Lot 56A
Pre-Columbian, Northern Mexico, Casas Grandes (Paquime), Ramos Polychrome, ca. 1200 to 1450 CE. This Casas Grandes Ramos polychrome effigy jar offers a quiet and compelling blend of geometry and personality. The vessel's rounded body, painted in warm earthen tones, carries a broad band of stepped motifs that circle the midsection. Rendered in soft reds, grays, and blacks, these patterns reflect the characteristic visual language of Ramos Polychrome ceramics, where abstract forms often evoke architecture, landscape, or ceremonial space. Rising from the shoulder is a subtly modeled human face, its features emerging gently from the clay. Small applied ears flank the head, while the eyes, nose, and mouth are rendered with a minimalist clarity that conveys an introspective, almost serene presence. A shallow, slightly asymmetrical rim curves above the face, as though forming a hood or headdress, further emphasizing the figure's identity within the vessel. Size: 6.3" Diameter x 6.6" H (16 cm x 16.8 cm)
Ramos Polychrome effigies belong to a rich Casas Grandes tradition in which jars, bowls, and effigy forms were imbued with spiritual and social meaning. Human faces appear on a variety of Paquime ritual containers, signaling themes of ancestry, community, and the animate presence believed to dwell within important vessels. The combination of painted geometry and modeled portraiture gives this jar a layered visual vitality that bridges abstraction and embodiment. This example captures the understated elegance that defines Casas Grandes ceramic artistry, pairing meticulous painted design with a gentle yet expressive human visage that seems to watch over the jar's contents and the world around it.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection; ex-major gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, primarily acquired between 1985 and 2005
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#199680
- Condition: Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting over break lines. Some minor nicks and scratches, as well as minor chips, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, nice presenation with liberal remaining pigments, scattered earthen deposits, and good root marks in areas.
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