Pre-Columbian, Brazil, Marajoara (also Marajo) culture, ca. 800 to 1400 CE. A hand-built pottery jar of an unusual anthropomorphic form with a round but stable base, a spherical body with a smooth shoulder, and a lightly corseted neckline beneath a flared rim. Protruding from the ends are either a pair of attenuated legs or an abstract head with circular eyes and a gaping mouth, and lengthy, sinuous arms course across one half of the shoulder and bear decorative impressed stippling. The exterior is covered with pale orange pigment, and areas of vibrant vermilion-hued color are visible on the head, body, legs, and rim. A unique and intriguing example of ancient Marajo pottery! Size: 6.1" L x 5.1" W x 3.8" H (15.5 cm x 13 cm x 9.7 cm); 6.9" H (17.5 cm) on included custom stand.

The Marajoara - also known as the Marajo - flourished on Marajo Island, in the mouth of the Amazon River. They built impressive mounds and lived subsistence lifestyles while producing stylistically unique, beautiful pottery like this. This was a large-scale civilization, contrary to what many European researchers believed of the Amazon before their discovery - the mounds ranged from 3 to 10 meters in height, and some sites cover more than 10 square kilometers and contain 20 to 30 individual mounds. Their figural pottery was mainly of females, representing roughly 70-90% of all known ceramic sculptures from the Marajoara and their neighbors the Santarem, which researchers believe indicates that chiefly descent came from a mythical female ancestor. During this period, both male and female figures are shown as shamans.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Eugene Lions collection, Geneva, Switzerland, acquired before 1970

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#151859

Professionally repaired from multiple pieces, with restoration along base and areas of body, and resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Minor chips and abrasions to base, body, head, limbs, and rim, with fading to original pigmentation, light encrustations, and softening to some finer details. Light earthen deposits and nice traces of original pigment throughout.