Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Nazca, ca. 200 to 400 CE. A fabulous pottery bowl featuring a round yet stable base and impressively thin walls that spread slightly outwards to a circular rim. The ancient vessel is decorated with a painted band of trophy heads adorned in hues of ochre, blue, burnt orange, maroon, black, and white on a creamy beige ground. All in profile and facing skyward, each head displays a half-circle eye beneath a straight brow, a sharp nose, thick lips, and a lengthy ear. The heads are separated from one another via vertical, black striations, except for two which are divided by a geometric motif of five stylized fish. A ring of maroon pigment lines the rim, while the base is painted burnt sienna. In Nazca culture - and other ancient Peruvian cultures - the decapitation and ritual use of human heads was common practice; many mythical figures and kings known from Nazca pottery are shown holding trophy heads or in the presence of trophy heads. A fascinating if not macabre motif that perhaps kept count of the kero owner's victories. Size: 9.75" in diameter x 4.5" H (24.8 cm x 11.4 cm)

Provenance: ex-Stein collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, purchased May 24, 2008; ex-Galleria Delvecchio, Missagua, Ontario, Canada

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#163926

Repaired from at least 7 pieces with restoration over break lines. Chips to rim, along with some abraded areas and minor nicks throughout, all commensurate with age. Char marks to base. Otherwise, very nice with impressive remaining pigments.