This remarkable ceramic vessel depicting a man riding a horse (or possibly an ox) was made by the Mangbetu group, in what was once Zaire. It is a highly unusual representation, with a narrow-based, globular vessel, supporting the squat body of the animal, which wears an ornate collar and has a surprised expression that is heightened by the open mouth which was presumably used for pouring. The rider is equally rotund and squat, and has a similar expression with another spout as a mouth. It is interesting to note that the faces of animal and rider are almost identical. While undecorated, the piece is glossy with use wear and age.

The Mangbetu moved to the Congo region from Sudan in the 1700s, and live in societies that revolve around a court system. They are particularly renowned for their professional musicians, and also for their extravagant dancing and ceremonial pageantry. Their artworks were produced for the royal court families, and ranged from architecture to objects of religious/spiritual significance and secular items decorated with pleasing motifs and designs.

Mangbetu art is perhaps most recognizable for the inverted-cone coiffures of the (usually female) figures that tend to adorn it. This is seen in the rare wooden figures, as well as in ceramics. The coiffure – exaggerated by cranial deformation during infancy – was worn by women until the 1950s. Most of the pieces found their way to the royal courts. Kings were originally believed to be semi-divine, able to control natural resources using magical objects such as leopard parts. In the 1850s they were credited with possessing a force called nebeli, which was used to lure animals into traps and also to deceive colonial enemies. Their resistance to European rule had serious socioeconomic repercussions, but by the time that the European hold on the area had solidified, the Mangbetu were in the habit of trading and exchanging prestige goods – notably ornate ceramics – between chiefly courts and to colonials.
The role of these pieces is uncertain. The Mangbetu creator god is named Noro (also Kilima), but there is little sculptural abstraction in Mangbetu art that hints at an aim beyond the representational, or the secular decorative. They may also represent ancestors, which the kings usually command be revered. It is possible that the decorations on such pieces are designed to repel the negative effects of ‘Likundu’ – evil spirits – or witchery, which is a major concern in Mangbetu society.
It is certainly true that this piece is not a secular object, or at least not purely so, as it seems unlikely that it could have been used for dispensing anything. It is of course possible that it was used to store some unguent for a ritual purpose – such as ancestor veneration – and if it received libations on its own account as a shrine object, this may explain the patina it has acquired. The manner in which it has been conceived and executed suggests that it was a significant object in the eyes of the contemporary population, and that it held an important place in some religious or ritual context. The horse - always an elite item - may also be significant.
This is a striking and appealing piece of Mangbetu art.