Lot 47
Pre-Columbian, Central America, Panama, Gran Cocle, probably Macaracas or Cubita, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. A hand-built and highly-burnished polychrome owl vessel with a heart-shaped face, an elegantly curved beak, protruding ears, and bas relief wings. Note how the wings were meticulously decorated with elongated triangular and linear motifs to represent plumage. An intriguing and very rare example of fine figurative artistry from ancient Panama with wonderful mineral deposits gracing the surface as well! Size: 7.75" W x 10.25" H (19.7 cm x 26 cm)
According to scholar Samuel Kirkland Lothrop, "The Gran Cocle culture is a Pre-Columbian archaeological culture that gets its name from the area from which it was based, the now present-day Cocle province of Panama. The Gran Cocle term applies to a loosely studied group of Native American sub-cultures in this region, identified by their pottery styles. The overall period spans a time from 150 B.C. to the end in the 16th century A.D. upon Spanish contact. The most ancient culture is the La Mula period from 150 B.C. to 300 A.D. The La Mula and later Monagrillo and Tonosí pottery styles are identified by their the use of three paint colors which were black, red and white (or cream). The later Cubita style saw the emergence of the use of four colors. The styles of Conte, Macaracas and Joaquin added purple to their palette and this hue ranged from grayish tones to red purple. The use of purple disappeared in the subsequent styles of Parita and El Altillo and the paint style reverted back to the use of three colors. Most notable in the artistic renderings are the overt use of geometric designs." (For more information, see Armand Labbe, "Guardians of The Life Stream: Shamans, Art and Power in Prehispanic Central Panama" - Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, University of Washington Press, 1995)
Provenance: ex-New York, New York collection, ex John Moir Trust of 2013 acquired 1970s
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#156449
- Condition: Loss to left ear as shown. Abrasions and minor nicks to base, body, and head, with small chips and light fading to pigment, and light encrustations. Nice remains of original pigment throughout.
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