Featured S.W.N.A. (Hopi?) Round-Bottom Bowl, Burnished Inside & Out

Discussion in 'Tribal Art' started by wlwhittier, Nov 30, 2023.

  1. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Max width ~5", inside rim ~4", height ~2 1/2"; weight ~11 oz.
    The white speckles in pic 5 look suspiciously like paint-roller splatter...I don't think my skills are up to even an attempt at their removal.

    Particularly attractive for me, an' probably a large factor in my purchase (mid-90's, Susanville California, iirc) is that there are eleven diagonal panels. I am strongly drawn to odd-numbered divisions of a circle in artifacts from the hands of humans, globally...an' there are a surprising number of them out there!

    There was no attribution with it when acquired; Google image yielded the possibility for it being of Hopi origin.
    @komokwa, what say you?
    Thanks, all, for lookin'!

    E1ED52B3-D5CE-49BB-A843-EB9490D9B29B_1_201_a.jpeg 3DA63D1C-DDA8-4A45-8B66-18C3A4CDD040_1_201_a.jpeg B057231D-892D-4FBB-8C24-B9EE5870BB3B_1_201_a.jpeg 1BFF86EE-4890-4E91-83C7-676346C56D1F_1_201_a.jpeg 7874B900-3A32-4A20-9468-9DCF85A02AE6_1_201_a.jpeg
     
  2. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    this one is above my pay grade.......
    I don't see NA though..

    from here the white speckles look like surface scuffs from the bowl being in contact with a hard surface.....
     
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  3. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Weirder than that, komo...I just put a loupe to it, an' found that each of those white spots are in the clay beneath the slip-coat, an' have 'erupted' through it, perhaps in the final firing. Very tiny dead-white crystalline grains in the clay...but only in about 1/5th of the diameter, a pie-wedge shaped area ~4" by ~2 1/2" or so. There are a few others, randomly distributed an' similarly caused, elsewhere.
    There's also some faint writing on the bottom, an' I'll try to capture that in a pic...it'll get posted here if I succeed.
     
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  4. Potteryplease

    Potteryplease Well-Known Member

    Not Hopi.

    The colors are a little too intense / bright, but the pattern at least looks Acoma to me. There was a period in the 1960's when Acoma potters struggled with 'spalling' as impurities in the clay caused mini explosions in the surface while firing. I can't see clearly enough to tell if that's what happening here.

    Acoma pots are usually thin, and light, and make a high bell-like sound when you click them with your fingernail.

    Is it heavy?
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2023
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  5. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Well, 11 oz...for a bowl that size...seems about right, but I don't know how to assess its weight. It is fairly high-fired, an' does sound good when 'pinged' with a knuckle. I wouldn't say it was thin...so probably not Acoma. Thanks, PP!
     
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  6. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

    The design looks very similar to an Isleta bowl illustrated in the book by Allan Hayes and John Blom - Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni. pg. 77.
     
  7. say_it_slowly

    say_it_slowly The worst prison is a closed heart

    For anyone without access to that book, here is page 77.
    20231206_104011.jpg
    20231206_104021.jpg 20231206_104106.jpg
     
  8. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Very Good, Books...I'm gonna chase that down. Thank you!
     
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  9. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Love your new avatar photo, whit.:happy:
     
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  10. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Thank you, AJ!
    @komokwa made me do it!
     
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  11. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    Made..... is such a strong word ...:beaver:..:wideyed::wideyed:
     
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  12. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Agreed, sir...Encouraged.
    Let me please amend my comment to remove the force inherent in my previous, inappropriate characterization.

    I had considered: De Devil made me do it.
    Woulda, coulda...shoulda!
     
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  13. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    so...for just a moment there..... I was the Devil..?;)

    Heck..... I've been called worse !! :playful::playful:

    Your new avatar is less aggressive and shows a Softer side to you...

    I for one , welcome it !!:happy::happy::happy:
     
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  14. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Aww...Shucks.
     
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  15. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    That certainly. The other one was rather off-putting.:muted:
    This one is both sweet and fun.
     
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  16. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    No surprise really. Flower arrangers know to use an odd number of blooms. A bead necklace will look less appealing if there is no bead at the center instead of a split. Panel bracelets with an even number of panels arrange themselves into an awkward rectangle; with an odd number they are much closer to circular. And so on.
     
  17. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    I hadn't considered any of those truths, Bronwen...tho' having them pointed out, they're obvious...an' ubiquitous. Thanks...
     
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