Conical Lid

A complex locking device once secured this lid to a low, flat pottery base resembling a soup bowl. First, three or four strings were attached to a small, perforated disk—designed much like a modern button. Next, the lid was turned upside down and the strings were passed through a tiny hole at the top, leaving the disk inside. The strings, now projecting out of the top of the lid, were wrapped around the base of the vessel, effectively sealing the two-piece unit. This same method is used to seal baskets in contemporary Sudan.