Ancestral Pueblo, Mesa Verde region, Colorado
1100 CE
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 4 in (10.2 cm); diameter 3¼ in (8.3 cm), excluding handle
Provenance: Fred Lau, Paradise Valley, AZ; Billy Schenck, Santa Fe, NM
Published: Women Artists of the Ancient Southwest, Schenck Southwest Publishing, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2024, p. 3.41
Mesa Verde Black-on-white mugs are among the most studied and recognized vessel forms of the Ancestral Pueblo tradition, produced in the Four Corners region during the Pueblo II and III periods and found across a wide range of domestic and ceremonial contexts. This example carries bold stepped geometric bands and interlocking angular forms in black mineral pigment on white slip, organized in horizontal registers that wrap the full body of the vessel with disciplined clarity. The robust strap handle is characteristic of the Mesa Verde mug form and distinguishes it from cylindrical vessels produced at other Ancestral Pueblo sites.
The surface retains original matte mineral pigment with strong contrast and honest wear consistent with a vessel of this age. Mesa Verde mugs of this quality have been documented in the scholarly literature, and this example appears in Women Artists of the Ancient Southwest (Schenck Southwest Publishing, Santa Fe, 2024), placing it within the published record of the tradition. The provenance from Fred Lau in Paradise Valley and Billy Schenck in Santa Fe provides a documented collecting history through two serious collectors of Ancestral Pueblo material. Not recovered from Federal or State land.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Ancestral Pueblo, Mesa Verde region, Colorado
1100 CE
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 4 in (10.2 cm); diameter 3¼ in (8.3 cm), excluding handle
Provenance: Fred Lau, Paradise Valley, AZ; Billy Schenck, Santa Fe, NM
Published: Women Artists of the Ancient Southwest, Schenck Southwest Publishing, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2024, p. 3.41
Mesa Verde Black-on-white mugs are among the most studied and recognized vessel forms of the Ancestral Pueblo tradition, produced in the Four Corners region during the Pueblo II and III periods and found across a wide range of domestic and ceremonial contexts. This example carries bold stepped geometric bands and interlocking angular forms in black mineral pigment on white slip, organized in horizontal registers that wrap the full body of the vessel with disciplined clarity. The robust strap handle is characteristic of the Mesa Verde mug form and distinguishes it from cylindrical vessels produced at other Ancestral Pueblo sites.
The surface retains original matte mineral pigment with strong contrast and honest wear consistent with a vessel of this age. Mesa Verde mugs of this quality have been documented in the scholarly literature, and this example appears in Women Artists of the Ancient Southwest (Schenck Southwest Publishing, Santa Fe, 2024), placing it within the published record of the tradition. The provenance from Fred Lau in Paradise Valley and Billy Schenck in Santa Fe provides a documented collecting history through two serious collectors of Ancestral Pueblo material. Not recovered from Federal or State land.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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