Jar
Former TitlePolychrome Jar
CultureHopi
Dateca. 1890
MediumClay and pigment
DimensionsOverall: 4 7/8 × 7 1/2 inches (12.38 × 19.05 cm)
Credit LineGift of John A. Morgan
Object number2002.21.3
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 207
Collections
DescriptionSmall ceramic hand-built jar painted with an image of four stylized bears encircling the form.Gallery LabelThis mysterious little jar is painted with the image of four bears, a representation rarely found in Hopi ceramics. Each animal has a heartline-the line running from the mouth to the chest, terminating in the area of the heart. Other features, such as teeth and claws are emphasized. The use of this jar is unknown; it may have had a ceremonial function or may have been made for sale to outsiders who were visiting the Hopi villages in ever increasing numbers during the last decades of the 19th century.
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