Blackened Clay Bowl And Basket

[Kevin D]

Dear Members

This one recently came from a Montana estate. The unadorned clay bowl with the tightly fitting basket supporting it has a wide flared mouth rim with a rounded body and foot.
The reddish brown interior of the bowl contrasts with the blackened exterior which shows quite a bit of scaling by the white areas.
Some of the elements of the basket design remind me of some of those from the Plateau tribes by the openwork and the weave pattern on the heavy top rim. There are four corners of the base with a round woven foot. The woven handles are sturdy, however, they were made to hold light weight supplies
Bowl measurements:
H: 5 3/4"
Mouth Opening: 6 1/4" (widest point)


Thank you for your comments

Best,

Kevin

 

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[Kevin D]

I am adding a clearer picture of the interior to show better that a "scooping" method was used to make the pot from a lump of clay. The method was employed by the Great Plains tribes, rather than the coil method of pot building which has been associated with the pottery of the other tribes.

The Plains tribes were also accustomed to placing a woven ring under their pottery for stability, which may help explain the very similarly woven ring at the base of the fully functional gathering basket
On the form of the pot, some collectors might refer to it as a "spittoon" pot with curved interior lines that follow the contours of the exterior, the base interior is also rounded rather than flat. The "spittoon" shape was commonly used by potters of different Native American tribes.