HM 114

HM 114:Human Figures, One Male with Two Birds Attacking Genitals
AD 1000-1250, Mexico

Description: Appraisal96 Faded black on white bowl. One human figure with two birds. Second human figure above a deer. Human is wearing a quiver, with bow and two arrows behind it, to the right. No rim design. Hole, center bottom – deer partially missing. Spots of some substance on quiver and above, on rim. 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.