Description:

Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, early Nazca, ca. 250 BCE to 125 CE. A wonderful and highly-burnished polychrome bottle with twin spouts connected by a bridged handle. Presenting a mesmerizing iconographic program around the circumference, this vessel features the so-called "Serpentine Creature" with wide-open eyes, a feline mouth and mask, wearing ornamental danglers and a head ornament, and tasting a trophy head whose hair is in his grip. Set perpendicularly to his visage is a striated body with trophy heads at the ends. On the verso is another visage with human limbs and a colorful drooping ornament between clawed feet. The complex iconography and format of the design makes the vessel quite intriguing with details painted in a striking palette of red, black, orange, yellow, white, and grey hues. Size: 6.7" W x 7.4" H (17 cm x 18.8 cm).

Provenance: ex-private Thousand Oaks, California, USA collection, acquired around 1975

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#142779

  • Condition: Minor nicks to spouts, handle, body, and base, light pitting marks, minor abrasions, and fading to original pigmentation. Light earthen deposits and manganese blooms throughout.

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January 24, 2019 7:00 AM MST
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 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000