Very Large Dough Bowl with Floral Design [R]

The chapter devoted to dough bowls in the book The Pottery of Zia Pueblo (see reference link below) does not show any examples of dough bowls with floral designs although they do show dough bowls dating as late as 1940.  This dough bowl has all the attributes of a circa 1880 dough bowl, except perhaps for its design.  We maintain that collections made by the Smithsonian and other museums in the late 1800s possibly overlooked bowls with floral designs in preference for those with Trios Polychrome designs.

“The large four-petaled red flowers. . . placed on long, curving stems, have other parallels that may be dated before 1887. Harlow & Lanmon 2003 p.210.  There are many Zia jars from the late 1800s with floral designs so it is not unexpected that the design would be used on dough bowls too.

This bowl has the design panel on the upper half of the vessel wall and polished red clay on the lower half.  A very wide—1-3/4-inch—wiped-on red band is in the traditional position of just below the decorated panel.  There are four four-petaled flowers at the end of long curving stems, at the base of which is a pair of split leaf leaves.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: This Very Large Dough Bowl with Floral Design is published in a room setting in Formal Country by Pat Ross, Viking Studio Press, New York, 1989, page161.  A copy of the book will be provided with the pottery bowl.

Reference: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon