Symmetrical Reduced Black Narrow-Necked Tall Piece
1 of 3
Object Label
Dame Magdalene Odundo’s vessels represent the height of technical skill and visual inventiveness. Trained in Kenya, India, and England—where she first began working in clay—her influences span millennia and continents. These sources include Cycladic art; San Ildefonso Pueblo artists like Maria Martínez; European modernists like Hans Jean Arp; and Gwari potters like Ladi Kwali OON, MBE. This vessel’s long, flared neck evokes Nigerian Nupe pottery, another of her inspirations. While Kang Suk Young carefully manipulates his work during the construction process, a multistep firing process determines the final appearance of Odundo’s works. Organic materials carbonize during firing, reducing oxygen to transform the reddish-orange terracotta to a shimmering black. The rainbow sheen on this object accentuates its voluptuous lower half.
Caption
Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo British, born Kenya 1950. Symmetrical Reduced Black Narrow-Necked Tall Piece, 1990. Terracotta, 16 x 10 x 10 in. (40.6 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. Sidney Clyman and Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1991.26. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.26_SL1_edited.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Symmetrical Reduced Black Narrow-Necked Tall Piece
Date
1990
Geography
Place made: Farnham, Surrey, England
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Dimensions
16 x 10 x 10 in. (40.6 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Signatures
Signed and dated on base
Credit Line
Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. Sidney Clyman and Frank L. Babbott Fund
Accession Number
1991.26
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
The Brooklyn Museum holds a non-exclusive license to reproduce images of this work of art from the rights holder named here. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at