Historic Mojave Pottery Bowl with Male Figurine

This bowl with a handle and with a Mojave male figure attached to the piece has what could be an interesting history. Written in pencil on the underside is what appears to be:  Yuma, Arizona  15/Dec, 1916 (written in period cursive script - see below). The date and location notation is typical for tourist or collector markings from the early 1900s, documenting when and where the vessel was originally acquired.  

Yuma was a major trading hub along the Colorado River during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where Mohave, Yuma (Quechan), and Cocopah effigy pottery was frequently sold to tourists, collectors, and rail passengers. 

In modern times, pottery got a big boost from the railroad. It came through their lands, and the Mojave got into the tourist business early. Travelers liked their traditional figurines and unusual pieces.  By the 1930s, pottery had nearly died out at Mojave, but it was eventually revived by potters Annie Fields, Elmer Gates, and Betty Barrackman who ushered in a revival. [Hayes 2015:56]

If, indeed, this pottery piece was collected in 1916, it must be one of the oldest available Mojave works on the marketplace today.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a client from California

Reference: Hayes, Allan & Carol. "Pottery of the Southwest: Ancient Art and Modern Traditions". 2015

Recommended Reading: Mojave Pottery, Mojave People: The Dillingham Collection of Mojave Ceramics by Peter T. Furst and Jill L. Furst

TAGS: Mojave Tribe, Historic Southwest Indian Pottery