Sunflower Effigies

1200–1450 CE

Not on view

\Artists formed the centers of these delicate sunflower effigies from leather-covered wood, then placed the precisely cut yucca fiber petals in a groove with resin, finally painting the petals white. Such remarkably preserved harmonious compositions, perhaps parts of a ritual offering to the dramatic Southwest landscape, are extremely rare survivals of votive works shaped from organic materials.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Sunflower Effigies
Date: 1200–1450 CE
Geography: United States, Arizona or New Mexico
Culture: Ancestral Pueblo
Medium: Gourd, hide, yucca, pigment
Dimensions: Largest: H. 4 1/4 × W. 4 1/4 × D. 1/2 in. (10.8 × 10.8 × 1.3 cm)
Classification: Miscellaneous
Credit Line: Purchase, Rogers Fund and several members of The Chairman's Council Gifts, 2018
Object Number: 2018.748a–c
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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