Mississippian Fish Effigy Pottery Bowl with Incised Fins, TL Tested

拍品描述

Native American, Arkansas, Mississippian, ca. 985–1465 CE. An earthenware effigy bowl shaped as an abstract fish, with a long body built around a wide oval mouth. At one end the head narrows to a flattened snout with a small incised eye. At the other a thick, tapering tail ends in a rounded tip that flares only slightly. The bowl does not rest on a ring base. Instead it stands on three short feet modeled as two pectoral fins and one pelvic fin, so the fish seems to hover above the surface it sits on. Applied fillets with fine notches run around the rim and outline the fins and body sections like stitched seams. Finer incised lines trace the inner edges of the fins and form a narrow upright rectangle on the flank. The smoothed gray-brown surface shows soft fire-clouding from the firing. Size: 3.8" H x 11.6" L x 5.8" W (9.7 cm H x 29.5 cm L x 14.7 cm W). Animal effigy bowls were among the most distinctive ceramic forms of the Mississippian world, especially in the Central Mississippi Valley. Fish, frogs, ducks, and other water creatures appear often in this tradition. In Mississippian cosmology the waters were linked to the Beneath World, a realm of fertility, transformation, and underwater powers. Many effigy bowls place only the head and tail on the rim of a plain bowl. Here the whole vessel is the animal's body, and the fins work as the feet that hold it up. That is a more fully sculptural approach than the usual rim-effigy form. This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report will accompany the item upon purchase. SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700. PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception. Item #203029

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