Ramos Polychrome Bowl with Bull’s Eye Design [SOLD]

There is much to learn about the cultures of the Greater Southwest—a very large area of what is now the North American Southwest and the Northern Mexico Southwest—areas that were once one and not divided by state or country boundaries.  In the mid- to late-1300s, it was all one indistinguishable land mass peopled by prehistoric cultures.  Some have defined the Greater Southwest as extending from Durango, Colorado, to Durango, Mexico.

This bowl was probably one from which to eat although the interior is beautifully designed in a most intriguing modern design element.  Take note that the interior of the bowl was divided equally into four quadrants by the red lines that cross in the center.  Each of the four quadrants then was designed differently, almost in the likeness of a sun dial but probably not intended to be so.  It has a very modern look in its lack of symmetry.  The exterior of the bowl is polychrome paints surrounding what has been defined as bull's eye designs.

Condition: very good condition

Recommended Reading: Casas Grandes and the Ceramic Art of the Ancient Southwest, edited by Richard F. Townsend

Provenance: from the collection of Katherine H. Rust