Abstract The movement of objects both within and across contexts often helps to define social relations. This article explores this notion by focusing on five specific examples of pottery production and use in the history of southern Africa, with examples ranging from early Cape colonial coarse earthenware vessels to 19th- and 20th-century pots produced in and around the central interior, and contemporary South African ceramics. By exploring the contextual production and function of such objects, as well as their formal significance and the movement of such objects across cultural and social boundaries, one can see how pottery in southern Africa maintains a central role in the formation and maintenance of cooperative and interdependent relationships.

中文翻译：

---

南部非洲盆栽的社交生活

摘要 对象在上下文内和上下文之间的移动通常有助于定义社会关系。本文通过关注南部非洲历史上陶器生产和使用的五个具体例子来探讨这个概念，这些例子从早期的开普殖民地粗陶器到 19 世纪和 20 世纪在中部内陆及其周围生产的陶器，以及当代南非陶瓷。通过探索这些物品的语境生产和功能，以及它们的形式意义和这些物品跨越文化和社会界限的运动，人们可以看到南部非洲的陶器如何在合作和相互依存的形成和维持中保持核心作用关系。