Description:

Pre-Columbian, Central America, Costa Rica, Nicoya region, ca. 2nd to 6th century CE. A hand-built pottery rattle in the form of an abstract zoomorph with 4 protruding legs, a plug-form tail, and a sizable head. Covered in dark red slip, the creature bears intricately incised linear and geometric motifs across its bulbous body that create a spiked presentation evocative of saurians. The head exhibits almost anthropomorphic features such as a hemispherical nose, elongated eyes, and cupped ears, but with characteristically animalistic qualities like bared fangs and a drooping tongue. Petite rattle balls are still present within 3 of the 4 legs, the head, and the tail. Size: 10.1" L x 5.2" W x 4" H (25.7 cm x 13.2 cm x 10.2 cm)

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report is available to the buyer upon request.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#172979

  • Condition: Repaired with chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Abrasions, softening to some incised decorations, and fading to pigment in scattered areas commensurate with age, with light earthen deposits within body and within some recessed areas. Great preservation to overall form. Remaining rattle balls still create sound when jostled. An old Sotheby's tag accompanies this artifact but does not contain information pertaining to the auction date.

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January 19, 2023 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
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$300 $999 $50
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$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
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