Riggs Pueblo Pottery Fund

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Wooden pipe. One piece (part a) has a band of decoration near the midsection, consisting of incised and pigment-filled abstract patterns of curved, straight, and intersecting lines. At the base of this band is another smaller band with roughly circular dot incisions. The end adjacent to the decoration has a distinct mottled texture and is darker in colour. The opposite end has been whittled down to the interior layer of wood and is darker in colour. The other part (b) has been slightly whittled down at either end and has two sections of bark preserved in bands around either end of the piece. Some ash remains inside both pieces.

Feather belt. The belt consists of a waistband of woven plant fibre decorated with an overlain undulating, woven band of fibre. The borders of the waistband as well as the raised band are decorated with red pigment while the waistband itself is unpainted. The thicker end of the waistband is stained a darker hue than the rest. Extending from the waistband and attached to it by strands of fibre are numerous long white, black and speckled feathers. The feathers range in size and quality of preservation. The feathers are attached to the waistband in groups of twos.

Bone dagger. The body of the dagger is formed from a cassowary leg bone, partially cut to expose the hollow interior and shaped into a fine point. The head of the bone is wrapped with a woven plant fibre casing, continuing into five thin strands of woven fibre. These each attach to two groups of blue seeds attached to short grey and long, fine black feathers. The woven casing around the thick end of the dagger has three painted bands of orange pigment. At the bottom point is a small incised cut running in a band across the bone. The head of the bone is red, with the remainder of bone yellow-brown to brown.

Wooden shield. The front is decorated with carved and painted abstract patterns. The top and bottom sections of the shield are painted red with ochre pigment, and two thinner black bands border the carved panel of decoration that covers the majority of the shield. The carved decoration consists of two sections, top and bottom, featuring four sets of conjoined coiled shapes with a diamond pattern at the centre. These are painted red and are raised above the background, which is white. Running between the upper and lower sets of coiled shapes are two undulating raised shapes which are in-filled with red pigment. The central diamond is raised and painted red with a white diamond in relief surrounding it. Part b is a fragment of the shield which fits into the upper left corner, decorated with one half of a coiled line motif. A considerable fragment of the upper section of the shield is missing as are large portions of the borders around the sides of the shield.

Wooden drum. The outside of the drum is carved and painted with coiled motifs and possibly representations of beings with heads and hair. These are painted white and raised above the red background. The lower portion of the drum is separated from the upper by a raised, thin, white band running around the midsection. The lower end of the drum ends in four roughly pointed projections while the upper end is carved to form a rounder shape with a smaller circular opening. This top opening is darker in colour and undecorated. Part of the midsection is painted light yellow, while the others are white.

Riggs Pueblo Pottery Fund

Riggs Pueblo Pottery Fund

Museum Expedition 1931, Museum Collection Fund