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Lot 85A
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Mississippian Stone Implements - Drilling Capstone, Discoidal & Mano
Mississippian Stone Implements - Drilling Capstone, Discoidal & Mano
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Native American, Mississippian culture, ca. 800–1600 CE. A grouping of four stone implements, ground and pecked from hard sandstone and quartzite by the agricultural peoples of the American Southeast and Mississippi Valley. The set unites the practical tools of village life: a doughnut-form discoidal, its central perforation worn smooth, perhaps a gaming stone for the contest of chunkey; a drilling capstone, hollowed to seat the upper end of a bow-drill; a heavy hand mano, its working face flattened by countless strokes against a metate; and a battered hammerstone or anvil. Each piece carries the quiet eloquence of use, surfaces softened by grinding, pecking, and the friction of daily labor. Together they reconstruct the domestic rhythm of a Mississippian household, from food processing to craft production to recreation. Size of largest: 2.5" W x 2.5" H x 3.3" D (6.3 cm W x 6.3 cm H x 8.4 cm D).

Discoidals are among the most recognizable Mississippian artifacts, associated with chunkey, a widely played game in which a rolling stone disc was the target of thrown spears. The game carried social and ceremonial weight far beyond sport, and finely finished discoidals were sometimes interred with high-status individuals. The mano and the heavier ground stone served the unglamorous but essential work of milling maize, the staple crop that underpinned the dense, mound-building societies of the Mississippian world.

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 # 203074

  • Condition: Good. Some nicks, chips, and abrasions as shown, all commensurate with age. Scattered earthen deposits throughout.

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

Artemis Fine Arts

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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