Head Effigy Vessel

1300-1500; Mississippian; Buffware and pigment; height 18 cm (7 1/4 in.); Founders Society Purchase with funds from the Mary G. and Robert H. Flint Foundation; 1986.43

The Head Effigy Vessel addresses an ongoing relationship between the worlds of the living and the dead. The pot depicts the head and the face of a deceased ancestor, a spiritually endowed leader, whose physical remains are laden with spiritual power. "Power" has the ability to ward off disease, to increase good fortune, or to cause benefit or destruction depending upon how it is used.