Lot 91

Mississippian Incised Zoomorphic Bowl

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Mississippian Incised Zoomorphic Bowl

Estimate: $400 - $600

Starting Bid: $150

(0 Bids)

by Artemis Fine Arts
August 7, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Native American, Central-Southern United States, Mississippian or Caddoan Culture, ca. 900 to 1400 CE. A hand-built ceramic bowl darkened through firing and the long accumulation of burial soil, its hemispherical form encircled by a band of deeply incised curvilinear ornament. Coiled spirals and what appears to be a sinuous zoomorphic figure, perhaps a serpent, emerge from the roughened surface with the quiet insistence of things meant to endure. The decorative program belongs to a widespread iconographic tradition in which aquatic and chthonic creatures served as emblems of the Below World and the regenerative powers associated with water, fertility, and the dead. Small, ancient, and uncompromising in its visual authority, this bowl rewards close attention: its abraded surface conceals a decorative program of considerable ambition. Size: 4.4" W x 2.5" H x 4.5" D (11.2 cm W x 6.3 cm H x 11.4 cm D)

Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private New York, USA collection

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Item # 202266

  • Condition: Missing one handle and one nubbin. Repaired with some areas of restoration and break lines visible as shown. Weathering and abrasions to surface with pitting throughout. Scattered earthen deposits and liberal remains of incised 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