Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin, ca. 1200 to 1000 BCE. A sizable example of a hand-built brownware pottery vessel featuring intricate, abstract zoomorphic creatures. The vessel presents with a slightly rounded but stable base, a spherical chamber with a smooth shoulder, a stocky stirrup-shaped handle, and a squat spout surmounted by a flared rim. Incised on one side of the vessel is an elaborate and highly abstract avian creature with a lengthy, right-facing neck topped with a petite head and a slender beak. The other side of the vessel bears a left-facing serpent creature with rectangular eyes, large fangs and claws, and blade-shaped feathers projecting from the backside. A trio of smaller snake heads protrude from the front of the larger serpent's face and are adorned with bullseye-motif circles. Size: 6.2" Diameter x 9.2" H (15.7 cm x 23.4 cm)

The Chavin people lived in the northern Highland Andes, and their capital, Chavin de Huantar, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The artwork of Chavin represents the first widespread artistic style in the Andes. The center of Chavin de Huantar is a massive, flat-topped pyramid, surrounded by lower platforms. Between 1200 and 500 BCE the pyramid space was used for religious ceremonies. The Old Temple, constructed very early in the history of the site, consists of a series of passageways built around a circular courtyard; within were carved stone monuments showing jaguars, serpents, and other figures with transformative and/or anthropomorphic figures.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.

Provenance: ex-Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA, donated to Ashland University between July 1994 to December 1998

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.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#166345

Several fissures on shoulder along one side, perhaps from impact damage sustained during a fall. Minor nicks, spalls, and abrasions to base, body, handle, and spout, with light fading to brown color in scattered areas. Great preservation to incised zoomorphs. TL drill holes beneath base and under top rim.