Ukhamba (beer drinking vessel)

Made for serving a mild beer, ukhamba are focal points for important occasions that brought together members of an extended family. The dark surfaces of such refined vessels are believed to attract amadlozi (ancestors), who draw near to sip the liquid inside. The contained, linear patterning and carefully rounded amasumpa (applied dots) that embellish the widest section of this ukhamba emphasize the vessel’s generous shape and create a locus for tactile and visual contemplation.

Knowledge of and expertise in Zulu ceramic techniques are traditionally passed down generationally through the maternal line. Master potter Nzuza began learning from her grandmother in her late teens. Nzuza’s early works were largely produced for a local clientele within her home region, the western KwaZulu-Natal province along the banks of the powerful Tugela River, also known as the Thukela (literally, "something that startles"). Her experimentation with optically complex patterning in the 1980s and 90s gained her international celebrity, although she has never stopped producing for her local community.