Pottery in North Africa: an art thousands of years old
North African pottery is an art practiced by our distant ancestors thousands of years ago, which does not prevent it from remaining alive and thriving even today. Early North Africans, who had the fortune of living in an area rich in clay deposits, made ceramic pots and jars for use in cooking and agriculture. Over the centuries, their technology has evolved to manufacture more sophisticated objects, which today form an important part of North African cultural heritage.
Piece of ceramic seashell
Pottery appears to have appeared in Africa before any other region of the world, with the exception of China. The oldest ceramics on the African continent, found in the Sahel region, especially in Ongogo, in present-day Mali, date back about 12,000 years. From there, pottery spread into the Sahara, and then north of the Sahara, about 8,000 years ago. The first painted ceramics appeared in Egypt about 8,000 years ago. The Neolithic agricultural culture known as “shell ceramics,” which extended from southern Italy to Spain and the coast of Africa about 5,000 years ago, was characterized by the use of marine shells to imprint shapes on clay.
After that, the pottery industry spread greatly in the kingdoms of Numidia and Mauritania. The tagine, this traditional ceramic cooking dish, appeared in this period.
In Roman times, North Africa, especially present-day Tunisia, was the first pottery-producing region in the Roman Empire. Roman-African potters produced kitchen utensils, pots and amphorae, which were then exported throughout the empire. Certainly, pottery contributed to making North Africa one of the richest regions in the Roman world.
North African oil lamp
In addition to kitchen utensils, there was another tool inspired by Roman life that was much loved: oil lamps, which were the main means of lighting in that period. North Africa, a region rich in olive cultivation and availability of clay, was an ideal place to meet this demand. North African oil lamps soon surpassed the popularity of Greek lamps, which had previously been most popular.
Around the 1st century BC, potters began to use molds, which allowed a wider range of shapes and decorations to be developed. The top of the lamp (disc) was often decorated with mythological scenes or landscapes, while the outer rim was carved with flowers and animals. With the spread of Christianity, Lamps decorated with crosses and biblical scenes were also popular.
A clear North African siglata pitcher
At the end of the first century AD, the discovery of a new type of clay, the North African siglata clear, revolutionized pottery making. This ceramic has a granular texture and thick orange-red slip. North African sigillata ceramics were often completely covered with slip on the inside, but only partially on the outside.
Beginning in the 3rd century, tools from North African siglata can be found evident throughout the Mediterranean Basin. These products were much loved for their quality and sophistication. Around the 5th century, potters began to decorate their creations with more complex shapes.
The tradition of North African pottery has continued over the centuries, until it has truly become an art of life of exceptional richness and diversity. The pottery of certain cities, such as Safi in Morocco, is particularly famous. Even today, the original and colorful creations of pottery artisans continue to impress North Africans and foreign tourists alike.
Source: websites