This delightful item is a ceramic basket with an arching handle which is 6″ tall to the top of the handle and 5 1/2″ wide. It is from Cochiti Pueblo and dates to 1920 or earlier. It is another excellent item from the Robert Nichols collection of small pots.
It is quite well constructed; walls are reasonably thin, the pleasantly rounded shape is symmetrical with no right or left lean; the handle similarly well executed, blending organically into the main body of the basket. All of this is true, but the pot comes to life with the bird head and rain decoration cascading around the pot. This design perfectly compliments the basket’s form; it is light, humorous and delightful. What is interesting as well is that the design Unlike the pot construction, the painting is rather primitive, as if a mother or grandmother potter gave the pot to a child to decorate, not at all an unusual practice as pueblo potting is so frequently a family affair.
Add this piece to your collection then let me know if you can pass by it without smiling. I can’t.
Condition is excellent.
Provenance: The Collection of Robert Nichols
Price: $575