Description:

Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Maya, Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A set of 6 hand-built terracotta molds used to create a variety of different pottery effigies. The first mold shows a large head with an elaborate headdress while the next 4 were used to create different lordly figures. The largest mold was able to create the top half of a deer head, presumably in conjunction with a mandible-shaped lower half. The molds the Maya used to create their sculptures en masse are rarer than the items they produced! The molds might not only have shaped clay, but also food or other malleable substances like incense or wax! Size of largest (deer head): 7.5" L x 4.2" W x 2.9" H (19 cm x 10.7 cm x 7.4 cm)

Provenance: ex-Marc Amiguet Schmitt estate, Amiguet's Ancient Art, Evansville, Indiana, USA, acquired prior to October 3, 2006

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#174876

  • Condition: Repairs to 2 figural molds, with chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Losses to peripheries of 3 molds; deer head is intact and excellent. Each piece has light abrasions and nicks, minor softening to some finer details, and light earthen deposits. Great preservation to deer head mold!

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November 17, 2022 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
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$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000