Description:

**Back At Auction Due to Non-Paying Bidder**

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche III to IV, ca. 400 to 600 CE. A bichrome red on cream pottery stirrup vessel depicting a jaguar with a magnificent coat, replete with lively spotted and linear markings, looking deceptively playful (given the wild feline's potential for ferocious acts) - innocently resting upon its haunches with an endearing countenance. Its bold features also suggest that the artist may not have been working to achieve a naturalistic representation but rather to evoke the powerful symbolism of the jaguar. Size: 9" L x 8.75" H (22.9 cm x 22.2 cm)

The jaguar symbolized power and might throughout the Pre-Columbian world. Warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World. The principal Moche god wears a headdress adorned with a jaguar head and paws and important mortals donned similar headdresses. A nocturnal animal, the jaguar sleeps in caves and dark places and creeps quietly in the forest, evoking great mystery. Oddly enough, few Moche artists would have actually scene jaguars as they are not indigenous to the coast. Jaguars prefer moist forest conditions. However, scholars believe that some cubs were transported over the mountains for Moche rituals and it is also possible that some jaguars wandered down the coast.

Provenance: Ex-private Van Buskirk collection, Tucson, AZ

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#120178

  • Condition: Stable pressure crack to rear haunch. Minor surface wear with pigment loss as shown, but overall excellent.

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June 8, 2017 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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