Tripod Jar
Dateca. 500-1000
Mediumpottery and slip paint
DimensionsOverall: 9 3/8 x 7 5/8 x 6 1/2 in. (23.8 x 19.4 x 16.5 cm)
ClassificationsContainers
Credit LineGift of C. Clay Aldridge
Object number2003.51.44
DescriptionThis tripod jar is another strong example of the Africa style, with long hollow supports and anthropomorphic decorations. Perhaps a better explanation of this unique form than the suggestion that tripod jars were incense burners is the hypothesis that they were vessels for holding chicha, a thick fermented brew. Drinking chicha was common during the rowdy, drunken feasts known as chichadas that celebrated the life of the deceased during funerary rituals. The figures on this black and highly burnished vessel wear wide-brimmed hats and appear to have their hands clasped together as though giving thanks.
