Bowl c. 20th century

This terracotta bowl was made by an artist from the Tiv people, sometime in the past. It's got this wonderful, earthy tone, the kind that reminds you where things come from. The bowl itself is this almost-perfect sphere, but then there's this figure perched on top, like it's guarding the opening. The clay has been worked so directly. You can almost feel the hand that shaped it, not just in the form, but in the incised lines that detail the figure. Look closely at the small marks around the rim, they seem almost gestural. You get a sense of the artist figuring things out as they went, a real conversation with the material. It makes me think of Magdelena Suarez Frimkess's playful ceramics. There's a similar freedom and joy in the making. Art isn't just about answers, it's about the questions we ask along the way.