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Black lines crossing the face were painted on this example. The spout on top stands in a raised applique that tapers to a point at the back of the head, suggesting a roached hairdo. The remainder of the shaved head is painted red. The ears are pierced to hold multiple decorations. A very similar jar, possibly made by the same artist, came from the Fortune Mound in nearby Poinsett County, Arkansas. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition HistoryTreasures from the Thaw Collection, Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
ProvenanceExcavated from the Parkin Site, Cross County, Arkansas; Tom Moxley, Memphis, Tennessee; Jack Roberts, Tunica, Mississippi; Jon C. Griffin, Columbia, South Carolina
BibliographyHathcock, Roy. Ancient Indian Pottery of the Mississippi River Valley. Camden, Arkansas: Hurley Press, 1976, p.219, fig.589.
Dye, David H. and Camille Wharey. The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Artifacts and Analysis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989. pp. 331-332.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.13.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.30.
Advertisement for "Treasures from the Thaw Collection" at the Wheelwright Museum. American Indian Art Magazine. Vol.25, No.4 (Autumn 2000): 75.
Cherry, 2009, p. 17, fig. 34.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 39.
Fognell, Eva. "Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection." American Indian Art Magazine 36, no. 4 (Autumn 2011): 76-85, pg. 83, fig. 13.
Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 12.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 8.
Culture
Oneota
Effigy Jar
Date1550-1650
DimensionsOverall: 7 3/4 × 7 1/4 × 7 in. (19.7 × 18.4 × 17.8 cm)
Object numberT0003
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextBuff-colored ceramic jars representing human heads were recovered from several Late Mississippian sites in northeastern Arkansas and adjacent parts of Missouri. Their slit-like eyes and shriveled open mouths suggest severed heads. It is known that enemy heads were displayed as trophies in the rituals surrounding warfare, although it is possible that these ceramics portray members of the community that produced these pots. Certain jars may depict members of the elite and several show traces of face painting or incised lines representing tattoos.Black lines crossing the face were painted on this example. The spout on top stands in a raised applique that tapers to a point at the back of the head, suggesting a roached hairdo. The remainder of the shaved head is painted red. The ears are pierced to hold multiple decorations. A very similar jar, possibly made by the same artist, came from the Fortune Mound in nearby Poinsett County, Arkansas. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition HistoryTreasures from the Thaw Collection, Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.
Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection, Mitchell Gallery, St John's College, Annapolis, MD, February 28, 2020 - April 26, 2020.
ProvenanceExcavated from the Parkin Site, Cross County, Arkansas; Tom Moxley, Memphis, Tennessee; Jack Roberts, Tunica, Mississippi; Jon C. Griffin, Columbia, South Carolina
BibliographyHathcock, Roy. Ancient Indian Pottery of the Mississippi River Valley. Camden, Arkansas: Hurley Press, 1976, p.219, fig.589.
Dye, David H. and Camille Wharey. The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Artifacts and Analysis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989. pp. 331-332.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.13.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.30.
Advertisement for "Treasures from the Thaw Collection" at the Wheelwright Museum. American Indian Art Magazine. Vol.25, No.4 (Autumn 2000): 75.
Cherry, 2009, p. 17, fig. 34.
Fognell, Eva, ed. Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 39.
Fognell, Eva. "Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection." American Indian Art Magazine 36, no. 4 (Autumn 2011): 76-85, pg. 83, fig. 13.
Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 12.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 8.
On View
Not on view1825-1850
c. 1780
