Native American, Southwestern United States, Arizona, Ancestral Puebloan / Anasazi culture, ca. 1050 to 1225 CE. An impressive pottery jar formed via the coil-and-scrape technique featuring a round base, a globular body, and a discoid lid with a modern, lizard-topped lid. The ancient vessel is skillfully adorned with black-on-white decoration consisting of a horizontal band that divides the vessel in half with 2 rows of triangles on the lower half and a dotted ring below a checkered motif on the upper half. A circle of rhomboids embellishes the rim, surrounding the lizard-form handle, which displays a thick body, a sinuous tail, a petite head, a spotted back, and large feet with lengthy toes. Size: 6.8" W x 5.625" H (17.3 cm x 14.3 cm); 6.3" H (16 cm) with lid; 6.7" H (17 cm) with lid on included custom stand.

Seed jars were originally made to protect seeds from pests and extreme temperature fluctuations. Many of these jars were broken when their owners needed to extract the seeds, making this intact example a rare find!

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: private S.S. collection, Los Angeles, California, USA

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#166949

Pottery vessel is ancient, and lid is a modern replacement. Vessel body has light abrasions, nicks, and a couple of spalls, with minor fading to black pigment in scattered areas, otherwise intact and excellent. Great preservation to geometric motifs across exterior surfaces.