Lot 46
Pre-Columbian, Teotihuacan, ca. 3rd to 6th century CE; Southern Mexico, Maya, ca. 600 to 900 CE; Costa Rica, Nicoya, ca. 800 to 1200 CE; Southern Mexico, Mixtec, ca. 12th to 15th century CE. A diverse group of four pottery vessels, each a testament to the artistic and cultural breadth of Mesoamerica and Central America. Together, they speak to the shared ceramic traditions of form, decoration, and symbolic function across distinct civilizations. At the top left is a Teotihuacan double-chambered vessel, its conjoined cups adorned with shallow incised imagery, likely referencing ritual drinking practices that played a central role in urban life at the great central Mexican metropolis. To the right rests a Costa Rican tripod rattle vessel, its rounded body supported by three hollow legs, producing sound when moved. Such vessels are thought to have accompanied ceremonies or burials, linking the living to ancestral or divine realms. Size of largest (Mixtec plate): 9.3" L x 9" W x 1.8" H (23.6 cm x 22.9 cm x 4.6 cm)
Below, a Maya vase rises with gently swelling sides and finely incised designs that once would have been enlivened by painted detail. Maya ceramics often bore hieroglyphs and scenes evoking myth and courtly life, and this vessel's elegant contours reflect the region's mastery of both form and narrative surface. At the far right is a Mixtec plate, its broad surface subtly decorated with geometric motifs around the rim. Mixtec artisans excelled in codical painting and ceramic design, and the vessel's abstract patterns may echo broader traditions of cosmological ordering.
Together, these vessels embody a rich cross-section of Pre-Columbian artistry, ranging from the urban centers of Teotihuacan and Maya city-states to the ritual tombs of Costa Rica and the highland Mixtec culture. Each piece reveals how clay served not only utilitarian needs but also spiritual, social, and symbolic roles across ancient America.
The Maya vase 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 Colorado, USA collection; double vessel: acquired in May 2025; ex-Material Culture, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; ex-Dr. and Mrs. Albert & Carol Rosenthal estate; plate: acquired in October 2024; ex-South Bay Auctions, East Moriches, New York, USA; ex-collection of a prominent Manhattan AD100 Interior Designer, New York, New York, USA
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#197203
- Condition: All have been repaired with repainting over break lines on plate and restoration to vase. Losses to double chamber and tripod as shown. Liberal remains of decoration and scattered earthen deposits throughout. Vase has TL holes to base and inside of rim.
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