Abuja pottery are beautiful objects made by some of Nigeria’s most talented ceramicists. Our Abuja! Ladi Kwali & The Art of Clay auction, back in March 2023, offerred nearly 30 pieces by famous and lesser-known potters, including the pioneering Ladi Kwali and her contemporaries.

Ahead of the sale, we invited Dr Jareh Das, curator of the Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics and Contemporary Art exhibition in London, to pick her favourite lots going under the hammer and why they stood out to her.

A short introduction to Abuja pottery
The Abuja Pottery Training Centre in Suleja (formerly called Abuja) was set up by British potter Michael Cardew in the 1950s. Students specialised in specific types of ceramicware, often mixing local Gwari pottery hand-building techniques, traditional shapes and decorations with Western pottery motifs. Historically overlooked, Abuja pottery is finally gaining more appreciation from collectors and museums, especially after prominent exhibitions like Body Vessel Clay.

Lot 12

Ladi Kwali (c. 1925-1984)
Vessel

Ladi Kwali's vessels are her most famous and celebrated work. I love their intricate designs meticulously inscribed with a variety of animal and geometric patterns. They are handbuilt in the Gwari tradition, which is passed down from mother to daughter (or aunt in Kwali’s case). This striking red ochre vessel with its animal motifs concentrated around the shoulder is unique in its shape and colour.

When Kwali joined Michael Cardew's pottery training centre in 1954 as the first female trainee, she was introduced to modern techniques of glazing and high-temperature kiln firing—transforming once functional objects for storing water into collectable decorative works. She also made a range of thrown objects: tankards, plates, dishes, bowls and more.

Kwali received many accolades in her lifetime, including a Nigerian National Merit Award (the highest award for academic achievement), an honorary doctorate, a Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (M.F.R) and Member of the British Empire (MBE). She is also one of only three women to date depicted on an African currency, the Nigerian 20 Naira note.

Lot 18

Peter Kuma Gboko
Gwari Casserole Dish

This finely hand-painted decorated casserole dish by Peter Gboko takes its inspiration from the traditional open-fired cooking pot made by Gwari potters. Michel Cardew admired the indigenous dish as iconic and emblematic of Nigerian pottery, while introducing modifications to it—including two handles, collars around the lid (the traditional version is unlidded), decoration and glazing.

Gboko joined the training centre in 1957 and along with the other potters at Abuja, they created different types of objects, with each specialising in a particular type of ceramicware. Gboko excelled at making teapots and spigot pots, a type of watercooler.

Lot 13

Lami Toto
Four Plates

These four plates by Lami Toto are commemorative in a sense. They are all decorated with animal forms popular in Gwari pottery, giving them a distinct aesthetic stylised with depictions of scorpions, lizards, crocodiles, chameleons, fish and birds.

Toto, alongside Asibi Ido and Kainde Ushafa, were one of four Gwari women potters at the pottery training centre, each with their own unique style. Kwali had paved the way for other women to join the centre as it was originally intended as a male-only establishment—even though in the region, pottery was historically women-led. Toto was also one of the potters who taught leading ceramic artist Magdalene Odundo how to hand-build in the Gwari tradition, when she apprenticed at the centre in 1974 on Cardew's recommendation.

Lot 3

Bala Yawa
Candlestick

I love how there is a distinct hare’s fur glaze on Bala Yawa’s candlestick overlapping a blend of dark brown, blue and white glazing, giving it distinct textures and tones. He joined the pottery training centre in 1958 and his striking glazed candlestick would have been wheel-thrown and kiln fired. Its elegant saucer-shaped base and upright ridged candle holder are connected by a strap handle, no doubt a piece that would take care and consideration to execute.

Yawa and his fellow trainees, under the supervision of Cardew, were part of a vision (colonial, I might add) to foster a modern small-scale ceramics industry to run parallel to the local pottery, producing wares for middle-class Nigerians with a westernised lifestyle. This never quite kicked off.

Lot 10

Ladi Kwali (c. 1925-1984)
Tankard

Although Kwali is best known for her hybrid water vessels, she also created a range of ceramicwares like this dark brown glazed tankard (stoneware mug), most likely used for drinking beer. She took to throwing at the wheel and used sgraffito (a technique for decorating pottery) on her thrown wares to carefully etch through slips of Gwari animal and geometric forms, similar to those on her water vessels. Her initials ‘LK’ is stamped below the handle identifying her as the maker. All of the potters at Abuja often had their works stamped with their initials and the centre's seal, an Arabic representation of ‘Abuja’. This seal was later dropped in favour of the impressed word ‘ABUJA’.

Dr Jareh Das is an independent curator, writer and researcher with an interest in global modern and contemporary art. She lives and works between West Africa and the UK. www.jarehdas.com

Stay updated with our auctions

Create an account with Bonhams to follow your favourite collecting categories and get email alerts when new auctions are open for bidding.

For the latest news and auction highlights, follow @bonhamsafricanart on Instagram