Native American, Southwest, New Mexico, Mogollon Classic, Mimbres Valley, ca. 950 to 1300 CE. A fabulous pottery bowl of hemispherical form created via the coil-and-scrape method and hand-painted in traditional of Mimbres black-on-white decoration. Fine lines and relatively complex painted compositions, the interior of the vessel features a mesmerizing composition of spiral, lightning, hachured, and lattice motifs. These ancient symbols may have once conveyed messages regarding clan ties, geography, and weather patterns to the ancient Mimbres people. The Mogollon developed Mimbres Classic characterized by impressive precision and a flare for design that made Mimbres Classic among the most treasured of Native American ceramics. A lovely example! Size: 8.1" Diameter x 3.5" H (20.6 cm x 8.9 cm)

Please note this item may fall under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and may not be eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, & Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.

According to Hayes and Blom, "Where a large percentage of other prehistoric pottery was traded widely and shows little evidence of involvement in ceremony or burial, Mimbres Classic Black-on-white was closely held and mysterious." (Allan Hayes and John Blom, Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni, Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Publishing Co, 1996, p. 30).

The Mimbres people occupied the mountain and river valleys of southwestern New Mexico; the name we know them by comes from the Spanish word for the willows that grew alongside the river valleys. The artists responsible for creating pottery vessels like this were women, and many Mimbres women have been found in burials accompanied by pottery making tools.

Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting over break lines. Light surface wear with some minor nicks as shown, but otherwise nice presentation and good remaining detail. Underside of base is inscribed "Mimbres / Deming" in reference to the culture and find site.