Ancient Pottery of the Mississippi Valley Part 2

Fig. 369 ill.u.s.trates a minute cup rudely made of coa.r.s.e clay. The outline is oval and slightly pointed at one end, as if intended for pouring liquids.

In Fig. 370 we have another small vessel of rude finish with two pointed lips. A much larger vessel of similar shape may be seen in the Davenport collection. The projecting pointed lip is rarely found in aboriginal pottery, although I see no reason why such a feature may not readily have been suggested to the savage by the prolonged margins of his vessels of sh.e.l.l.

Rectangular vessels are of the rude sh.e.l.l-tempered ware, and, although rare, are widely distributed.

Fig. 371 ill.u.s.trates a specimen from Pecan Point, Arkansas. The surface is rudely finished and without polish. The color is a dark gray, much flecked with large particles of white sh.e.l.l. Another example has a square rim but a rounded bottom, and is covered with a coat or slip of dark red clay.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 371.--Rectangular bowl: Pecan Point, Arkansas.--1/3.]

A small vessel from the same region as the preceding has the rim pressed in on the four sides, leaving sharp, projecting corners.

One of the most notable vessels in the collection is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 372. It is a heavy casket consisting of two parts, body and lid, and is made as usual of clay and coa.r.s.ely pulverized sh.e.l.l. It is brownish gray in color and bears some marks of the baking. It was obtained by Captain W. P. Hall from a low mound at Hale's Point, Tennessee, and is described by Mr. W. H. Pratt, in the following language: "It is of rude, irregular, quadrangular form, made in two parts. The lower, or case proper, is 12 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 5 inches deep, inside measure, the upper edge being slightly bent inward all around. The upper part or lid is of similar form and dimensions, being very slightly larger, so as to close down over the other part, about one and a half inches, and is somewhat more shallow.

As the lid does not fit very perfectly, the joint around the edge had been plastered up with clay. When found, it contained the remains of a very small child reduced to dust, except that some of the bones of the skull, jaws, and limbs retained their form, crumbling rapidly, however, upon removal and exposure to the air. There were also found two or three dozen small sh.e.l.l beads. Excepting the remains described, the case was entirely empty. The case weighs six and a quarter, and the lid just six pounds." This is one of the very few vessels that would seem to have been constructed especially for mortuary purposes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 372.--Burial casket: Hale's Point, Tennessee.--1/4.]

I wish to add to the list of eccentric forms a singular example from the collection of J. R. Thibault, of Little Rock, Arkansas. As shown in Fig. 373 it is an oblong, trough-like vessel with flat projecting wings at the ends. It is extremely well-finished, with thin walls, symmetrical form, and high polish. The color is quite dark and the material is as usual. The engraved design consists of incised lines, which form a number of rectangular compartments extending around the exterior surface of the body. The wings are perforated. The form of this vessel suggests the wooden trays of some modern tribes. A similar example, which is ill.u.s.trated in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, is of much inferior interest, being plain and rude.

_Life forms._--A very large percentage of the bowls of this district are modified in such a way as to resemble, more or less closely, the form of some living creature--bird, beast, or reptile. Especial attention has been given to the heads. These are modeled in the round and attached to the rim or side, while other parts of the animal appear upon different portions of the vessel.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 373.--Trough-shaped vessel: Arkansas.--1/3.

[_National Museum._]]

It will be difficult to determine the origin of this curious practice.

We shall not be able to say that it came from the elaboration of handles, simply to please fancy, for the reason that vessels of this cla.s.s are rarely known to have had simple handles; nor from the modification of simple ornaments, as such were but little used. It is still less probable that animal forms were first modeled independently, and afterwards changed in such a way as to serve as vessels. There are no examples of animal forms in clay independent of vessels. It would not be consistent with primitive methods of procedure to copy nature direct, at least until some mystic significance had become attached to the form employed. It is possible, however, that the origin of this practice is not to be found within the plastic art itself, but in the shapes of antecedent and co-existent vessels of other materials in which life forms had been employed; or in the use of natural objects themselves as utensils, the original forms not having been lost sight of and having in time suggested the employment of other natural forms. Examples of the latter cla.s.s may be cited.

Sh.e.l.ls were primitive vessels. The hard cases of seeds and fruits were also much used. These were doubtless antecedent to vessels of clay.

They were the natural models for the potter, the carver in wood or stone, and their employment as such served to lead up gradually to a more realistic and general use of natural shapes in works of art to which they were not essential features. The importance of the various animal forms was increased by their a.s.sociation with religious ideas.

Nearly all the vessels of this cla.s.s presented in the following ill.u.s.trations come from the vicinity of Pecan Point, Arkansas.

Clay vessels imitating both marine and fresh-water sh.e.l.ls are occasionally obtained from the mounds and graves of the Mississippi Valley. The conch sh.e.l.l appears to have been a favorite model, especially in its modified form, Fig. 374, _a_ and _b_. The clam sh.e.l.l is also imitated in _c_ and _d_. The more conventional forms of these vessels are exceedingly interesting, as they point out the tendencies and possibilities of modification. An instructive example ill.u.s.trated in _e_ has four groups of nodes, each, consisting of a large central node with four or five smaller ones, surrounding it, set about the rim, the conception being that of four sh.e.l.ls joined in one vessel, with the noded apexes turned outward and the bases inward.

A still more highly conventionalized form is shown in _f_. The cup is unsymmetrical in outline, and has a few imperfect nodes near one corner, but its resemblance to a sh.e.l.l would hardly be recognized by one unacquainted with more realistic renderings of like subjects. In _g_ we have an imitation of a sh.e.l.l cup placed within a plain cup.

[Ill.u.s.trations: FIG. 374.--Clay vessels imitating sh.e.l.ls.]

A very good ill.u.s.tration of this cla.s.s of vessel is given in Fig. 375.

It is evidently intended to imitate a trimmed conch sh.e.l.l. The apex and a few of the surrounding nodes are shown at the right, while the base or spine forms a projecting lip at the left. A coil of clay forms the apex. This is carried outward in a sinistral spiral to the noded shoulder. We have here a suggestion of the origin of a favorite decorative motive, the scroll, a clew, however, which the paucity of examples makes it difficult to follow up satisfactorily.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 375.--Bowl imitating a modified conch sh.e.l.l.--1/3.]

Although we may not be able to arrive at any definite conclusion in regard to the origin and significance of the practice of modeling life forms in clay, we are certain of one thing, that it became an important feature in the potter's art, and that in due course of time the practice broke loose from the restraints of birth and tradition and a.s.serted its freedom in the production of any form that superst.i.tion or fancy happened to select.

The artist probably did not follow nature with great accuracy in all the details of species and varieties, but some definite model must have been in view, in nearly all cases, and such characters as came to be regarded as essential to that creature were never lost sight of, consistency being a most notable characteristic of the art of a savage or barbaric people.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 376.--Frog-shaped bowl: Craigshead Point, Arkansas.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 377.--Frog-shaped bowl: Pecan Point, Arkansas.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 378.--Animal-shaped bowl: Arkansas.--1/3.]

The sun-fish was a favorite model, but its form was generally employed in vessels with upright necks. A number of examples occur in the next section. Of reptilian forms the frog seems to have been the favorite.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 379.--Bird-shaped bowl: Arkansas.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 380.--Bird-shaped bowl: Arkansas.--1/3.]

Few examples occur, however, in the shallower vessels. In the bowl ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 376, the various members of the body are boldly modeled, and appear about the most expanded portion of the vessel.

The rim is ornamented with a series of notches, and two small loops connect the rim with the head and tail of the creature. The legs are characteristic, and the long toes extend beneath the body. The bottom of the vessel is flat. The make and finish are as usual, but the surface has been painted red. A similar vessel is shown in Fig. 377, the view being taken from the front. It is well polished and has a rounded bottom. The color is dark.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 381.--Bird-shaped bowl: Arkansas.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 382.--Bowl with grotesque heads: Arkansas.--1/3.]

Another remarkable example of this use of animal forms is seen in the vessel presented in Fig. 378. A deep globular bowl of dark, well-polished ware is made to represent the head of an animal. A long snout, with teeth and nostrils and accompanied by a pair of k.n.o.bs for eyes, embellishes the right side--as seen in the cut--ears appear at the front and back, and a circular node standing, perhaps, for the severed neck, is placed at the left. The head has a decidedly porcine look, yet it may have been intended for a racc.o.o.n or an opossum.

Fig. 379 ill.u.s.trates a large shallow bowl or pan of ordinary form and finish. The head of a bird resembling a turkey is attached to one side, with the bill turned inward. On the opposite side there is a small handle-like projection that represents the bird's tail.

A vessel of somewhat extraordinary form is shown in Fig. 380. The bowl is smaller and deeper than the last, and serves as the body of a bird, the head and tail of which are of unusual proportions. The neck is very long and thick and is gracefully curved, but the head is not modeled with sufficient care to make apparent the species intended.

The vessel shown in Fig. 381 is also finished in imitation of a bird.

In this case the bird is placed upon its back, the neck and head being looped up to form a sort of handle on one side, while the legs answer a like purpose on the opposite side. The wings are represented by a number of lines rudely engraved upon the sides of the vessel. The resemblance of this bowl to the wooden basins made by Northwest Coast Indians is very striking.

The vessel shown in Fig. 382 is one of the most unique yet brought to light. It is a heavy, rather rudely finished bowl, to the rim of which two grotesque heads, apparently of nondescript character, have been attached. One resembles the oft-occurring plumed serpent of aboriginal American art in a number of its characters. The other has a double comb somewhat resembling that of a domestic fowl. No description can convey as clear a conception of these monstrosities as the accompanying ill.u.s.tration.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 383.--Heads of birds.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 384.--Grotesque heads.]

A good degree of skill is shown in the modeling of varieties of birds.

A fair idea of the accuracy of these potters in this direction will be conveyed by the series of heads shown in Fig. 383. Several species of ducks are apparently differentiated, one of which, resembling the summer duck closely, is given in _a_, while the head given in _b_, although possibly also intended for a duck, is much like a grouse or partridge. The pigeon or dove is seen in _c_, the vulture or eagle in _d_, and the owl in _e_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 385.--Bowl with grotesque head: Pecan Point, Arkansas.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 386.--Bowl with grotesque head: Pecan Point, Arkansas.--1/2.]

It would be difficult to imagine more grotesque and outlandish heads than those attached to the bowls ill.u.s.trated in Figs. 385 and 386. The vessels themselves are of the usual type, rudely modeled and finished and very heavy. The first is dark in color, the other red. The strange animal here represented is certainly not a close copy of anything in nature. It is characterized by upright ears, a high bulbous snout and a grinning mouth. The teeth in some cases resemble the fangs of a serpent. The eyes consist of rounded nodes; and often curved lines, incised or in relief, extend from them or the mouth down the sides of the neck. The tail at the opposite end of the vessel is turned upward and coiled. The type specimens of this form are from Pecan Point, Arkansas.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 387.--Bowl with grotesque handle: Scanlon's Landing, Arkansas.--1/3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 388.--Animal-shaped bowl: Arkansas.--1/3.]

The peculiar character of this cla.s.s of heads is well shown in the series given in Fig. 384. My observations have led me to suspect that they may be the result of attempts to model in clay the mythical plumed serpent which is so graphically delineated in the engraving upon the little vase shown in Fig. 407. The fact that in one case legs have been added to the base of the body militates against this theory.

Their resemblance to the gargoyle heads of mediaeval architecture suggests the possibility of early European influence.

If possible, a still more novel conceit is embodied in the handle of the vessel shown in Fig. 387. It can be likened to nothing in nature more readily than to the antler of an elk. This vessel is of a dark brownish color, and is but slightly polished. A duplicate specimen of inferior size and finish has recently been added to the National Museum from a grave at Pecan Point.

Similar to the preceding in general appearance are a number of bowls or deep pans, embellished with the heads of animals. A very good example is given in Fig. 388. The head has a decided resemblance to that of a female deer or fawn. The tail appears upon the opposite side of the basin, and is pendant, as in nature. Legs have been added to the base of the bowl; these terminate beneath the body in cloven hoofs.