Published Mississippian Hooded Owl Effigy Tripod Bottle, Native American

Native American, Mississippian culture. A rare and remarkably intact Mississippian pottery bottle formed as a stylized hooded owl, its rounded body rising from three short tripod legs and tapering upward into a narrow neck. The vessel's surface is left in natural buff clay, emphasizing the sculptural modeling of the effigy form. The owl's facial features are subtly rendered along the upper neck, with raised ridges suggesting the brow and beak. The overall form is dominated by the swelling, globular body, which likely symbolized both the owl's compact physical presence and the functional capacity of the vessel. Owl imagery held powerful symbolic meaning in Mississippian belief systems. In Southeastern Native American cosmology, owls were frequently associated with the night, the spirit world, and the realm of ancestors. Their ability to move silently through darkness made them potent supernatural figures, often connected with death, transformation, and spiritual guardianship. Size: 7.8" L x 7" W x 9.2" H (19.8 cm x 17.8 cm x 23.4 cm) Effigy vessels of this type were typically produced for ceremonial or mortuary contexts rather than everyday use. Found in Mississippi County, Missouri, this example reflects the artistic traditions of the Mississippian world, where animal effigy ceramics played an important role in ritual life and embodied the spiritual relationships between humans and the natural world. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 201395

Estimate:£632.77

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