Description:

Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste Province, Nicoya, ca. 800-1200 CE. Adorning their clays with natural dyes and firing them in wood burning ovens, the indigenous Chorotega culture of Costa Rica created marvels of handcrafted pottery. This pair includes a large, round-bottomed bowl painted with a geometric design program in red and black on a cream ground. The smaller bowl is actually a frog effigy piece. The frog or "rana" was associated with rain and the sustenance that it provides. In addition, frogs symbolized fertility. Far from a naturalistic represenation, the artist of this piece created an abstract, double-headed version of the croaking heralder of rainstorms - with its perfectly, hemispherical body, two heads, and painted black markings on the upper band indicative of the critter's legs and the underside of its shell. The indigenous Chorotega inspired a pottery tradition that continues today in the cities of Nicoya and Santa Cruz, thousands of years after the ancients! 3 1/2"T x 7 1/4"D at widest and 2"T x 5 1/2"across at widest

Provenance: Ex-Gilbert Martin Collection, Georgia, USA

All items offered for sale are legal to buy/sell under U.S. statutes covering cultural patrimony per United States Code 2600, CHAPTER 14 -- CONVENTION ON CULTURAL PROPERTY, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids, papered by our parent company, Artemis Gallery Ancient Art.

  • Condition: Normal surface wear. Small area of larger bowl professionally restored. Else intact and near choice.

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March 14, 2014 9:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
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 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000