Lot 54
Pre-Columbian, Bolivia, Bolivian Highlands, Lake Titicaca region, Tiahuanaco / Tiwanaku culture, ca. 600 to 900 CE; Colombia, Narino culture, ca. 800 to 1500 CE. A fine pair of ceramic objects representing two distinct cultural traditions of the Pre-Columbian world: a flaring kero vessel from the Tiahuanaco culture of the southern Andes and a shell-form ocarina from the Narino culture of Colombia. The Tiahuanaco kero, rising from a cylindrical foot to a broad trumpet mouth, is coated in a rich red slip and painted with geometric motifs in black and orange-red. The exterior is divided into panels filled with repeating zigzags, a design echoing textiles and ceremonial ornament. Such vessels were typically used for libations of maize beer (chicha), poured and consumed in ritual feasts that reinforced community bonds and honored deities. The Narino ocarina, shaped in the likeness of a marine shell, bears a smooth, burnished surface enlivened with traces of red and cream slip, applied via the negative resist method. Size of larger (kero): 5.3" Diameter x 6" H (13.5 cm x 15.2 cm)
A petite blowhole and finger perforations are visible, marking the object as a functioning instrument. Whistles and ocarinas in animal or shell form are hallmarks of Narino ceramic art, where they likely played roles in music-making, ritual soundscapes, and funerary offerings. The shell, in particular, carried strong symbolic ties to fertility, water, and the underworld across ancient Andean and northern South American cultures. Together, the kero and ocarina embody two facets of Pre-Columbian ritual life: the visual and the auditory, the feast and the sound of ceremony. Each object speaks to a vibrant tradition of artistry that joined function, symbolism, and aesthetic refinement.
Provenance: private Burbank, Illinois, USA collection via inheritance 2024, acquired between 1970s to 2000s
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#196461
- Condition: Ocarina still functions as an instrument. Both have some expected surface wear, but, are otherwise, intact and excellent with liberal remaining pigments
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| $300 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $19,999 | $1,000 |
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| $100,000 | $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 + | $20,000 |