Description:

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An imaginative Colima pottery zoomorphic incensario lid, modeled with playful vigor and strong symbolic resonance. The piece features a dome-shaped lid supported on four legs, its surface adorned with painted zigzag motifs in white, evoking flickering firelight or lightning. Atop the lid rise two sculptural elements: a stylized animal head with wide circular eyes and curling horns projecting from the rim, and a second zoomorphic form striding across the lid's crest, perhaps intended as a canine, deer, or other local fauna. Together, they animate the vessel with lively presence, embodying Colima's tradition of merging functionality with zoomorphic representation. Colima artisans of West Mexico are celebrated for their inventive effigy vessels and ritual paraphernalia, often associated with funerary rites and shamanic practices. Size: 7.1" L x 6" W x 5.4" H (18 cm x 15.2 cm x 13.7 cm)

This incensario lid, with its carefully incised and painted surface, would have served as both a protective cover and a ritual object in its own right, transforming smoke into a performative medium that carried prayers skyward. Objects of this type, bridging utility and spiritual symbolism, reflect the complex cosmology of West Mexican cultures, where animals played key roles as companions, guides, and liminal beings.

Provenance: private Atlanta, Georgia, USA collection, acquired between 2020-2024

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#197860

  • Condition: Stable fissures to surface as well as nicks, chips, and abrasions as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and very nice with liberal remaining pigment.

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October 17, 2025 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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