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.

One does not have to say much about this Bitahochi (C. 1325 - 1400AD) bowl as it speaks for itself. In my opinion it is the best design and the best execution of any Anasazi piece that I have handled in the last 10 years and one of the three best that I have seen. It measures 8.5 inches wide and 3 inches deep, broken and glued with 1% - 2% restoration.

Note the perfect circle which has been placed off center in the bowl and encompasses part of the interior rim; inside the circle are hundreds of perfectly executed tiny squares, each with a dot inside. The edges of the interior design are so perfect it is impossible to imagine this being done without templates or tools other than brushes. As if this was not good enough, there are four intriguing designs on the exterior, one in each 90 degree quadrant.

It is hard to believe that this beautiful piece of art was created over 800 years ago by a people that did not have any graphic tools other than brushes made from either yucca or hair.

Feather boxes were believed to have been generally made with perishable materials though a very few are known made from ceramic. The kivas, which were built into the ground in a circular fashion, had either a shelf or sometimes niches in the walls where precious items were kept or displayed. Birds of prey feathers were highly prized and special ones were placed into a box-like-holder and displayed on the shelf or in the niche in the kiva.