Native American, North America, Midwest (what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan), Mound Builder culture, ca. 500 to 1200 CE. A bird effigy bowl carved from a single piece of stone of red-beige hues, with an expressive visage upon the carved head at one end and a tail emerging from the opposite end. Mound Builders were a culture of people in North America who constructed mounds out of earth for residential, religious and burial purposes. This bowl was most likely a votive offering vessel. Size: 9.25" W x 2.625" H (23.5 cm x 6.7 cm)

According to The Newberry's "Indians of the Midwest", "Most of the conical mounds at these centers were built over wood structures that served as temples for prayer in general or over crypts. Valuable objects imported from great distances were left as offerings to accompany the prayers. Groups of pilgrims representing kin groups or religious societies buried deceased men and women leaders with collections of offerings and in this way asserted their collective identity."

Provenance: Ex- Collection of the late Peter Arnovick, San Francisco, CA

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#121098

Chips to rim, tail, right eye, and underside of bowl. What may look like an area of restoration at rim near tail is more likely just veining in the stone. Nice signs of aging with mineral deposits and smooth patina.