Mimbres Classic black-on-white bowl
ca. 1000-1130 A.D.
Motifs painted on Mimbres bowls are often animals associated with water— frogs, turtles, fish and insects, for example. Artists use these surfaces to reflect on the interconnectedness of humans and animals. Here a beetle with prominent pinchers and wings fills the bowl and is contained by the bands on the rim.
Ceramic, pigment
4 in. (10.2 cm)
Diam.: 10 1/16 in.
Gift of family and friends in memory of Coe V. Malone
76.12
Provenance: [Polly Freidlander Gallery, Seattle, Washington], in 1976; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington.