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"Bearded Man with Sword" A.D. 1150

Site: Galza Ruin, Mimbres Valley, New Mexico

Collection: Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum

Limited Edition of 45. Issue Price $150.00 Current Price $250.00
Size: 6.0  x 3.0"

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Historical Note:

The bowls were unearthed in the late 1920's at the Galza Ruin, one of the earliest Mimbres villages in southwestern New Mexico. The time span of this ruin dates from A.D. 550 - 1150, almost 1000 burials were excavated. Many of the ceramics collected by the University of Minnesota and now housed in the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum.

This bowl was found with bowl #3 in our gallery collection and reflects what we (Legends in Clay) believe are examples of a story passed down by the early ancestors of the Mimbres people. In this bowl a trading or bartering scene is taking place. A sword that has appeared in many Mimbres bowls for the first time transforms into a man and the mystery of this symbol is finally revealed in this bowl telling the first part of a very historical event that took place in 600 B.C. and completes the story found in bowl #3.

Note that the man who has transformed from the sword is holding a box that has 5 divisions representing the brass plates. He is also holding of a sword defending the box he is holding; on his head is a series of fish bones noting he is a man of authority. The fat man in the trading scene is holding a basket on his head and is fatness is an indicator that the basket was heavy. On his face are three lines indicating that there were three individuals involved in the trading although the artist of this bowl only drew one person.

You will note in the bowl G3 that the man with the beard has 12 notches in his head dress, showing his higher degree of authority than the man in G4. Also note his nature of dress..His clothes look a little large for him and looking close you can see armor plates and fasteners around his midsection. He is holding up a sword and looking upward as to be communicating. This person we believe to be Nephi depicted in the bowl. Both of these bowls can be seen in the book "To Touch the Past The Painted Pottery of the Mimbres People" Hudson Hill Press, NY in association with Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota.

If you would like to learn more about these great finds are have any questions please feel free to email me. We have spent the last 15 years studying and replicating the art of the Mimbres people who lived in southwestern New Mexico. Compare these two bowls to the story of the Brass Plates found in the Book of Mormon and discover for yourself why we were so excited to discover these bowls as they came out of storage of the museum basement in 1991 having been sealed up since the 1920's.