Cochiti Pueblo Oval Bowl [SOLD]

Oval shaped bowls seem to be a rarity from pueblo potters.  Most bowls are made in the round form.  This bowl, however, is very oval in shape.  Such a shape is more European-American in style and perhaps the potter had this in mind when she made it—assuming that would appeal to a non-Indian buyer. Actually, the appeal is not only in the looks of the bowl but in its rarity.

The bowl is slipped in traditional Cochiti bentonite white slip and decorated with the black paint made from boiling the leaves of the Rocky Mountain bee plant.  The design in the center of the bowl is plant-like in form with two cloud symbols sprouting from the plant.

There is no slip on the exterior of the bowl.  It is the bare paste of the bowl that has been polished.  A red band was wiped just below the rim of the bowl on the exterior.

Condition:  very good condition with an insignificant crack at the rim where the ceremonial line break appears.

Provenance:  from the personal collection of a gentleman from Albuquerque

Recommended Reading:  A River Apart: the Pottery of Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos