Lot 64
Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerica, Maya culture, Honduras, ca. 600 to 900 CE. A lively and well-balanced polychrome bowl whose painted surface still hums with narrative energy despite the centuries. The vessel is formed with a gently flaring wall and rounded base, coated in a warm buff slip and enlivened by painted bands in red, black, and earthy ochre tones. Around the exterior runs a continuous frieze of stylized avian figures, their angular bodies and alert profiles rendered in a confident, rhythmic hand and framed by horizontal geometric borders. The birds, likely messengers between earthly and supernatural realms in Maya belief, appear in alternating poses that create a sense of movement around the bowl, transforming the vessel into a rotating visual story when handled or viewed in the round. Such imagery was common in Late Classic Maya ceramics, particularly in the Ulua Valley region of Honduras, where painters favored bold outlines, repeated motifs, and narrative clarity over dense surface filling. Size: 8.3" Diameter x 3.9" H (21.1 cm x 9.9 cm)
The interior is simply finished, allowing the exterior decoration to command attention, and suggesting a functional role as a serving or presentation vessel used in feasting, ritual offerings, or elite domestic contexts. Polychrome bowls of this type were often associated with communal display, where painted imagery reinforced social identity, mythic knowledge, and status. With its harmonious proportions, expressive iconography, and well-preserved surface, this bowl stands as a compelling example of Maya ceramic artistry, where utility and symbolism were inseparable and even everyday objects carried cosmological weight.
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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#200534
- Condition: Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting over break lines. Some minor chips and nicks commensurate with age. Nice remaining pigments.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $299 | $25 |
| $300 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $19,999 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $49,999 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $99,999 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 + | $20,000 |