Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Pacific Slope region, Teotihuacan culture, Escuintla type, Classic Period, ca. 450 to 650 CE. A stunning incensario used to burn copal incense, presented in the form of a Teotihuacan priest housed within an ornate architectural structure. The base of the two-part incensario is of a minimalist form and features a pair of tab-shaped flanges with circular ornamentation as well as a trapezoidal frontal ornament that is similar to the nose ornament worn by the priestly figure on the top portion. Within the flush canopy is a priest with a pensive, red-painted visage donning massive earspools and a grand headdress behind an ovoid frontal platform. His hands are presented on the lateral flanges protruding up from the frontal panel - replete with a trio of intricate, mold-formed appliques - and the surfaces above bear additional spools as well as red diamonds, a corseted central cylinder, and a pair of eye-like forms beneath dramatically arching brows. Presented in hues of red, azure, cream, yellow, and black atop the buffware surfaces, this is a sumptuous and functional piece of Teotihuacan religious artistry! Size: 12" W x 20.875" H (30.5 cm x 53 cm)

This censer is known as a "theater type" and is among the most emblematic articles of visual culture of Teotihuacan, which then inspired contemporaries and the civilizations that came after them. These were first created in the Tzacualli period (1 to 100 CE), and during the following years, artisans created more and more intricate compositions. Molds were used to make various ornaments that were glued to the primary body and the plates were arranged in superimposed planes as we see in this example. They are known as "theater" because they seem to represent the architecture of a temple, with the mask at the center representing the deity within the temple. Numerous scholars have suggested that censers like this example were instrumental to a cult dedicated to warriors killed in combat. Incense played a major role in religious practice in Mesoamerica, from the Olmec onward. Many tombs are outfitted with incensarios and the items also seem to have been used in ceremonies by the living. The incense was made from copal, tree resin from the torchwood tree. By burning copal, Mesoamerican priests made an offering to the gods - for example, during an Aztec ceremony for the god Huitzilopochtli, the hummingbird-formed god of war, priests hoped that their prayers would be carried upward along with the wafting smoke and scent.

Cf. "The World Beyond, Maya Tomb Ceramics." Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, 1984, fig. 27, for the type.

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Canadian collection; ex-Sotheby's, New York "Pre-Columbian Art" auction (sale 7224, November 23, 1998, lot 147)

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#164566

Lower body has extensive repairs and restoration to basin walls and frontal surfaces along top half; upper half has extensive repairs and restoration as well; all with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Softening to some finer details, with fading to original pigment, light encrustations, and chips to some protruding areas and ornamentation. Great preservation to overall form as shown.