Description:

Pre-Columbian, northern Peru, Mochica / Moche culture, Moche IV, ca. 400 CE. Large and quite wonderful pottery jar in the form of a giant toad or frog. Molded pottery vessel depicting an amphibian squatting on its rear legs, wide mouth, alert eyes and raised ears - and since neither frogs nor toads have this type of large ear, the artist was morphing aspects of the toad with those of a jaguar. This further exemplified by the presence of large spots on the toad. Take note of the large spotted circular decoration beneath his neck and tall cylindrical spout upon his back. Size: 9" W x 9" H (22.9 cm x 22.9 cm)

In the Pre-Columbian world, frogs and toads were viewed as harbingers of the spring season, and the Moche were known to use frog/toads to extract strong hallucinogenic substances.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Bettina Schwimmer collection, Chicago, Illinois, USA, collected from 1955 to 2006

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#157106

  • Condition: Upper section of spout repaired with resurfacing to the interior. Body repaired from perhaps 3 or 4 pieces, visible only on the interior - and only visible with the aid of a bit of water spritzing.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Shipping

Auction House will ship, at Buyer's expense

August 13, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 24.5% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

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