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

Object Information
  • 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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