Ancestral Pueblo, New Mexico/Colorado region
900–1050 CE, Red Mesa Black-on-white
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 5⅞ in (14.9 cm); diameter 8 in (20.3 cm)
Provenance: Fred Lau, San Francisco, CA
Red Mesa Black-on-white is among the earliest and most widely distributed of the Ancestral Pueblo ceramic traditions, produced across a broad region of the Colorado Plateau from approximately 900 to 1050 CE and found at sites across the Northern Mogollon, Rio Abajo, Northern Jornada, and Northern Rio Grande regions. The type is characterized by a white chalky slip ground, black to dark brown mineral paint decoration, and designs organized in banded, quartered, or all-over layouts that frequently incorporate scroll forms, parallel line hachure, checkerboard patterns, and ticked triangles. This seed jar carries bold scroll and geometric banding across the shoulder and body, rendered with the controlled repetition characteristic of accomplished Red Mesa ceramic painters.
The low, wide-shouldered seed jar form with inward-curving rim is well represented in the Red Mesa tradition, associated with seed storage and domestic use across Ancestral Pueblo communities of the period. The surface retains the white slip and matte mineral pigment characteristic of the type, with a darkened base band and honest age and wear consistent with a vessel of this period and origin. The provenance from Fred Lau in San Francisco indicates a serious West Coast collecting history for this piece.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Ancestral Pueblo, New Mexico/Colorado region
900–1050 CE, Red Mesa Black-on-white
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 5⅞ in (14.9 cm); diameter 8 in (20.3 cm)
Provenance: Fred Lau, San Francisco, CA
Red Mesa Black-on-white is among the earliest and most widely distributed of the Ancestral Pueblo ceramic traditions, produced across a broad region of the Colorado Plateau from approximately 900 to 1050 CE and found at sites across the Northern Mogollon, Rio Abajo, Northern Jornada, and Northern Rio Grande regions. The type is characterized by a white chalky slip ground, black to dark brown mineral paint decoration, and designs organized in banded, quartered, or all-over layouts that frequently incorporate scroll forms, parallel line hachure, checkerboard patterns, and ticked triangles. This seed jar carries bold scroll and geometric banding across the shoulder and body, rendered with the controlled repetition characteristic of accomplished Red Mesa ceramic painters.
The low, wide-shouldered seed jar form with inward-curving rim is well represented in the Red Mesa tradition, associated with seed storage and domestic use across Ancestral Pueblo communities of the period. The surface retains the white slip and matte mineral pigment characteristic of the type, with a darkened base band and honest age and wear consistent with a vessel of this period and origin. The provenance from Fred Lau in San Francisco indicates a serious West Coast collecting history for this piece.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
