**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Maya, Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A lovely mold-formed pottery "poison jar" in the form of an adorable monkey. The round-bottomed jar is supported by a quartet of triangular feet, has a rounded shoulder with a squat neck, and a thick rim on top. The abstract simian features include a simple head on the front, sinuous arms and legs on either end, and a perky tail protruding from the verso. The highly burnished jar is covered in cream-hued slip that imbues it with an elegant presentation. Size: 3.375" L x 1.8" W x 2.875" H (8.6 cm x 4.6 cm x 7.3 cm).

The Maya Classic phase is so named because it was the peak of their artistic and cultural achievements. Part of this, as in many societies, included highly specialized consumable goods. Elaborate vessels like this one were designed to be instantly distinguishable from those used for everyday eating or drinking - not just in decoration, but also in quantity produced, making these a much rarer find than your average piece of domestic pottery. They were also made to be for only a single, specific function - in this case, to hold something valuable. Traditionally, items like this one have been known as "poison" or "medicine" bottles, in part because of their comparison to bottles used by other native North American groups, but depictions of people using the flasks in artwork as well as residue analysis on archaeological examples suggest that they may have had other uses. They are often found in the context of burials, filled with red pigment like cinnabar or hematite, but with the remains of other things underneath the pigment (as if they were used in life and then filled with pigment upon death). Because of their size, they must have been made to contain things not required in large quantities - indeed, poisons or medicines, but also perfume, tobacco, and ritual drugs like powdered mushrooms.

Provenance: ex-Merrin Gallery, New York, New York, USA; ex-private New York, USA collection, acquired in the 1960s

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#148177

Minor abrasions to rim, body, and simian features, with light fading to original pigmentation, and minor encrustations within body, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits and great traces of original pigment throughout.