Skeuomorphic Kuba Tukula Vessel

This skeuomorphic tukula container is carved from wood but shaped like a clay pot. This piece was likely used for mixing up a pomade of vegetable oils and tukula powder, used by the Kuba as both a dry powder and as a paste made with palm oil. Tukula was used by Kuba women to decorate the face and chest, to anoint bodies for burial and, in combination with other pigments, to dye cloth. This piece has checked over time and bears a Western restoration: a filling of an inch-wide crack across one side — apparent in some images. Ex Pace Primitive.

7.5″ diameter

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