Lot 9
Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Chupicuaro, ca. 500 BCE to 300 CE. A harmonious pair of red-slipped ceramic tripod bowls, their shallow basins and flaring walls recalling the refinement of Chupicuaro ceramic tradition. Each bowl is supported on three hollow conical legs - one certainly in mammiform, a hallmark of the culture's elegant yet functional design. The larger bowl retains its original rattle function, the legs containing clay pellets that still produce a soft percussive sound when shaken, suggesting its role extended beyond dining into ritual or ceremonial settings. The smaller bowl, though no longer resonant, displays fine surface polish and a neatly notched rim, testifying to both aesthetic ambition and technical mastery. Size of larger: 9.3" Diameter x 3.1" H (23.6 cm x 7.9 cm)
The Chupicuaro culture, centered in the Bajio region of West Mexico, is celebrated for its red-on-cream polychrome vessels and tripod forms. Bowls such as these may have served both in daily sustenance and in funerary deposits, where they accompanied the dead with food offerings and symbolic sound. The rattle legs in particular evoke a synesthetic experience of sight, sound, and touch, underscoring the layered sensory world of Chupicuaro ritual life.
Provenance: private Louisville, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Arte Primitivo, New York, New York, USA, Auction #121, September 15, 2025, lot 208 (2 of 4); ex-private Nevada, USA collection; ex-Dr. David Harner collection, Arkansas, USA, acquired 1950s to 1960s
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#197880
- Condition: A few minor nicks and abrasions, all commensurate with age, but, otherwise, both are intact and excellent. Larger still has functioning rattles; more petite does not.
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