**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chimu, ca. 1100 to 1470 CE. An impressive hand-built and highly burnished blackware pottery vessel exhibiting an ovoid base, a wide central hip, and a rounded top capped with a tubular stirrup spout and the figure of a seated parrot. The ancient bird presents a puffed-out chest and folded wings above a pair of long legs, each bent at the knee. Supported by a thick neck, the creature's avian visage features a lengthy, curved beak with an incised mouth and bulging, target-motif eyes. A petite bunch of tailfeathers projects from the parrot's posterior and two small nubs flank the stirrup spout. The animal's head displays an annular drill hole, possibly for suspending the lovely vessel for travel. Size: 4.25" in diameter x 7.625" H (10.8 cm x 19.4 cm)

In the Pre-Columbian world, birds were regarded as sky animals associated with the sun, moon, and Venus - where they served as messengers between humankind and the deities. Of particular importance were the eagle, parrot, and hummingbird. The beak of the bird depicted on this example is closest to that of a parrot. Parrots were and continue to be revered by the ancients of South America. Their brilliant plumage and ability to fly high above the treeline made them ideal incarnations of the sky deities, thought to be endowed with supernatural powers of celestial origin.

Provenance: ex-Stein collection, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, acquired prior to 2010; ex William Micol collection, Milford, Michigan, USA

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#163929

Repaired from several pieces with restoration over break lines. Restoration to rim and some to base. Chip to chest of parrot. Expected nicks and abrasions. Otherwise, very nice with light earthen deposits in recessed areas.