Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico
1880s
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 7 in (17.8 cm); diameter 15.2 in (38.6 cm)
Provenance: Tucson trade; private collection, Arizona, held for over 50 years
Zuni dough bowls of the late nineteenth century represent the full maturity of the Pueblo polychrome ceramic tradition, produced for domestic use in bread preparation while carrying decoration of the highest order — a combination of utility and visual complexity that characterizes the best Zuni work of this period. The interior of this bowl is organized around a central sun or star medallion with radiating arrows, surrounded by large curved oval forms, feather motifs, and scroll elements executed in black and red-orange on a cream white slip ground. The composition fills the interior with confident, sweeping line work that reflects the hand of a practiced painter working within an established visual vocabulary.
The exterior carries complementary banding consistent with Zuni bowl production of the 1880s, and the vessel retains its original surface with honest age and use wear appropriate to a working domestic object of this period. Dough bowls of this scale and decorative quality were central objects in Pueblo household life, used in the preparation of he'we and other breads during ceremonial and daily occasions. The Arizona private collection provenance of over fifty years places this bowl within a serious collecting history predating the current market for Pueblo ceramics.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico
1880s
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 7 in (17.8 cm); diameter 15.2 in (38.6 cm)
Provenance: Tucson trade; private collection, Arizona, held for over 50 years
Zuni dough bowls of the late nineteenth century represent the full maturity of the Pueblo polychrome ceramic tradition, produced for domestic use in bread preparation while carrying decoration of the highest order — a combination of utility and visual complexity that characterizes the best Zuni work of this period. The interior of this bowl is organized around a central sun or star medallion with radiating arrows, surrounded by large curved oval forms, feather motifs, and scroll elements executed in black and red-orange on a cream white slip ground. The composition fills the interior with confident, sweeping line work that reflects the hand of a practiced painter working within an established visual vocabulary.
The exterior carries complementary banding consistent with Zuni bowl production of the 1880s, and the vessel retains its original surface with honest age and use wear appropriate to a working domestic object of this period. Dough bowls of this scale and decorative quality were central objects in Pueblo household life, used in the preparation of he'we and other breads during ceremonial and daily occasions. The Arizona private collection provenance of over fifty years places this bowl within a serious collecting history predating the current market for Pueblo ceramics.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
