{"id":12111,"title":"Beer pot","medium":"Clay","classification":"Ceramics","dimension":"14 x 16 in. (35.56 x 40.64 cm)","object_name":"Beer pot","continent":"Africa","country":"South Africa","nationality":"South African","culture":"Zulu","dated":"mid 20th century","room":"Not on View","role":"Artist","inscription":"Tag","markings":"[6201], on paper tag, taped to interior","text":"Among the Zulu peoples, home-brewed sorghum beer is the preferred food of the ancestors. Beer drinking is an indispensable part of communal celebrations of life’s milestones, including birth, marriage, and death. Pots for serving and drinking beer are embellished with textured patterns, some of which are figurative, and then blackened in a smoky reduction firing of grass or dung. Blackening attracts the ancestors, whose presence and blessing are desired.","creditline":"Anonymous gift of funds","accession_number":"99.115.1","artist":"Zulu artist","life_date":"South Africa","department":"Arts of Global Africa","rights_type":"Public Domain","image_width":5376,"image_height":4268,"recent":0,"see_also":[],"sort_number":"99   115    1","image":"valid","public_access":1,"curator_approved":1,"highlights":0,"Cache_Location":"012000\\100\\10\\12111","Primary_RenditionNumber":"mia_5037360.jpg","Rights_Image_Display":"Full","related:audio-stops":[{"title":"Zulu, Beer Pot","_id":"12111","objectId":"12111","link":"http://audio-tours.s3.amazonaws.com/p411.mp3","number":"411","type":"audio"}],"related:artstories":[{"title":"Beer Pot","_id":"12111","objectId":"12111","description":"<p>How is brewing beer like growing babies? The Zulu believe the same ancestral forces that ferment beer also create children in the womb. Zulu families will drink beer together and ask their ancestors to help grow the brood. Round, shiny black pots like this one are at the center of Zulu beer parties, refreshing the living while linking them to past family ancestors.</p>","link":"http://artstories.artsmia.org/#/o/12111","type":"artstory"}],"mtime":"2026-02-04T06:00:50.797Z"}