Zuni Pueblo Terrace Rim Bowl with Handle [SOLD]

Bowls of this style generally have a handle in the form of a rainbow that crosses the bowl from rim to rim.  Rarely, if ever, are the handles attached to a terrace structure. Most bowls of this style have a footed base and four terrace projections.  Designs are always associated with water creatures—frogs, tadpoles, dragonflies and the Avanyu.

These style bowls are regularly used in ceremonial functions but are occasionally made for sale to collectors.  I once witnessed a traditionally-dressed Mudhead Katsina at Zuni walking on the edge of the highway carrying a bowl similar to this one.  It is presumed that he was sprinkling sacred cornmeal as he walked.  Bowls similar to this one were collected in 1887 for the Smithsonian Institution.

Each of the terraces has a tadpole painted in brown, both on the exterior and interior.  Each terrace is outlined in brown paint and the rim is brown.  On the exterior, each terrace has a polka-dotted frog with splayed legs under each tadpole.  There are no other painted designs.

The handle was shaped as a triangle and is undecorated.  It displays considerable patina from having been held by the handle, an indication of considerable use. 

Condition: really in very good condition with evidence of a repair to a crack in the bottom of the bowl.

Provenance: from a resident in Santa Fe

Recommended Reading: The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo by Francis Harlow and Dwight Lanmon