Description:

Pre-Columbian, Mexico / Guatemala, transitional period from Maya to Toltec, ca. 900 to 1000 CE. A ritualistic, plumbate pottery vessel, its body incised with two iguanas or crocodiles in profile and adorned with a glaze of orange and grey hues. The crocodile, alternatively called cocodrillo, caiman, or lagarto, with its gaping mouth was symbolic of the cavern leading to the underworld. Its watery habitat led the ancients to associate with all the sustenance that water provides, hence fertility, and the crocodile was symbolic of food-producing lands among the ancients. This type of vessel was dubbed plumbate, because initially scholars believed that its glaze was comprised of lead. This turned out not to be the case, but the name stuck. Size: 5.25" at widest x 5.25" H (13.3 cm x 13.3 cm)

Provenance: Ex - Private Seattle, WA collection formed between 1940 and 1980

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#115950

  • Condition: Stable stress crack, 2 small pieces to rim reattached

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August 3, 2016 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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