Description:

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Vera Cruz, ca 600 to 900 CE. Artist and art historian Miguel Covarrubias described Classic Veracruz ceramics as "powerful and expressive, endowed with a charm and sensibility unprecedented in other, more formal cultures". (Miguel Covarubias (1957) Indian Art of Mexico and Central America, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, p. 191.) Indeed this bat god created in ancient Vera Cruz, Mexico lives up to Covarrubias' accolades. The nocturnal bat along with the jaguar was one of the archetypal underworld creatures in Mesoamerica. Consistently in darkness, this creature that swoops and darts in the night sky, roosts in caverns and shadowy overhangs, and sleeps upside down certainly captured the imaginations of the Pre-Columbian peoples. Consequently, the bat god figured prominently in their canon of underworld deities. 10.5"H x 9.5"W x 5"D

Provenance: Ex-private Santa Monica, CA Collection

All items in this auction are legal to buy/sell under U.S. statute 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.

  • Condition: Repaired from approximately four pieces - all original.

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June 13, 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