Lot 102
Pre-Columbian, Oaxaca, Mexico, Zapotec culture, Monte Alban, ca. 300 CE. A fabulous pottery incensario in the form of a seated lord wearing a high-waisted skirt tied with a bow and a sizable, beaded necklace and bracelets. Crowned by a striated coiffure or headdress that opens at the top to the hollow interior, the ancient figure displays a large head and a veristic visage comprised of heavy-lidded eyes, a curved nose and gently parted lips exposing 2 front teeth. Size: 4" L x 5.3" W x 6.5" H (10.2 cm x 13.5 cm x 16.5 cm)
Monte Alban, a city inhabited for over a thousand 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 city states in Mesoamerica, like Teotihuacan to its north. Many cultures at this time were producing ceremonial incensarios (censers), but Monte Alban's in particular 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.
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 will accompany the item upon purchase.
Provenance: private Ferndale, Michigan, USA collection; ex-private Detroit, Michigan, USA collection; ex-Ararity Auctions, Lorton, Virginia, USA, March 27, 2022, lot 64
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#182541
- Condition: Proper right arm and headdress lapel have been professionally repaired with some loss to upper part of headdress lapel. Missing one bead of necklace and chipping to ears and nose. Nicks and abrasions commensurate with age. Otherwise, nice presentation with good detail and light earthen deposits throughout. Liberal remains of pigments in areas. TL holes to verso of head and underside of base.
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