Burnished Bowl
Part of the David Dye Pottery Photographs Exhibit.
Description
The cardinal directions and the spirits who dealt there, were important sources of power for the Mississippian people. This highly burnished bowl dating to the fifteenth century illustrates beliefs in the four directions with swirl motifs associated with four interconnected volutes. This artistic play on motifs by the artist is typical of Mississippian potters who expressed both humor and deeply-held religious beliefs concerning the cosmos and its inhabitants in their ceramic art. This shallow bowl, engraved with sacred motifs, would have served as the property of an elite family and would have been employed during feasting and religious events.
This image has been withdrawn.
