HM 96

HM 96:Hunter with Five Birds
AD 1000-1250, Mexico

Description: Appraisal96 Black on white bowl. Hunter surrounded by five birds. Line rim design. Cracked and repaired. Large section missing in bottom. Chipping and flaking. Bowl is more oval than round. 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.