Pre-Columbian, northwestern to central Mexico, possibly Sinaloa, Mixtec, ca. 1350 CE. An impressive pottery bowl presenting a planar base and thick walls that flare outwards to a beveled rim, all adorned with intricate red-on-orange decoration. Encircled by a 3-ringed border, the basin of the ancient dish is skillfully painted with the head of a deity in profile facing left. The Mixtec god is dressed in a complex headdress resembling the head of a plumed serpent, suggesting that it may be Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind who had many parallels throughout Mesoamerican cultures. Size: 9.4" Diameter x 2.5" H (23.9 cm x 6.4 cm)

Quetzalcoatl - "Feathered Serpent" in the Nahuatl language - is the Pre-Columbian deity revered as lord of wind and sky. The earliest representations of Quetzalcoatl adorn the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in Teotihuacan, Mexico (ca. 3rd century CE) where numerous stone heads of the divine plumed snake embellish the steps of this Pre-Classic pyramid. The pioneering artist/anthropologist Miguel Covarrubias whose writings and illustrations on indigenous cultures of the ancient Americas continue to contribute to scholarly studies today stated, "Quetzalcoatl stood for all that was good in this world: peace, art, wisdom, and prosperity. Disguised as an ant, he discovered maize, the staple food of the Indians, hidden under the mountain of Substance, Tonacatepetl; he also invented the arts, the sciences, and the calendar. In fact, everything connected with wisdom and culture was attributed to Quetzalcoatl." (Miguel Covarrubias, Mexico South: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 130.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report is available to the buyer upon request.

Provenance: ex-Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA collection; ex-John Shaeffer collection, Orlando, Florida, USA, acquired 1970's

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#168551

Chip to rim and nicks and pitting throughout. Staining to surface of interior. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressively preserved pigments and detail. TL holes on base and below exterior of rim.