Lot 70B
Pre-Columbian, Mayan Territories, Late Classic, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A fine example in very nice condition. The bowl is flat-bottomed, with a pleasingly round, apple-shaped body and two projecting heads forming handles just under the rim. These heads are reptilian, with wide eyes made of applied discs of pottery, a downturned, slightly parted mouth, and huge nostrils. Their facial expressions suggest alarm and fierceness. Each head is painted deep red, in contrast to the rest of the body of the jar, which is largely black-on-orange with limited red details. These heads act as the zoomorphic faces of anthropomorphic bodies painted onto the sides of the bowl beneath the handles. These transformational figures are painted to have elaborate costumes with what are probably meant to be long feathers (a sign of royalty and wealth) streaming off the sides. Size: 7.65" L x 6.45" W x 4.85" H (19.4 cm x 16.4 cm x 12.3 cm)
Who are these lizard-headed beings? Various gods from the Mayan pantheon have both human and animal characteristics. The mythical feathered serpent may represent Kukulkan (Quetzalcoatl in Nahuatl, sometimes called Gukumatz in parts of the Maya world), a powerful "feathered serpent" venerated throughout ancient Mesoamerica. Artwork from the period indicates that performers sometimes dressed as these gods, while the ingestion of hallucinogenic drugs allowed shamans to "transform" into them. This vessel may depict either a performance or a religious state.
Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection
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#126697
- Condition: Stable crack on one side with tiny area of repair/restoration that is very difficult to see, with beautiful remaining pigment and manganese deposits over much of the surface. Very light encrustation in some areas.
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