Description:

Pre-Columbian, Central America, Costa Rica, Nicoya, ca. 900 to 1000 CE. A charming hand-built pottery vessel in the form of a corpulent frog. The animal sits atop a round base with retracted rear legs, sinuous forelegs stretched out in front of the rotund body, and a squat spout rim projecting from the back. The protruding face presents with impressed button-shaped eyes, a rounded mouth with incised lips, and impressed nostrils. In the Pre-Columbian world frogs were associated with rain, all the sustenance it ensures, and by extension fertility. Their croaking sound was believed to herald rainstorms. In essence, frogs were thought to be powerful rainmakers. Their connotations with fertility stem from the fact that frogs lay thousands of eggs and typically assume a squatting position, as we see here, a pose commonly associated with childbirth. Size: 7" W x 7.6" H (17.8 cm x 19.3 cm).

Provenance: private California, USA collection

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#145740

  • Condition: Repairs to both front legs and both back feet, with small chips and some earthen stabilization along some break lines. Minor abrasions and nicks to body head, and rim, with two areas of fire-darkening on sides of head. Nice earthen deposits throughout.

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April 25, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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