We recently acquired several beautiful intact olla from a private collection which was formed between 1985 and 1996. This beautiful Tularosa olla measures 15.5" wide and 12.5" tall; exhibits jet black paint without any flaws except a small chip on the rim visible in the photos. There are no cracks or any restoration of any kind, a truly mint piece! The design is excellent and the line work exceptional. Please note the complex nature of the design visible in the photo from the top.

Over the past four years the availability of superb black and white ollas has "dried up" as the collectors which have nice examples do not wish to part with them. Opportunities like this therefore are not common.

Every once in awhile a really special completely original Mesa Verde bowl comes along - this is one of those. Measuring a large 12.2 inches wide and 5.75 inches deep, it exhibits a typical light gray slip with atypical jet black paint - there is no restoration or addition of paint. The interior design has two large bands; the upper one a Mesa Verde diamond pattern each having two interlocked stepped elements. The lower band has lines that generally run in a forty-five degree pattern. A key element of the Mesa Verde bowls is the ticking marks on the rim; there are four sets of three ticks each. At the bottom center of the bowl there is a raised dimple (see indentation photo of the exterior bottom) also a characteristic of Mesa Verde bowls.

The edge of the bowl was struck causing one piece to become dislodged. It has been glued back in and just below it is a fine crack that runs toward the center.

This is one extremely large olla!!! Black Mesa is a type which was a precursor to Kayenta and dates from 875 - 1025AD. The ollas which are known are generally much smaller than this fine example. Please review the three pages from the Smithsonian Bulletin Number 65, Published in 1919.

1. Frontace Page (1st Picture) PHOTO 4

2. Page 130 (2nd Picture), "Shapes (2) Globular body with high neck" "Height averages 15", greatest diameter 14". PHOTO 5

3. BULLETIN 65, PLATE 53, the top olla is virtually identical to the one being offered. The example in the book is broken and glued with significant erosion problems at the bottom. Also the example in the book is only half of the volume of this 18 inch example. PHOTO 6

When I purchased this olla it was intact. While moving it from a vehicle the box slipped out of my hand and hit the ground causing the olla to split horizontally into just two pieces - about half and half. It has been glued together and the crack is filled. AS A RESULT OF THIS I HAVE LOWERED THE PRICE FROM $18,500 TO $9,800 NET. Unless you tell no one but you will know the two pieces were rejoined!

The olla looks absolutely the same as when it was whole. It is still a magnificent piece and far better than the example in the Smithsonian's book. The workmanship on this olla is excellent for the period and there is only one small piece broken out at the very bottom … this was generally caused by freezing water in the caves.

Offered here is an extremely rare 100% original Anasazi bracelet which is made from New Mexico fluorite strung on cotton cord. This piece was discovered in the fall of 1982 by Chris Robinson (General Hospital fame) and two of his friends when they were excavating a ruin on a private ranch just south of Reserve New Mexico. The bracelet was found inside a small plain ware jar which accounts for the excellent state of preservation. There are four fluorite pieces carved in the shape of bear claws and three cylindrical beads threaded on a cord of wrapped cotton. The New Mexico fluorite material has been confirmed by Wayne Thompson who is a well known mineral expert.

Anasazi and Hohokam carved jewelry pieces are highly coveted by institutions and collectors alike … they are virtually never encountered in such a state of preservation. Needless to say this is one of the most important surviving items of prehistoric Native American jewelry extant.

Any fetish of a Mountain Lion (note long tail over the top of the back) from the Native American cultures is scarce much less an original Mimbres example which dates from 950-1150AD. Measuring 3.25" x 1.375" x 1.75" it is made from fine sandstone and exhibits a large amount of the original paints of yellow, purple red and turquoise (note the colored mask on the face). The pointed ears, the four feet and the mouth show a significant amount of wear from years of use. The right ear has been reattached but other than that it is in superb condition. This is a piece that should appeal not only to the collectors in the prehistoric fields but also effigy and fetish collectors. A very rare item!

To say this bowl in stunning is probably an understatement. This perfect mint bowl was discovered in the 1970’s near Grants New Mexico and was immediately sold to one of the three top collectors in the United States. After several years he sold it to a collector in Tucson Arizona who kept it until it was sold back a couple of years ago to the original collector.

The bowl measures 11.25 inches x 9.3 inches by 6.5 inches deep; it is as clean and fresh as the day it was made almost 1000 years ago! Mimbres bowls are known for the imagery but other traditions of the Anasazi rarely placed images in the bowls... another reason this bowl is so special.

The bowl offered here has a special place with me. During my serious collecting years from mid 1996 through 2001 there were four or five pieces that were in other collections that I intensely coveted. Even after my collecting turned into a small business the desires for these certain pieces never waned. The Four Mile bowl offered here is one of those five pieces; I was able to acquire it a couple of weeks ago and now make it available to one lucky collector or institution.

The bowl measures 10.8 inches and 4.9 inches deep, it is broken and glued from five large pieces and has no plaster restoration; there is a rim chip which is clear in the photos. Four Mile bowls often time have the white (kaolin) weakened due to contact with water and dirt; this is true of this bowl so much of the white on the interior figures has been enhanced. What is so amazing is the images of two whales (note the rectangular tales), an interpretation which is agreed to by many knowledgeable scholars and collectors. The bowl was discovered in 1974 by Bob Skousen at the Pinedale ruin which is to the southwest of Showlow Arizona. What this clearly proves is that at least some of these people traveled great distances, on this occasion to either what is now the Gulf of California or possibly the Pacific coast itself. Upon their return they chronicled what they saw, in this case two whales. This very famous bowl is pictured in Bill Schenck’s book “Re-Creating the World” where it is a full page picture in Plate 71.