Description:

Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Huari/Wari culture, ca. 700-1000 CE. This superb example of Huari goldsmithing assumes the form of a plume with jaguar features created in repousse and silver danglers. Warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World. The principal god of the earlier Moche culture wears a headdress adorned with a jaguar head and paws and important mortals donned similar headdresses. This reverence for the jaguar would continue with the Huari culture. A nocturnal animal, the jaguar sleeps in caves and dark places and creeps quietly in the forest, evoking great mystery. Oddly enough, few 'Huari artists would have actually scene jaguars as they are not indigenous to the coast. Jaguars prefer moist forest conditions. However, scholars believe that some cubs were transported over the mountains for Andean rituals and it is also possible that some jaguars wandered down the coast. The animated visage and exaggerated features suggest that the artist who created this ornament may not have been working to achieve naturalistic representation but rather to evoke the powerful symbolism of the jaguar. Breathtaking technique on this museum-quality piece! Piece itself measures 7 3/4" (just over 19.5 cm) high x 3 3/8" (8.5 cm) wide. Custom, museum-quality stand. 9-3/8"H x 4-1/2"W with stand. Provenance: Ex-Sotheby's; Ex-Lawrence Witten Collection, acquired 1960-1970. 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. #101550

  • Condition: A bit of bending and tarnish on silver danglers. Otherwise intact and near choice.

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March 19, 2015 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000