Square Red Sandstone Head Container

Collectibles : Folk Art : Precolumbian

 

This square red sandstone head may have once served as a cup or bowl for liquids or as a mortar in which foodstuffs were ground. I judge it to be very old, perhaps precolumbian, because much of the left eye and an end of the headband have been removed by repeated lifting (photos 5 and 6). Sandstone is so soft that even slight friction causes it to wear away. I discovered this by accident when I picked it up with my right hand and noticed that when my fingers were inside the bowl my right thumb fit exactly over the worn area of the left eye. The head is almost 6" high, 4-3/4" wide, and 4.5" deep. The head has a headband around the forehead, and what I think represents hair down either side.

Item ID: 2345