Maverick Mist

Prayer bowl, Cochini, New Mexico ca. 1820, and Jar, Hopi Arizona ca. 1890
Clay and pigment

"This 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 Hopi villages in ever increasing numbers during the last decades of the 19th century."

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