Sejnane Pottery Sculptures
Hand-Built Human Figures by Hadda Saidani
This collection brings together four unique human figures made by potter and sculptor Hadda Saidani in Sejnane, Tunisia.
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Each sculpture is formed by hand without a potter’s wheel, stands independently, and measures approximately 30 centimetres high. Although they share a maker and material tradition, they differ considerably in proportion, modelling, decoration, and surface.
Explore the Sculptures
Four Figures, Four Individual Forms
The four sculptures belong together, but they are not variations of one standard design.
The painted woman figure divides the body into distinct areas through facial details, clothing, joined hands, jewellery-like elements, and geometric markings.
The earth-toned figure takes a more restrained direction. Its elongated body carries irregular cream, ochre, brown, and dark tonal variation, while its face and shoulders emerge through direct modelling.
The dark standing figure is similarly elongated but has a rounded head, narrow body, and deep black surface. Its expression is created through the modelling of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears rather than painted detail.
The fourth sculpture is broader and more explicitly modelled. Its breasts, curved arms, rounded torso, and facial features give it a different physical presence from the three upright figures beside it.
Together, the works show that Hadda does not rely on one fixed treatment of the human form. Each figure develops through its own relationship among body, face, surface, and decoration.
Made by Hadda Saidani
Hadda Saidani is a potter and sculptor from Sejnane in northern Tunisia. Her practice includes earthenware vessels and individually modelled human figures.
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These sculptures are not anonymous examples of a collective style. They are works made by Hadda and shaped through her own decisions about proportion, expression, surface, and upright form.
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The collection provides one view into the breadth of her practice: from extensive painted detail to restrained modelling and deeply dark surfaces.
Made Without a Potter’s Wheel
The figures are built by hand rather than thrown on a rotating wheel or produced through industrial moulds.
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This method allows the body to develop through direct contact between the maker and the clay. Changes in pressure, proportion, thickness, and balance remain connected to the act of shaping.
Small asymmetries, modelling traces, and variations across the surface are therefore part of how each individual figure was made.
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The wider pottery tradition of Sejnane draws on women’s knowledge of local clay, hand-building, surface preparation, decoration, drying, and firing. This knowledge has supported domestic vessels, animal forms, dolls, human figures, and other sculptural objects.
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Surface and Variation
The collection includes extensively painted, earth-toned, and deeply dark surfaces.
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Across the four figures, cream, ochre, brown, grey, and black tones appear in different combinations. Some surfaces carry drawn geometric details, while others allow modelling, texture, and tonal variation to define the object.
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Sejnane pottery uses natural colouring and firing methods capable of producing varied surface effects.
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Variations in colour, texture, modelling, and sheen belong to the individual sculptures and should not be interpreted as manufacturing defects.
Explore Sejnane Pottery
Understand the Tradition
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Explore the materials, knowledge, forms, and women-led practices that define Sejnane pottery.
Follow the Making Process
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See how clay is prepared, shaped, decorated, dried, and fired without a potter’s wheel.
Meet the Maker
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Discover Hadda Saidani’s practice and the individual forms documented through her work.