Lot 90

Mississippian Caddo Incised Bottle - Swirl Motif

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Lot 90
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Mississippian Caddo Incised Bottle - Swirl Motif
Mississippian Caddo Incised Bottle - Swirl Motif
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Mississippian Caddo Incised Bottle - Swirl Motif

Estimate: $700 - $1,000

Starting Bid: $250

(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, Arkansas, Saline County, Caddo Culture, ca. 900 to 1400 CE. A ceramic bottle of compact, globular form, its dark burnished body rising to a tall cylindrical neck that gives the vessel the quiet authority of something designed to hold something precious. Incised across the swelling shoulder are concentric target motifs and sweeping curvilinear lines, drawn with a fluid hand that animates the surface with perpetual motion. The targets, perhaps representing the eye, the sun, or the portal between worlds, recur throughout the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex as emblems of cosmological sight and spiritual passage. The burnished gray-brown fabric, darkened likely through smudge firing, lends the surface a subdued luster that makes the incised lines read as shadow rather than ornament. Size: 5.3" D x 7.8" H (13.5 cm D x 19.8 cm H)

Recovered from Saline County, Arkansas, within the Ouachita River drainage and a well-documented zone of Caddo ceramic production, this bottle represents the formal elegance and iconographic depth that have made Caddo wares among the most sought-after ceramics of the pre-Columbian Southeast.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private New York, USA collection; found in Saline County, Arkansas, USA

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Item # 202253

  • Condition: Professionally repaired with some chipping and adhesive along visible break lines. Expected weathering with pitting and abrasions as shown. Good remains of incised decoration.

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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