Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec culture, Monte Alban, Phase III, ca. 500 to 700 CE. An intriguing, hand-built pottery incensario vessel in the form of Camazotz, the Zapotec bat-god. Featuring a cylindrical vessel on his verso, the chiropteran deity is depicted with an anthropomorphic body in a seated position with his limbs bent so that he appears to be crouching and wearing a broad loincloth incised with a glyph. His sizeable head boasts a fierce visage with an upturned nose, annular, impressed eyes, and a gaping mouth full of protruding fangs and an extended tongue that nearly touches his chest, all capped by a pair of towering, cupped ears that flank a prominent, curved crest. Adding to his ferocious countenance are 6 spikes that line his chin, each bearing an applied target-motif. A braided necklace hangs on his chest, displaying a rectangular pendant with 3 incised, diagonal striations. Size: 5" W x 8.5" H (12.7 cm x 21.6 cm)

Certain groups of ancient Zapotec peoples worshipped the cult of Camazotz by filling vessels like this with slow-burning incense as the deity was associated with ritual sacrifice, night, and ultimately death. A fabulous and exceptionally rare example of ornate Zapotec pottery!

Monte Alban, a city inhabited for over 1,000 years before abandonment centuries before the arrival of the Spanish, was a regional power that dominated much of the modern-day state of Oaxaca and interacted with other Mesoamerican city-states like Teotihuacan to its north. Many cultures at this time were producing ceremonial incensarios (censers) like this example, but those in particular from Monte Alban were often so anthropomorphized that, from the front, they are difficult to tell from sculpture. This is in strong contrast to incensarios at Teotihuacan, which were highly abstract. Figural censers have been excavated from Monte Alban's high-status tombs, where it seems they were placed to leave offerings for the dead.

Cf. Gardiner Museum of Toronto, G83.1.91 and Baltimore Museum of Art, 1993.288 and 1967.52.

Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection, purchased on September 5, 2019; ex-Artemis Gallery; ex-private southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s

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#170473

Repaired from several pieces with restoration over some break lines, while others are still visible. Some areas of expert restoration, notably where the vessel attaches to the effigy and the loincloth flap as well as a few scattered areas of minor restoration. Chip to proper left ear. Expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive preservation of detail.