The ancient and magnificently designed pots appear incessantly throughout the novel, but they are most important in relation to the character of Richard Churchill. When he first comes across a picture of these artistic pots, he instantly becomes fascinated with them, which, in turn, triggers his ensuing lifelong fascination with Nigerian culture. Fellow Europeans assume that Richard is only interested in the pots as an avenue for exploitation, but Richard is honestly and sincerely absorbed by the magnificence of the pots. When Richard goes to visit an archaeological excavation site where some of these pots are present, the guides at the site are surprised that Richard has not brought a camera with him as all the other Westerners do, illustrating that he enjoys the pots for their own sake. At the end of the novel, when Richard is searching for Kainene, he accidently shows a picture of the pots to a stranger instead of Kainene’s photo, portraying that the reason he came to Nigeria is not the same reason that he ultimately decides to stay.