Lot 64

Large Mississippian Pottery Olla - Globular Jar with Short Collar

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Lot 64
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Large Mississippian Pottery Olla - Globular Jar with Short Collar
Large Mississippian Pottery Olla - Globular Jar with Short Collar
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Large Mississippian Pottery Olla - Globular Jar with Short Collar

Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800

Starting Bid: $500

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 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 broad, low-shouldered jar swells outward in a near-spherical body before drawing inward to a short, upright collar rim. Built by hand from shell-tempered earthenware and finished with a burnished surface, the vessel carries the smoky grays and ashen blooms of open pit firing, fire-clouding that lends each example its own mottled signature. The generous capacity and rounded base suit it to the storage and transport of grain, water, or seed, a workhorse form of the riverine settlements of the American Southeast and Mississippi Valley. Its appeal lies in economy of line: an unadorned, swelling silhouette whose power comes from proportion rather than decoration, the utilitarian pottery of a sophisticated maize-farming society that raised earthen mounds across the heartland of the continent. Size: 10.5" D x 9.4" H (26.7 cm D x 23.9 cm H).

The Mississippian tradition (roughly 800 to 1600 CE) flourished along the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee river systems, anchored by ceremonial centers such as Cahokia, Moundville, and Etowah. A defining technical innovation was the tempering of clay with crushed freshwater mussel shell, which lightened the body and allowed potters to throw the broad, thin-walled globular jars and bottles for which the culture is known. Vessels of this utilitarian form were the domestic vessels of communities sustained by intensive maize agriculture, frequently recovered from habitation sites and, in finer wares, from mortuary contexts as grave offerings.

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

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Item # 203015

  • Condition: Some chips, abrasions, and stable hairline fissures, but, otherwise, intact and very nice with scattered earthen deposits.

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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