Pa. German Covered Bowl

Art Historical Context

This delicate rendering captures a traditional Pennsylvania German covered bowl, a form of folk pottery prized for its practical design and cultural heritage. Created around 1938 by artist Alvin Shiren as part of the Index of American Design, the work documents an original vessel measuring just 5 ¾ inches high and 4 ¾ inches in diameter. The project, undertaken during the Great Depression, aimed to record America’s decorative arts traditions through precise illustrations before such everyday objects disappeared from use. Shiren employed watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paperboard to achieve both accuracy and subtle texture, techniques well suited to the Index’s goal of faithful reproduction. Pennsylvania German crafts like this bowl often reflected the community’s deep-rooted customs brought from Europe, blending utility with simple decorative motifs that spoke to rural life in early America. Today, the drawing preserves not only the object’s appearance but also a snapshot of 1930s efforts to celebrate and safeguard the nation’s artistic legacy for future generations.