Zuni Terrace Rim Ceremonial Bowl [SOLD]

There is very little published information on terrace rim bowls. They have been referred to as “ceremonial” bowls, “kiva” bowls, and “terrace rim” bowls. It has been speculated that they were made for use in private homes and in kiva ceremonials, but this has not been substantiated in publications.

It is known that all ceremonial vessels are fabricated and decorated with intentional emblematic characteristics. Both form and ornamentation are significant. In explaining how the form of this vessel is held to be symbolic, one must equate the shape of the vessel as representing the earth, from which we draw nourishment. The rim of the bowl represents the horizon, terraced with mountains above which rise the clouds.

The decorations are a trifle more complex. Generally they represent tadpoles, dragonflies, and the frog or toad. An explanation for their use is simple. As the tadpole frequents the pools of springtime, he has been adopted as the symbol of spring rains; the dragonfly hovers over pools in summer, hence typifies the rains of summer; and the frog, maturing in them later, symbolizes the rains of the later seasons. It is to the rains that we owe the existence of the pools.

This terrace-rim bowl has a flat bottom that extends upward in a graceful flaring manner to form the body of the vessel. The rim is comprised of four sections, each of which extends upward with steps that end in a flat top, these protrusions representing clouds. Between these four areas are flat rim sections representing the horizon.

The exterior decoration consists of dragonflies at each of the terraces and tadpoles at the lines of the horizon. The interior decoration is similar, except frogs are featured on each of the terraced steps.

Provenance: Purchased by Alexander E. Anthony, Jr. on November 6, 1993 and has been in his personal collection ever since. This bowl was stolen during a burglary of his Albuquerque residence in the mid 1990s. The police recovered it from the burglar by reaching around him from his back to restrain him. The burglar was holding the vessel and it got damaged in the struggle. The damage has been professionally repaired.