Lot 28D
Pre-Columbian, Panama, Chiriqui, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. A matched pair of meticulously hand-built bichrome pottery incensarios, both featuring an elaborate lid of a conical form with a finial in the form of a janus-headed mythological creature, featuring the head of a saurian and the head of a crocodile, fitting upon a lower bowl supported by a raised foot. The surfaces of the vessels are covered with repeated raised circular and sinuous motifs, as if to represent the skin of phytomorphic, gourd-like forms. The deep bowl is large enough to contain a substantial amount of kopal or another aromatic substance. Once heated, the fragrance would waft upward and through the openings at either end of the finial. Size: 6.5" in diameter at widest point x 11.875" H (16.5 cm x 30.2 cm)
The iconography on these pieces is especially symbolic. Sauria refer to a class of reptiles that originally included lizards, crocodiles, and other extinct lizard-like forms. Serpents and lizards were metaphors for rain and blood, two life-giving fluids, in the Pre-Columbian world. At the same time, serpents were viewed as creatures that portend great danger. Their ability to shed their skin each year, and thus rejuvenate themselves, also made them a symbol of health and renewal. The Crocodilian order, comprised of crocodiles, smaller alligators, and yet smaller caymans (all treated similarly in Pre-Columbian mythology) was very meaningful to the ancients of the Americas. The crocodile being the oldest (approximately 55 million years old) was understood as a crocodilian earth monster and is oftentimes shown giving rise to what was known as the World Tree. Partial to a watery habitat, the crocodile is also a metaphor for fertility.
Published in The Manhattan Galleries "Important Masterpieces of Pre-Columbian Art." (May 14, 1983); purportedly exhibited at Everson Museum of Art. Syracuse, New York, prior to 1983.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, ex-The Manhattan Galleries. "Important Masterpieces of Pre-Columbian Art." (May 14, 1983, Lot 10); purportedly exhibited at Everson Museum of Art. Syracuse, New York, prior to 1983.
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#132193
- Condition: Normal surface wear commensurate with age. One lid has a well-executed stabilized fissure that is difficult to see. Surfaces are covered with liberal manganese deposits and earthen deposits. Nice root marks.
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