Lot 134C
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 200 BCE to 300 CE. A rare and visually striking redware pottery olla from the Colima tradition of West Mexico, masterfully modeled as a pair of stylized fishlikely catfishresting within a deep bowl. This sculptural composition blurs the line between vessel and figural art, with the rotund lower basin supporting two voluminous fish whose bodies curve upward to form the swelling walls of the vessel. Their wide, rounded heads, gaping mouths, and subtly defined fins emerge with graceful dimensionality, while the wide flaring rim of the olla rises from their sides, completing the illusion of the fish embodying the vessel itself. Size: 12" W x 8" H (30.5 cm x 20.3 cm)
Colima, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts -- 3 to 20 meters deep -- that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and seem to have been used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. Vessels like this one were placed in the tombs in order to hold offerings.
Provenance: Collection of Y. Kayvan, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired from a Los Angeles, California, USA gallery acquisition dates range from the late 1990s to 2005
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#194827
- Condition: Chip to tails, small chip to dorsal fin, small probe hole to side, manganese blooms on several surfaces, wear to pigment as shown but still displays quite fine!
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