Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2010 School for Advanced Research.
Bowl
Date: before 1929
Artist or Maker: Unknown
Dimensions:
Dimensions: 9.5 × 16.5 cm (3 3/4 × 6 1/2 in.)
Weight: 0.4 kg (0.9 lb.)
Medium: clay | paints
Place Made:
Zuni Pueblo, McKinley County, New Mexico, Southwest, United States, North America
Object Number: IAF.1253
Not on view
Tribal Collection Review RemarksJim Enote and Octavius Seowtewa during collection review visit April 6 and 7, 2009 (Events Record “Collection Review: Zuni Tribe, Review 1”): This bowl is not ceremonial. It should remain classified as pseudo-ceremonial because it was made to resemble a ceremonial bowl, though it is not one. It is made to resemble a cornmeal bowl, but it has the type of concave base suggesting it should be carried on the head (though the base is actually too small). Real cornmeal bowls are carried in the hands, not on the head. Also, the tadpole figures on the interior of the bowl are each depicted wearing a headdress, which does not belong on toad motifs. There are two holes in the walls of the bowl, opposite each other, which may have been intended for suspending the bowl; this would not make sense because the bowl would be easily unbalanced if hung. Also, in the Zuni community, this type of bowl simply isn't used in a way such that it would ever be hung. It is alright to use this piece in publications, as long as it is made clear it is not actually ceremonial.
In Collection(s)
The Indian Arts Research Center, in collaboration with Native American community scholars, strives to present accurate collections records. Records may be updated as new information becomes available and is reviewed with the Native American community having cultural affinity to particular items. Please write to iarc@sarsf.org if you have questions or concerns related to the documentation.