Bowl with geometric designs,

1325–1400

A late phase in the tradition known as White Mountain Redware, Fourmile pottery typically presents abstract geometric designs in the interiors of bowls outlined in white slip on a red slip ground, with forms filled in with a distinctive glittery black slip made of lead, copper, and manganese. This bowl’s painted interior incorporates motifs likely to have held symbolic meaning but difficult to interpret today. A central motif may represent a moth or butterfly. Some consider it a reference to the Aztec fire-deity Xiuhtecuhtli, although it may also allude to the region’s local mythology. It is possible that the stepedged triangles above refer to architecture or possibly to clouds.