Lot 115

Mississippian Fish Effigy Helmet Bowl - Incised

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Lot 115
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Mississippian Fish Effigy Helmet Bowl - Incised
Mississippian Fish Effigy Helmet Bowl - Incised
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Mississippian Fish Effigy Helmet Bowl - Incised

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500

Starting Bid: $450

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT (In Progress)
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Native American, Mississippian culture, ca. 900 to 1600 CE. A fish emerges in three-dimensional increments from the walls of this Mississippian effigy bowl, its head thrust forward from the upper shoulder, its paired fins projecting laterally at mid-body, and its tail curling into relief at the opposite pole, the creature simultaneously imprisoned in and inseparable from the vessel it inhabits. The bowl is hand-built in a fine-grained clay fired to a matte, smoke-darkened gray-tan surface, its profile following the distinctive helmet form: a deep, rounded body surmounted by a broadly flared, nearly horizontal rim that extends the vessel's silhouette outward like the brim of a war cap. That rim is ornamented along its outer edge with a continuous band of small, evenly spaced impressed punctations, a crisp decorative register that separates the rim zone from the body below. A second incised horizontal band encircles the shoulder, framing the effigy appliques between two parallel lines of surface ornament and lending the composition a quiet structural logic. Size: 9.9" W x 5.5" H x 9.4" D (25.1 cm W x 14.0 cm H x 23.9 cm D)

The fish head is modeled with economy rather than literalism, its features compressed into a few confident planes, while the fins and tail are flattened appliques bearing diagonal incising that suggests fin-ray patterning without laboring the point. In Mississippian cosmology, fish and other aquatic creatures were denizens of the Lower World, a watery underrealm associated with regeneration, fertility, and powers that existed in productive tension with those of the Upper World above. A vessel whose body is the animal, rather than simply decorated with its image, makes that cosmological relationship tactile and immediate, present in every act of filling, carrying, or pouring.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Flushing, New York and Ridgeway, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Hatucock collection

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Item # 202881

  • Condition: Good. Professionally restored from about 20 pieces with restoration over break lines; all done expertly and difficult to detect. Light surface wear with some chipping to rim and stable surface fissures in a few areas. Otherwise, nice presentation with good remaining detail.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000