Special Value Offer: Old Zuni Lidded Sugar Bowl with Heart Line Deer [SOLD]

Special Value Offer: The owner of this item has authorized a price reduction of 18% from $275 to $225.

Sadie Tsipa, according to the Social Security Death Index (a government publication) was born on July 1, 1915 and passed away on March 12, 2010.  She lived 94 years, 8 months, and 11 days according to the report.  I am not familiar with her as a potter, however, it is quite likely that she was no longer active in the late 1970s when I opened the gallery and started purchasing from potters.

She began making pottery around the 1940s and her pottery is included in the collections of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University.  This small Zuni Pueblo sugar bowl is decorated with heartline deer, which is acknowledged as the potter’s favorite design.

The variation is color of the lid and bowl is due to firing.  It is not an indication that the bowl and lid are not original to each other.

Condition:  It appears that a small section of clay exploded during firing and that portion has been glued back in place.  Firing events such as this occur when there is trapped air in the clay and it expands during firing.

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a Santa Fe resident who is unfortunately moving to another city and found it necessary to greatly reduce her collection.

Recommended Reading: Zuni Pottery by Marian Rodee and James Ostler