Bowl with Painted Motifs
- Culture
- Mimbres
- Date
- c.1060–1110
- Material
- Ceramic with pigment
- found in
- New Mexico, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Ceramics, containers
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 4 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. (10.8 x 23.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 113:1944
NOTES
The Mimbres developed a highly refined tradition of pottery that is characterized by beautifully painted narrative scenes. The central, concave area of this bowl's interior depicts an animal with the outstretched wings of a bat and the ears of a rabbit.
The peoples descended from the Mimbres probably reflect the beliefs of their ancestors when they see bats as messengers of death and creatures that accompany the deceased to the underworld; rabbits are associated with the moon. The white background and circular shape of this bowl suggest a full moon as the background for the silhouette of the flying creature. Bowls of this kind were placed over the face of the deceased, perhaps in hopes that the image within the bowl would guide the spirit safely through the underworld.
Provenance
1932
Excavated at Eby Ranch, Grant County, NM [1]
by 1943 - 1944
Colonel Fain White King (1892-1972), Wickcliffe, KY [2]
1944 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Colonel Fain White King [3]
Notes:
[1] Documentation presumably provided by Colonel Fain White King states that 113:1944 was from "Location Ebys Ranch. Excavated 7/23'32." A map given to the Museum by King indicates the site is located in Grant County, New Mexico [SLAM document files].
[2] The method of transfer is not known, but according to a letter dated December 16, 1943 from Colonel Fain White King to Thomas T. Hoopes, curator at the City Art Museum, King was preparing to “secure the only great collection of the famous rare Mimbres Valley pottery not in a museum." In a letter dated January 2, 1944 from King to Hoopes, King states he “secured the finest collection known of the Mimbres Valley prehistoric pottery...” [letters in SLAM document files].
[3] An invoice dated May 12, 1944 from Colonel Fain White King to the City Art Museum documents the purchase of this object, listed as "Number 117, Pottery Bowl, Mimbres" [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, May 11, 1944.
Excavated at Eby Ranch, Grant County, NM [1]
by 1943 - 1944
Colonel Fain White King (1892-1972), Wickcliffe, KY [2]
1944 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Colonel Fain White King [3]
Notes:
[1] Documentation presumably provided by Colonel Fain White King states that 113:1944 was from "Location Ebys Ranch. Excavated 7/23'32." A map given to the Museum by King indicates the site is located in Grant County, New Mexico [SLAM document files].
[2] The method of transfer is not known, but according to a letter dated December 16, 1943 from Colonel Fain White King to Thomas T. Hoopes, curator at the City Art Museum, King was preparing to “secure the only great collection of the famous rare Mimbres Valley pottery not in a museum." In a letter dated January 2, 1944 from King to Hoopes, King states he “secured the finest collection known of the Mimbres Valley prehistoric pottery...” [letters in SLAM document files].
[3] An invoice dated May 12, 1944 from Colonel Fain White King to the City Art Museum documents the purchase of this object, listed as "Number 117, Pottery Bowl, Mimbres" [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, May 11, 1944.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.