Pre-Columbian, Central America, Panama, Gran Cocle, ca. 600 to 1000 CE. A substantial, hand-built pottery vase with a round but stable base, a carinated midsection that slopes gently to form the smooth shoulder, a tall cylindrical neck, and a flared rim surrounding the wide mouth. The highly burnished surfaces are first decorated with cream-hued slip and then embellished further with areas of black and brick-red slip to create an attractive polychrome presentation. Two columns on the neck showcase an abstract crustacean, perhaps a crab, with barb-tipped legs, discoid eyes, and segmented whiskers protruding off the top of their heads, and the third column features a trio of abstract circular discs with sinuous legs. One narrow panel along the shoulder shows a similar discoid creature with several additional legs, and two larger panels show perhaps a more aged crab with over a dozen spindly legs and curved, red-painted pincers in front of its haunting gaze. Size: 10.3" Diameter x 15.625" H (26.2 cm x 39.7 cm)

Provenance: ex-Barakat Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, acquired prior to 2000

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#164622

Repaired from over a dozen large pieces, with restoration to sizable areas of neck and body, and resurfacing with overpainting along new material and break lines. Abrasions and nicks to base, body, neck, and rim, with touch-up painting in some exterior areas, and fading to areas of original pigment. Nice earthen deposits throughout.