Description:

Pre-Columbian, Gulf Coast of Mexico, Veracruz (Vera Cruz), ca. 3rd to 7th century CE. A set of 2 hand-built pottery zoomorphic depictions from ancient Mexico. First is a mold-formed snake head with rectangular eyes, a wide, toothy grin, and a protruding forked tongue. The recessed portion of the cylindrical body suggests this was one a vessel leg, a staff finial, or perhaps part of a musical instrument. The larger piece is a hand-built pottery canine head, perhaps a coyote, with a hollow interior that was perhaps a mask meant to adorn a larger anthropoid figure. The face is incised with several concentric striations and adorned with 4 shell-form ornaments on the central brow, all in front of massive ears and back flaps. Size (canine head): 4" L x 2.875" W x 3.4" H (10.2 cm x 7.3 cm x 8.6 cm); (snake head): 4.4" L x 2.1" W (11.2 cm x 5.3 cm)

Provenance: private Kansas, USA collection, acquired via descent from family in Jalisco, Mexico ca. the 1940s, and imported into the US in the 1970s and 1980s

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#171522

  • Condition: Canine head repaired with restoration in some areas; snake head is intact and very good. Both pieces have light encrustations and softening to some finer details. Nice preservation to overall forms.

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May 12, 2022 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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