used for cooking, which became sootywith use, most vessels were decorated in some way. While decorationvaries widely from community to community, it has persisted withincommunities down the centuries.

Collector and native Chicagoan Keith Achepohl has a particularly good eye. An artist and print-maker of renown, he retired in 2004 as professor in the arts at the University of Iowa, where he also headed up the printmaking department. His work can be found in museum collections across the United States, in Europe and Japan.

It was in 1977 while traveling in Egypt that he first encountered African pottery in the museums of Luxor and Cairo. Later, biking around northern Egypt, he observed the striking similarities between the ancient and the wares in current use. He views the pieces in his collection as sculptural and it is that quality that has driven much of his collection.

His first purchase was a late Nineteenth to mid-Twentieth Century terra cotta bowl made in Egypt by a potter among the Berber community. It is one of the few pieces on view that was made on a wheel, although it does evince an impressive handmade quality. It is embellished with pleasing squat protuberances that are essentially functional, allowing the user to grasp the pot more securely.

Achepohl came across one vastly different pot for sale in an area village. That pot, a shallow one, (4 1/2 inches) was made on a wheel in an Egyptian oasis community, where the potters are generally men, and it, too, is distinguished by the stubby projections around the rim.

Another of Archepohl’s early acquisitions is a large (19 1/4 by 17 3/4 inches) and substantial Songye storage container that appealed to the collector because of its robust form: a bulbous bottom and a thick neck. In an interview with show curator Berzock, Archepohl refers to its “great patina” and sculptural form that he said spurred his interest in similar vessels. The pot is one of several in the collection from the Songye area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

An interesting Tanzanian ritual container made by a Kisi or Pare potter was used in sacred rituals of healing physical and psychological illness and alleviating misfortune. It would have held medicine and at the same time embodied a spirit to help with treatment. The figure’s black bead eyes appeal to a particularly powerful group of spirits. Early/mid-Twentieth Century, possibly Kisi or Pare, Tanzania, terra cotta and glass beads, 9 ½ by 7 inches.

One of the earliest pots on view is a three-legged containerexcavated at Bura, which lies along the Niger River in Nigeria nearMali. Dating from between the Third and the Eleventh Century, thepot has striated bands across the egg-shaped body and a roulettewas used to apply texture. Pottery traditions passed from onegeneration to another, and the design elements used in the earlypot can be seen in similar examples from the Twentieth Century. ATwentieth Century Nigerian spirit pot evokes the spirit of a ritualobject with a human head form that was often utilized from theEleventh to Thirteenth Century in Mali. The forms of bottles andbowls reappear again and again throughout the centuries.

Palm wine was an important offering to the ancestors in Cameroon’s Grassfields kingdom and other regions. Elaborately made containers for the wine are also found among the Nigerian cultures. Beer was more commonly brewed across the continent, usually from maize, millet and sorghum. Its production was largely the province of women and the beer has long been an important commodity among the Zulu. Its brewing and consumption also blur the lines and are considered both important social and ritual events.

The three Zulu beer servers on view were blackened by a traditional smoky reduction firing, which links the pots to the tribal ancestors, whose preferred food was sorghum beer. Each pot has a distinctive shape and decorations – the shiny blackened and burnished surfaces and the raised welts that comprise the design signify their origin. Other examples on view were made in several areas of Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

A handsomely illustrated catalog of “For Hearth and Altar” by Berzock has been published in conjunction with the exhibit by The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Yale University Press. The museum is at 111 South Michigan Avenue. For information, 312-443-3600 or www.artic.edu.