HOLMES] 



VASE WITH SYMBOLIC DECORATION 



91 



small vase, fig-uro 4!:<, i.s one of the most remarkable ever obtained 

 from the mounds. It consists of two winged and crested rattlesnakes 

 which encircle the expanded part of the vessel, and of two sunflower- 

 like figures alternating with them. These designs are carefully 

 engraved with a needle-like point and are adjusted to the form of 

 the vase in a Avay that suggests forethought and experience and an 



Fig. 49 — Bottle decorated with ^urii^ni at.>igii>, ArKan^as. Ttiree-foiirtlis actual size. 



appreciation of the det'orative value of the figures. B}- dint of rub- 

 bings, photographs, and sketches, a complete di-awing of the various 

 figures has been obtained, and thej^ are given in figure 50 on a scale 

 of about one-third actual size. The rosette figures probabl}' represent 

 the sun. There can be little doubt that the figures of this design are 

 derived from the mythologic art of the people. 



Fit;. 50 — Winged serpents and sun symbols from the vase illustrated in iigure 49. 



The ancient potter of the central districts did not \'eiiture, save in 

 very rare ca.ses, to delineate the human figure graphically, and such 

 attempts as have come to hand do not do much credit to the artistic 

 capacity of the people. A specimen is .shown in figure 51, the four 

 figures in simple lines occupying the peripherj- of the body of a large 

 plain bottle of the usual dark-colored ware of eastern x\rkansas. 



