Spindle Whorl Date Unknown

This small, dark brown, disc-shaped "Spindle Whorl" is a ceramic artifact, of unknown date, created by an anonymous artist. This object, from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is a small-scale, hand-crafted example of a tool used for spinning yarn, where the spindle would have been inserted into the hole. The circular decorations around the edge of the disc suggest that the whorl had a decorative purpose, too. The small size of the object indicates it was likely used for spinning fine, delicate threads.