In the coil technique, clay is added in a continuous spiral around the perimeter of the pot. The potter begins by forming the prepared clay into rolls, about ten inches long and three to four inches thick. She then forms the base of the pot and places it in a fired clay saucer which supports the newly formed pot while she works. Next, she begins to build up the sides of the pot by adding additional clay around the edges of the newly formed base. Holding a sausage of prepared clay in her right hand, and placing the palm of her left hand against the outside surface of the base of the pot, she presses fresh clay into a thin band which spirals around the pot to form its walls. The clay seems to extrude from the potter's right hand.

When making fairly small, light pots, the potter remains seated and rotates the work with each twist of her wrist. With larger pots which are too heavy to rotate easily, such as the one here, the potter stands and backs slowly around her work, always keeping the palm of her left hand against the outer surface of her work and pressing on fresh clay with her right. At the same time that she forms a new section of the wall of the pot, she also welds fresh clay into the section of the wall just below.

Supplementary Information

Unlike other molding techniques used in Africa, the coil building technique requires the use of large amounts of water and a relatively slow drying of the finished work to prevent cracking. Perhaps for these reasons, the technique seems to be limited in use to the relatively humid forest areas along the Guinea Coast of West Africa. All evidence indicates that this technique is used exclusively by women.

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