Caddo Incised Blackware Bottle
Native American, Caddo, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A globular body swells from a flat, unfooted base and tapers into a tall, slightly flaring neck, the classic long-neck bottle silhouette of Caddo potters in the Southeastern Woodlands. The dark grey-brown surface was burnished before firing in a reducing atmosphere, leaving smoky mottling and a soft sheen across the shoulder. Fine incised ornament, executed with a sharp tool in the leather-hard clay, forms encircling bands of close-set diagonal hatching at the shoulder junction and again below the rim, a restrained scheme that lets the polished body carry the eye. Vessels of this type held liquids and are recovered most often from mortuary contexts, where they accompanied the dead as grave furniture, likely charged with water or other offerings for the journey beyond. Size: 9.1" H x 4.8" W x 5.1" D (23.1 cm H x 12.2 cm W x 13.0 cm D).
The Caddo speaking peoples of the Red River drainage, in what is now northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, eastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma, produced some of the most technically accomplished ceramics in North America, built entirely by hand without the wheel and fired in open or pit fires. Long-neck bottles are among their signature forms, and archaeologists use their engraved and incised motifs, spirals, scrolls, hatched panels, and interlocking meanders, as fine-grained chronological markers across named types such as Hickory Engraved, Keno Trailed and Haley Engraved.
A useful technical distinction: incising cuts the design into damp, leather-hard clay, leaving soft-edged lines with slight burrs, while engraving scratches the surface after firing, producing crisp, brittle-edged grooves that often expose lighter paste beneath. The hatch bands here read as pre-firing incision, though close examination under raking light would confirm it and may support assignment to a specific named type.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Flushing, New York and Ridgeway, Colorado, USA collection
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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 #203141
Condition
Chip to rim and some nicks to surface as well as light weathering, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and very nice with good remains of etched detail. Rich earthen deposits it interior.
Native American, Caddo, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A globular body swells from a flat, unfooted base and tapers into a tall, slightly flaring neck, the classic long-neck bottle silhouette of Caddo potters in the Southeastern Woodlands. The dark grey-brown surface was burnished before firing in a reducing atmosphere, leaving smoky mottling and a soft sheen across the shoulder. Fine incised ornament, executed with a sharp tool in the leather-hard clay, forms encircling bands of close-set diagonal hatching at the shoulder junction and again below the rim, a restrained scheme that lets the polished body carry the eye. Vessels of this type held liquids and are recovered most often from mortuary contexts, where they accompanied the dead as grave furniture, likely charged with water or other offerings for the journey beyond. Size: 9.1" H x 4.8" W x 5.1" D (23.1 cm H x 12.2 cm W x 13.0 cm D).
The Caddo speaking peoples of the Red River drainage, in what is now northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, eastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma, produced some of the most technically accomplished ceramics in North America, built entirely by hand without the wheel and fired in open or pit fires. Long-neck bottles are among their signature forms, and archaeologists use their engraved and incised motifs, spirals, scrolls, hatched panels, and interlocking meanders, as fine-grained chronological markers across named types such as Hickory Engraved, Keno Trailed and Haley Engraved.
A useful technical distinction: incising cuts the design into damp, leather-hard clay, leaving soft-edged lines with slight burrs, while engraving scratches the surface after firing, producing crisp, brittle-edged grooves that often expose lighter paste beneath. The hatch bands here read as pre-firing incision, though close examination under raking light would confirm it and may support assignment to a specific named type.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA Collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Flushing, New York and Ridgeway, Colorado, USA collection
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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 #203141
Condition
Chip to rim and some nicks to surface as well as light weathering, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and very nice with good remains of etched detail. Rich earthen deposits it interior.
