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LOT 2418
Large Pre-Columbian Colima Seated Shaman Vessel
MEXICO, PROTOCLASSIC PERIOD, CIRCA 100 B.C.-250 A.D.
14 3/8 in. (1.9 kg, 36.5 cm).
Red ware, hollow-formed and modelled in the round, seated figure with horn to the brow and pierced ears, incised decoration to the midriff, pouring spout to rear of head.
Provenancewith Bonhams, London, 24 May 2016, lot 21.
Property of a Gloucestershire, UK, gentleman.
See Holsbeke, M., Offerings for a New Life, Funerary images from pre-Columbian West Mexico, Antwerp Ethnographic Museum, 1998, figure 3, for a guardian striking a similar pose.
FootnotesHolding a throwing stone in one hand and facing an unseen danger to his left as was tradition. This seated figure can be identified as a tomb guardian with the horn on his head marking him as a shaman or with magical powers. His purpose was to serve and protect the deceased in the afterlife. The Colima culture produced the greatest variety of sculpture across ancient West Mexico.
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AUCTIONS:
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Pre-Columbian Moche Anthropomorphic Vessel
Circa 5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Hollow-formed bulbous vessel with burnished finish, seated or crouching male figure with bent legs and arms across his waist, straps to the chin securing a flat-topped cap with rectangular flap to the rear decorated with a ropework saltire; the face with aquiline nose, lentoid eyes and small curved mouth; between the hands, a small bird with discoid eye and wings partly extended; funicular spout to the top; marked 'OTX' to the underside. 550 grams, 20.2 cm high
From the collection of a Norfolk, UK, gentleman, 1990s.
Examples of birds are relatively common across the spectrum of Moche pottery as are other animals depicting battle or hunting scenes. -
Pre-Columbian Peruvian Burnished Black Pot with Frogs
11th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Squat in profile with trumpet-shaped mouth, lateral pierced lugs each formed as the head and foreparts of a frog modelled in the half-round. 605 grams, 15 cm high
Acquired in the 1970s. Ex Nicolas Cuppy, UK. Acquired in the 1980s. Property of a Cambridgeshire gentleman. -
Large Pre-Columbian Chancay Water Container with Monkey Handle
9th-14th century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Drum-shaped in plan with bulb to the mouth; strap handle with sitting monkey to the outer edge; second similar handle to the other side; each flat face with painted check pattern and central cross with meander ornament; mounted on a custom-made wooden stand. 4.5 kg total, 40 cm including stand
Acquired in the 1970s. Ex Nicolas Cuppy, UK. Acquired in the 1980s. Property of a Cambridgeshire gentleman.
