Description:

Pre-Columbian, Valley of Mexico, Aztec Empire, ca. 1400 to 1521 CE. An attractive redware bowl with two black silhouettes of abstract monkeys, standing in opposite directions with upraised arms as if dancing, and long tails, flanking a raised central round boss that is also black against a smooth, glossy, russet red ground over the interior. The exterior presents a black band around the circumference just beneath the rim and a series of repeating incised curvilinear tail-like motifs. The monkeys may represent Ozomatli, the companion spirit of the god of music and dance, Xochipilli. In the Pre-Columbian world, the monkey was associated with games, humor, dancing, music, and drunkenness - in essence, with fun. Every year on the Aztec calendar there was a communal festival to celebrate the animal and monkey bowls like this one may have been used to imbibe during the festivities. Size: 6.875" W x 2.625" H (17.5 cm x 6.7 cm)

Provenance: ex-Claude Cassuto collection, France, acquired before 1969

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#144541

  • Condition: A few chips to rim. Pressure crack from rim down wall about 1" with some chips to exterior along this crack. Normal surface wear with some scuffs and scratches as shown. Nice burnishing marks and deposits.

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March 21, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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