Steven Quarrell 1992 Mimbres-Style Lizard Tray, Signed #002 View Watchlist >
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Lot # G380
System ID # 30231238
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End Date
10 Watching
Steven Quarrell 1992 Mimbres-Style Lizard Tray, Signed #002
Hand-coiled and hand-painted by Steven Paul Quarrell (1963–2009) of the Deming and San Lorenzo, New Mexico area, this flat circular tray renders an anthropomorphic lizard in black and terra-cotta on a cream slip ground, framed by a double-line border. The figure — splayed limbs, banded legs, diamond-marked belly, and a sweeping tail tipped in orange-red — draws directly on the design vocabulary of Classic Mimbres Black-on-White ware (ca. 1000–1150 CE), executed with confident, refined linework. The reverse carries the incised signature "Steve Q." with a crossed-arrow device, the date "92," and edition number "#002."
Quarrell worked in native New Mexican clay with hand-ground native pigments, a choice that separates his pieces from the commercial reproductions that flood the Southwest market. The Mimbres tradition itself originates in the Mogollon culture of the Mimbres River Valley in southwestern New Mexico — the same ground Quarrell worked from, giving this tray genuine geographic and cultural resonance. As an early, low-number piece from 1992, #002 sits near the start of his documented output; with his passing in 2009, that output is finite.
Significance & Rarity
Quarrell's work appears infrequently on the secondary market. The anthropomorphic lizard is among the most sought-after Mimbres design types, carrying crossover appeal to Southwest art, archaeology, and folk art buyers. The combination of a signed, dated, and numbered early piece in authentic regional materials gives this tray stronger footing among regional collectors than the typical unsigned reproduction.
CONDITION
Excellent. No damage. Paint surfaces and slip ground are clean, with crisp linework throughout.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Diameter: 6 3/8"
- Depth: 1 1/2"
- Materials: Native New Mexican clay, hand-ground native pigments
- Construction: Hand-coiled, hand-painted
- Signed, dated 1992, numbered #002 (verso)
- Campbell's Cream of Celery Can (10 1/2 oz) Shown for Scale — Not Included
