Posted 9 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
It has been awhile. Picking has been pretty good lately, but not much time to list. Here is one that I am looking for some opinions on. The piece comes with a little background info. so here it goes....
This was purchased from a man who bought it directly from the estate of Robert Humphrey Forbes (1867-1968). A little more on Forbes here:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Humphrey_Forbes
In short, Robert H. Forbes was a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Arizona in the late 1800's. So the guy I bought this from had no idea what this was, but he gave me a slip of paper that he found inside the item when it was purchased. You can see the slip of paper in image 2 above. It says:
"E6
EARTHENWARE DRINKING CUP
EXCAVATED BY DR REISNER FROM A TOMB OF THE 13TH DYNAST ABOUT 1750 BC
CAIRO 1920"
So, it seems Reisner and Forbes were both possibly in Cairo around 1920, and something could have been exchanged. But I doubt it was this vessel. To me, this small jug looks Cochise...a guess, but a guess with a little research conducted. Forbes did study the Cochise and wrote several articles. He also lived in Arizona and worked at the University. This is like an Indiana Jones story.
So.....I wonder if this slip of paper got mixed up and was placed in the wrong jug? Or maybe this is not even an antique and the whole story is BS. That is why I am looking for some educated opinions. Enjoy!
great piece!!
Thanks sean!!!
melanie, mike, nuts, racer and sean thanks for the loves!
"Educated opinions" leaves me out . LOL !!
blunder, whether you consider your opinions educated, they are still the best. Always appreciate it man.
In that case, I think the potter was having fantasies of what he would like to do to his wife after they had a fight. Actually, I have 6 yrs university & aviation tech. school. I'm over qualified for retirement !
The paper has nothing to do with the pottery. This is a Mohave "effigy cup" made for the tourist/souvenir market in the early 1900s. It's from the southern California/Arizona border area. The railroad came through Needles, CA, in 1883, which marked the beginning of the souvenir pottery production for Mohave women. According to "Mojave Pottery, Mohave People" by Jill Leslie Furst (the definitive reference on the subject) cups with handles weren't made by the Mohave before this.
Popular items included dolls, featuring this same type of face and body painting (the red colors) and facial tattoos (black). All had similar wide-open eyes with the black pupil. Fingers and toes were simple little slashes in the clay.
Can't win them all, BHock !
Canyon Road, thanks for clarifying. I appreciate your taking the time to explain. I have a few books on the subject, I will have to educate myself....blunder!
It's a great little item, and an unusual form. It's not uncommon for the dolls to sell in the $1000-2000 range. Smaller pieces like mugs go for less, but this one might surprise you.
Interesting, I had a feeling it was something different than advertised. Like I said I thought Cochise..not because I have any knowledge on the subject. Only because of similar items in a book I have. I am happy, I paid less than $50.00 for it. So that is good news, for now I will hold on to it.
thanks for the loves katherine, antiquerose ,budek, elisa, kyra, manikin, aura, vetraio, blunder, jean and violet!
aura, mani, kyra, elisa, budek, antique, and katherines, thanks for the loves!!!
what an incredibly cool piece this is!!
ho2cultcha, thanks for the comment! Yeah it is a cool piece, when I saw it I just had a feeling it was a great deal. We will see what happens with it!