Lot 119
Pre-Columbian, Atlantic Watershed, Costa Rica, Ticaban style, ca. 1 to 500 CE. A lively and engaging pair of Costa Rican Ticaban-style tripod vessels, each animated by sculptural legs that turn functional pottery into narrative form. The pair consists of two ceramic tripod vessels modeled with distinct figural supports. The more petite example retains two legs formed as standing anthropomorphic figures, their bodies rendered with compact proportions and simplified facial features typical of Ticaban figural expression. These human supports appear to brace the vessel, merging utility with a sense of communal presence. The larger vessel is supported by three exuberant monkeys standing upright with hands planted confidently on their hips, their rounded faces and arched postures lending the piece a playful, almost theatrical character. Size of larger (monkey legs): 6.8" L x 6.4" W x 7.5" H (17.3 cm x 16.3 cm x 19 cm)
Both vessels display the warm earthen tones and smoke-darkened surfaces characteristic of Atlantic Watershed ceramics, with subtly flaring rims and rounded bodies elevated by their sculptural legs. Tripod vessels of this type are associated with food preparation, serving, or ritual use, where animal and human imagery likely carried symbolic meaning related to social identity, mythology, or spiritual mediation. Together, the pair offers a charming glimpse into the visual language of ancient Costa Rica, where pottery was not merely utilitarian but alive with humor, personality, and cultural storytelling.
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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#200495
- Condition: More petite vessel is missing leg. Both have been repaired with restoration over some break lines and other break lines visible. Nicks, chips, and abrasions throughout, all commensurate with age. Nice remaining details and scattered earthen deposits.
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