Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico to Guatemala, late Olmec to Proto-Maya, ca. 600 to 400 BCE. A handsome, strikingly large blackware vessel, its upper exterior walls decorated with relief images in glyphoid style including the profile face of Quetzalcoatl - the feathered serpent - the most powerful god of ancient Mesoamerica. The incised lines that form the images were likely once filled with vibrant cinnabar pigment. Olmec vessels like this were portable objects that traveled around their area of influence to places like Tlatilco, Tlapacoya, Las Bocas, and San Jose Mogote. Size: 7.5" Diameter x 5.875" H (19 cm x 14.9 cm)

The glyphs on this carving are probably epi-Olmec or Proto-Maya in origin. Epi-Olmec, like Maya, consists of glyphs, often written in lines or columns. Although not all of it has been deciphered, what we know of this language is that it describes religious notions and, to a lesser extent, socio-political matters. It is not clear if the glyphs are both pictographic and ideographic, or what role phonograms might have played, and this remains a hotly studied component of Mesoamerican archaeology. The size and iconography of this vessel indicates it was perhaps owned by a wealthy individual and was likely buried with them; its glyphs speak to the status of the individual or offer a prayer.

Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection, purchased on April 24, 2020; ex-Artemis Gallery; ex-private California, USA collection; ex-Arte Primitivo, New York, New York, USA, 2016

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#170484

Foot has been repaired from approximately 4 pieces. Small chip from edge of foot. Otherwise in beautiful condition for its age.