Native American, Southwestern United States, Four Corners region, Chaco Canyon, Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi), Pueblo I or Pueblo II period, ca. 900 to 1030 CE. A gorgeous example of a pottery pitcher formed via the coil-and-scrape method. The vessel features a hemispherical lower body with a concave central kick, a gently carinated shoulder that tapers to form the cylindrical upper body, a thick rim, and a semicircular handle attached to the upper body. The creamy white composition is densely decorated with eye-catching black-on-white zigzagging motifs that create a wondrous bichrome presentation - especially considering none of the serrated bands touch - and a series of vertical stripes embellishes the handle exterior. Scholars believe that many of these motifs were inspired by weather and landscape phenomena in the high desert areas in which the Puebloan-Chaco tribes resided. Size: 5.2" Diameter x 6.3" H (13.2 cm x 16 cm)

Pottery of this kind is some of the most important found in the ancient Southwest. The Chaco Project, the major excavations of Chaco Canyon (today a National Historical Park that is well worth a visit), recovered more of this pottery than any other style. Chaco was the center of the ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) culture, a vast city of monumental architecture, including massive stone Great Houses of multiple stories and kivas of all sizes. Roads from Chaco Canyon radiated to outlying settlements for hundreds of miles, and it seems to have been a religious, social, and trade hub for a vast region. Today many Native peoples in the Southwest connect their own histories to Chaco, seeing it as a stop along their sacred migrations.

Provenance: ex-Dr. John Hilsbeck collection, Orange County, California, USA, collected in the 1960s to 1980s

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#167045

Handle repaired from two pieces, with very small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor abrasions to base, body, and rim, with only light fading and chipping to exterior decorations. Great preservation to overall form and fantastic remains of pigment throughout. Old inventory label beneath base.