Lot 128

Mississippian Pottery Jug with Four Protruding Faces

Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 128
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3
Mississippian Pottery Jug with Four Protruding Faces
Mississippian Pottery Jug with Four Protruding Faces
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3

Mississippian Pottery Jug with Four Protruding Faces

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $400

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

Native American, Mississippian culture, ca. 1200–1500 CE. A globular earthenware jug rising to a tall, slightly flaring neck, its swelling shoulder punctuated by four modeled faces set at the cardinal points. Each visage is rendered with economy: small applied lugs pinched into brows and noses, with shallow punctations marking eyes and mouths, lending the vessel the watchful quality of a sentinel circling its own circumference. The clay reads in muted gray and warm earth tones, the surface scumbled with fine pitting and the soft abrasions of long burial.

Hand-built and likely shell-tempered in the manner characteristic of late Mississippian potters of the central and lower Mississippi Valley, the form belongs to a long tradition of effigy vessels in which the jar itself becomes a body, a head, or a gathering of spirits. Four-faced jars are uncommon and resonant: the cardinal arrangement evokes directional cosmology, with each face perhaps acknowledging a quarter of the world, a wind, or an ancestral presence. Such vessels likely accompanied feasting, ritual libation, or interment, mediating between the living community and the powers that sustained it.

The Mississippian tradition, flourishing across the Southeast and Midwest from roughly the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries, produced some of the most sophisticated ceramic sculpture north of Mesoamerica. This jug, modest in pretension yet deliberate in its quadripartite gaze, carries the quiet authority of that legacy. Size: 7.9" D x 8.6" H (20.1 cm D x 21.8 cm H).

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

SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).

PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.

Item # 203142

  • Condition: Good. Repairs to rim with some chipping along visible break lines. Some chips, pitting, and abrasions in areas, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, very nice with good remaining detail and scattered earthen deposits in areas. Old collection labels on underside of base.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

ACH, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Auction House will ship, at Buyer's expense

Artemis Fine Arts

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 30% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

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