Lot 77B
Native American, Midwest, Eastern Woodlands, Illinois, Rock Island County, ca. 1100 BCE. A finely crafted triangular concave saddle-face bannerstone, masterfully shaped from speckled granite and discovered in Rock Island County, Illinois. The stone's naturally variegated surface presents a pleasing interplay of black, gray, cream, and warm tan tones, the speckling distributed in an organic pattern that enhances its visual appeal. Both faces have been smoothly carved and carefully finished, the subtle curvature and cleanly defined edges reflecting the work of a skilled Archaic lapidary artisan. While this example relates to the primary classification outlined by Byron W. Knoblock in "Bannerstones of the North American Indian" (1939) for triangular forms, it corresponds more closely to the "blending form" illustrated on page 255, Plate 120. The cross section of this specimen flares slightly more than Knoblock's comparative example (second from left), suggesting a subtle subcategory within the broader type.
The Rock Island County provenance firmly situates it within a known distribution zone for such bannerstones, with blending-form examples most heavily concentrated in the western halves of Tennessee and Kentucky, yet present throughout the middle Mississippi Valley. Knoblock notes that blending forms are often fashioned from speckled or spotted granite, and this piece is an exemplary case. Its exceptional preservation, with crisp contours and an undamaged perforation, allows the viewer to fully appreciate both its functional and aesthetic qualities. Likely serving as a counterweight or atlatl component, such an object may also have held ceremonial or symbolic significance, its elegant geometry, fine polish, and enduring beauty marking it as a prestige item in Archaic exchange and ritual life.
Provenance: Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, purchased in January 2001; ex-John Malloy of Spanish and Indian Trading Company, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA; ex-Philips Auction House, London, England, UK; ex-collection of Byron Knoblock
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#196201
- Condition: Intact and excellent with three old labels; two of which name find spot as "Rock Island County, Illinois."
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