Jar with Horned Serpents and Interlocking, Hatched-and-Black Stepped Designs

Art Institute of Chicago

Jar with Horned Serpents and Interlocking, Hatched-and-Black Stepped Designs

Ceramist unknown (Ancestral Puebloan), Socorro Black-on-whiteLinkedCulture matchlcp-650a6b2d3d26

Date
950–1400
Medium
Earthenware and pigment
Culture
New Mexico
Department
Arts of the Americas
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
187545

Horned or plumed serpents, mythical entities associated with the life-giving power of water, have an ancient history in the art of the American Southwest, Midwest, and Southeast. On the shoulder of this vessel, twin highly abstract serpents stretch out from a central point, from which rises a series of superimposed stepped chevrons. The chevron is a symbolic motif widely associated with mountains, springs, rivers, and rising thunderstorms. The overall composition of this jar suggests the symbolic representation of a sacred landscape and the ritual summoning of water.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
Gift of Edward and Betty Harris

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Object type
AAT300386308

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