Lot 36
Pre-Columbian, Oaxaca, Mexico, Zapotec culture, Monte Alban, Early to Middle Classic period, ca. 100 to 700 CE. A wonderful pottery incensario in the form of a seated figure, likely intended as Cocijo, the Zapotec god of rain and lightning, or Pitao Cozobi, the Zapotec god of maize. Crowned by a glyph-like headdress, the deity sits with crossed legs and hands on knees; his evocative visage displaying feline characteristics with slender eyes and a broadening snout, a pair of huge earspools flank his head. Layered necklaces shroud his clavicle as a loincloth with glyph-like designs covers his lap. Size: 3.6" L x 4.3" W x 6.5" H (9.1 cm x 10.9 cm x 16.5 cm)
Monte Alban, a city inhabited for over 1,000 years before abandonment centuries before the arrival of the Spanish, was a regional power that dominated much of the modern-day state of Oaxaca and interacted with other Mesoamerican city-states like Teotihuacan to its north. Many cultures at this time were producing ceremonial incensarios (censers) like this example, but those in particular from Monte Alban were often so anthropomorphized that, from the front, they are difficult to tell from sculpture. This is in strong contrast to incensarios at Teotihuacan, which were highly abstract. Figural censers have been excavated from Monte Alban's high-status tombs, where it seems they were placed to leave offerings for the dead.
Provenance: private Ferndale, Michigan, USA collection; ex-private Detroit, Michigan, USA collection; ex-Ararity Auctions, Lorton, Virginia, USA, March 27th, 2022, lot 63
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#182595
- Condition: Professionally repaired with chipping along visible break lines in areas. Nicks, abrasions, and weathering to surface as shown. Liberal remaining detail and rich earthen deposits throughout.
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