This bowl has been transformed into an effigy of a macaw by the simple addition of a head and tail to the standard Casas Grandes bowl shape. Macaws were prominent in Casas Grandes, where their brilliantly colored feathers were prized for ceremonial offerings. The birds were bred and raised in special structures with furnaces to keep them warm during the chilly desert nights.
The geometric designs covering the entire surface in bold diagonal patterns are found on most Southwest pottery of this time, but here are carefully chosen and placed to evoke the wings of the macaw. The crisp painting in black and red is especially fine as a result of direct influence from the Mimbres culture to the north. The expressive head with its squawking beak gives the bowl a presence greater than its small size would normally command.
Native American pottery was made by building up the vessel from a flat base using coils of clay placed on top of each other and pinched together. The artist used a pebble to smooth and polish the surface of the vessel.
The ancient cultures of the American Southwest extended into present-day state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Between 1000 and 1350, these cultures enjoyed a golden age, when influences from the sophisticated civilizations of central Mexico far to the south reached the area. The town of Casas Grandes, at the southern edge of the region, occupied an advantageous position for transmitting these influences to the north. It developed as an important trading center for such Mesoamerican products as copper bells and ornaments, sea shells, and tropical birds.
This small Macaw Bowl reveals stylistic images from many cultures in the American Southwest. Lively trade spread diverse pottery styles and designs throughout the region. Here, the stylized feather designs come from Sikyatki Pueblo in Arizona. Bird images are also found on historic pottery from the Acoma Pueblo in Arizona and on vessels from the Zia and Zuni Pueblos in New Mexico.
