Prehistoric Anasazi Mimbres Bowl

Prehistoric Anasazi Mimbres red on white pottery bowl. Designed with a pair of triangles enclosing solid and fine-line geometric elements, restored. Ink collection number on the underside: 6754. Exhibited: Decoding Mimbres Painting: Ancient Ceramics of the American Southwest, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, May 20 - December 2, 2018. Illustrated: Berlant, Tony, and Mauer, Evan, Decoding Mimbres Painting: Ancient Ceramics of the American Southwest, Prestel Publishing, New York, in association with LACMA, 2018, p. 99, described as "Bowl with Abstraction of Datura Blossom." In the chapter "Identifying Mimbres Artists" it is suggested by the authors that "Our close examination of Mimbres ceramics has led us to conclude that a very small number of master artists in each generation painted all the finest Mimbres bowls... Given the sophistication and variety of compositions, it is clear that Mimbres artists endeavored to devise original and unusual paintings that expressed individuality and dramatic invention." Ibid. p. 97. Based on criteria further discussed in that chapter, the authors have attributed the present lot as an example of the work of "The Morphing Flower Artist." Ex. Heritage Auctions, Dallas, TX, American Indian Art, Pre-Columbian & Tribal Signature Auction, sale 5254, 8 July 2016, lot 70063; Property from the Collection of Tony Berlant