Pre-Columbian Paquimé Casas Grandes Polychrome Effigy Jar [SOLD]

Much of what we speculate about the lives of the Native people who existed in the pre-Hispanic new world of the Greater Southwest of Mexico and the United States is based not only on the ruins of the buildings and irrigation systems but also largely on their pottery.

Pottery styles are a good indication of the sophistication of the people but also their intermingling with other tribes, both near and far.  It has been determined that Paquimé Pueblo in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico, was a large trade center.  Large quantities of New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada turquoise have been discovered there.  There also appears to be similarities in some pottery styles of Casas Grandes and that from the Mimbres culture.

Effigy vessels appear in pottery from the 1200 - 1450 Paquimé Pueblo in Mexico and from New Mexico Pueblos of the same period.  It is believed that these are the result of an energized religious system of that time.  Many of these vessels display human figures and many others those of animals and bird creatures.

This Ramos Polychrome effigy vessel from the 1200 to 1450 period is typical of many and may best be described as a hooded effigy jar with an open mouth and appliqued ears.

Condition:  the jar is currently stable.  A few cracks have been stabilized, a rim chip repaired, and the head reattached, but it does not appear that there was any replacement of clay with plaster.

Provenance:  from the collection of Katherine H. Rust

Recommended Reading:  The Desert Southwest: Four Thousand Years of Life and Art by Allan Hayes and Carol Hayes

Secrets of Casas Grandes, edited by Melissa S. Powell