Nineteenth Century Polychrome Serving Bowl [SOLD]

The rim of this bowl curves inward slightly, imparting a graceful shape to what could have been an otherwise uninteresting one. The interior of the rim flexes slightly, an unnecessary added feature that enhances its shape. The bowl is slipped in traditional fashion with cream-colored clay, over which is painted the design in mineral and vegetal paints. The underbody is slipped in red, a tradition generally abandoned in the mid-1860s and completely abandoned by 1880. The exterior is decorated with the traditional prayer stick design used on every Zuni bowl made in the nineteenth century. It is thought that this was a woman's way to place her prayers since women do not make prayer sticks.

The interior decoration begins with a brown rim below which is a wave-like element encircling the bowl that is painted red and outlined in brown. Below this are two wide parallel framing lines with a very distinctive ceremonial break. What appears to have been a very elegant simple interior bowl design has been almost totally obliterated through decades of use. The cream-colored slip is all that remains.

This is one of the most extraordinary bowls we have had the pleasure to handle. There is one rim chip confined mostly to the interior of the bowl. It is easily visible in the photographs above.

Item Provenance: From a private Denver collection.