Lot 34, Auction 4/12/2026: Mississippian Hume Engraved Bottle

$650.00

In stock

Native American, Southeastern United States, Mississippian culture, ca. 1400 to 1650 CE. A commanding Mississippian pottery water bottle, shaped with clean authority and finished with Hume Engraved lines that still cut sharply across the clay. The form is classic and deliberate: a rounded, full-bodied chamber rising into a tall cylindrical neck, designed for controlled pouring and easy carrying. Around the shoulder runs a band of repeating triangles, like a serrated crown, while vertical engraved registers descend in long panels filled with chevrons and angular hatching. The decoration is not scattered or casual – it is planned, measured, and executed with the steady hand of an experienced potter. This style is consistent with Hume Engraved, a celebrated late Mississippian bottle tradition in which vessels were more than containers. Size: 7.8″ Diameter x 9.8″ H (19.8 cm x 24.9 cm)

Bottles like this moved through a world of public ceremony, gift exchange, and communal feasting, where the quality of a vessel could speak for the standing of its owner and the skill of its maker. In that setting, geometry was not simply ornament – it was visual order, an encoded language of identity and belonging. The surface preserves a rich range of firing tones, from warm earthen brown to darker fire clouding that drifts across the body like smoke. With its bold profile and disciplined engraved design, this bottle stands as a strong example of Mississippian ceramic artistry at its most refined.

Condition: Some light surface wear with areas of nicks and abrasions as shown, but, otherwise, intact and excellent. Scattered earthen deposits throughout and old collection label on underside of base.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private New York, USA collection, acquired October 2013 via a private seller

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all purchases.

We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.