Native American, southwestern United States, New Mexico, Pueblo II / Pueblo III (Anasazi) period, Tularosa, ca. 875 to 1050 CE. A charming, hand-built pottery vessel in the form of a seated duck with folded wings, painted with black-on-white decoration of a lizard on the breast of the bird and abstract motifs on the body. The avian vessel presents a triangular body with a tubular neck, ovoid rim, and sturdy, ribbon-form handle that connects the neck to the body. The surface is decorated with geometric, striated, dotted, and checkered patterns. Size: 5" L x 4.3" W x 4.8" H (12.7 cm x 10.9 cm x 12.2 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 Reinsmoen collection, Clear Lake, Iowa, acquired through descent from Robert Anderson, acquired prior to 2000

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#185039

Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting over break lines. Some chipping to tail and wing tips, and light surface wear commensurate with age. Otherwise, clear form with nice painted detail.