HM 101

HM 101:Insect with Pincers
AD 1000-1250, Mexico

Description: Appraisal96 Black on white bowl. White is very grey, and black is quite faded. Insect (?) figure with pincers, four stick legs, round body, and two sharp appendages behind. Surrounded by geometric design. No hole bottom. Several repaired cracks. Donated in 1982 by William P. Palmer III. From the Mimbres culture, the bowls were often found in gravesites. Certain bowls were used as mortuary vessels. These were placed over the head in burials. Their bases were ceremonially “killed” to allow the spirit of the bowl to accompany the deceased’s spirit into the future world.