North America, southwestern United States, Four Corners region, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, area, Pueblo I or Pueblo II (Anasazi) period, ca. 900 to 1030 CE. An attractive pottery bowl displaying a hemispherical body with impressively thin walls that rise to a slightly inward curved rim, all sitting upon a round yet stable base. Enveloped in a creamy white slip, the elegant example is adorned with a lovely, black-painted decorative program on its interior, featuring mesmerizing motifs of 4 spiraling triangles embellished by diagonal striations. Pottery played an important role in Anasazi culture and included both utilitarian and decorative pieces that could be traded with neighboring communities for food or other goods. Anasazi pottery was made by hand coiling clay, then smoothing the surface and painting with designs before firing. Size: 10.1" Diameter x 5.1" H (25.7 cm x 13 cm)

Pottery of this kind is some of the most important found in the ancient Southwest. The Chaco Project, the major excavations of Chaco Canyon (today a National Historical Park that is well worth a visit), recovered more of this pottery than any other style. Chaco was the center of the ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) culture, a vast city of monumental architecture, including massive stone Great Houses of multiple stories and kivas of all sizes. Roads from Chaco Canyon radiated to outlying settlements for hundreds of miles, and it seems to have been a religious, social, and trade hub for a vast region. Today many Native peoples in the Southwest connect their own histories to Chaco, seeing it as a stop along their sacred migrations.

Provenance: private S.S. collection, Los Angeles, California, USA; ex-Outwest Ancient Artifacts, Chandler, Arizona, USA

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#168808

Repaired from several pieces with restoration over break lines and other break lines visible. Series of 5 repairs from the early 20th century - drill holes with string. Expected nicks and abrasions commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive remaining pigments.