Ancestral Puebloan Black-on-White Seed Jar, Four Corners

Native American, Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi), ca. 1000–1200 CE. A globular seed jar of buff clay, with a short flaring neck rising from a rounded body. The surface carries black-on-white decoration, with mineral-paint designs over a slip. A band of interlocking scrolls and stepped frets encircles the neck, while the shoulder and body carry hatched zigzags in opposing diagonals, characteristic of Pueblo II and III wares. The vessel is hand-coiled, scraped smooth, and painted with a yucca brush, and would have served domestic storage functions for seed grain or water in Four Corners region settlements. Size: 4.5" Diam x 4.5" H (11.4 cm Diam x 11.4 cm H).

between ground and design.

The Ancestral Puebloans, historically known by the Navajo-derived term "Anasazi," inhabited the Colorado Plateau of the American Southwest, building the masonry pueblos and cliff dwellings of Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. Their black-on-white ceramics, produced from roughly the 9th through 13th centuries, are known for a geometric vocabulary of hatching, scrolls, and interlocking frets. The use of hatched-line filling, as opposed to solid black, helps place such wares within the Pueblo II to III horizon. Mineral and carbon paints were applied with yucca-leaf brushes over a kaolin slip, then fired in a reducing atmosphere to produce contrast between ground and design.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection, acquired in 2026; ex-Shuper collection, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

This item may fall under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act or other federal laws protecting Native American, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian cultural heritage. As such, it is not eligible for international shipping, and may also be subject to repatriation or tribal consultation within the United States. Buyers are responsible for ensuring their legal right to acquire, possess, or transfer this item under all applicable laws.

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Item #

204196

Condition
Some chipping to rim and a few scuffs and abrasions as shown. Some areas of repainting. Otherwise, very nice with good remaining decoration.

Buyer's Premium
30%