Images(9)

Indian Head Pot

Date1991

Maker Earl Robbins (1922 - 2010)

OriginAmerica, South Carolina, Cherokee County

MediumUnglazed earthenware

DimensionsOH: 6 1/4; OW (handle to handle) 10 1/2; Diameter (body): 8in. (15.9 × 26.7 × 20.3cm)

Credit LineGift of Richard and Kathie Haas

Object number2020.900.3

DescriptionHand-built and burnished, low pot with Indian head lug handles, the heads decorated with a faint incised pattern resembling leaf veining.
Label TextThe Robbins family, to this day, creates beautiful hand-built vessels formed from local clay which they dig in Cherokee County, South Carolina, the site of the Catawba Indian reservation. The Robbinses have been creating pots in this traditional way for many consecutive generations, but the practice goes back to ancient times as their pots are formed using the tribe's historical methods including burnishing the unglazed pit fired pots with river stones to smooth the surfaces. This piece illustrates the longevity of traditional pottery practices among the Catawba Indian people.
InscribedSigned in clay on the underside in cursive: "Made By / Earl Robbins / Catawba Indian / 1991".