Description:

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, Protoclassic period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. An intriguing example of a hand-built redware pottery turtle-dog vessel with highly burnished surfaces enveloped with lustrous red slip pigment. The amalgam zoomorphic stands atop four slender legs that protrude from beneath a domed turtle shell with a slightly flared rim, and the upturned cylindrical spout doubles as the animal's tail. The amicable head presents with incised almond-shaped eyes, a pair of perky ears, and a tapered snout with a thin mouth, all suspended from a thick neck. Scholars posit that puppies in Colima culture had turtle shells strapped to their backs to protect them from attached by predatory birds, aggressive dogs, or larger mammalian creatures. Size: 10.75" L x 5.25" W x 5.7" H (27.3 cm x 13.3 cm x 14.5 cm)

Provenance: private Colgate, Wisconsin, USA collection, acquired in September 1973; ex-Gallery II Primitive Art, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

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#156815

  • Condition: Abrasions and light encrustations to legs, body, tail, and head, with light fading to pigment, and extensive resurfacing, otherwise intact and very good. Nice remains of pigment throughout.

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July 30, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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