Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A beautifully constructed, hand-built redware dog vessel of a charming form that exhibits a playful nature and smooth, highly burnished surfaces enveloped in hues of burnt sienna and black. The corpulent canine stands with a portly abdomen atop a quartet of bowed legs and features a raised neck, powerful shoulders, and a perky tail that doubles as the vessel's spout. The conical head protrudes out from the neck and bears incised, almond-shaped eyes, a tapered snout with carved-out nostrils, an incised mouth, and a large pair of perky ears flanking the rounded skull cap. Size: 9.3" L x 4.1" W x 7" H (23.6 cm x 10.4 cm x 17.8 cm)

Pottery canines like this one are the only remains that we have today of a sophisticated and unique culture in West Mexico - they made no above-ground monuments or sculptures, at least that we know of, which is in strong contrast to developments elsewhere in ancient Mesoamerica. Instead, their tombs were their lasting works of art: skeletons arrayed radially with their feet positioned inward, and clay offerings, like this example, placed alongside the walls facing inward, near the skulls. A large effigy like this one most likely would have flanked the entrance to a tomb in a way that archaeologists have interpreted as guarding. Some scholars have interpreted these dynamic sculptures of the living as a strong contrast to the skeletal remains whose space they shared, as if they mediated between the living and the dead.

Scholars know of at least two types of Colima dogs, one to be fattened up and ritually sacrificed or eaten and one to serve as a watchdog and healer of the ill. This plump hairless canine known as a Chichi or Escuintla is thought to be related to the Chihuahua or Mexican Hairless also known as the Xoloitzcuintle. The Xolo dog was named for the deity Xolotl, the God of the Underworld, and believed to guide the deceased as they journeyed to the afterlife. Colima vessels like this example were buried in shaft tombs to protect the deceased and provide sustenance for eternity.

Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection; ex-Antiques & Modern Auction Gallery, July 27th, 2019, Fine Antiques, Artwork & Decorative Arts, lot 161; ex-Baldwin, New York, USA collection, acquired in 1978; ex-Gerald M. Sylar Antiques, San Francisco, California, USA

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#170684

Restoration to entire head with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and attachment points on neck. Repair and restoration to rim, ears, snout, and feet. Chip to proper right ear. A few minor nicks and abrasions to surface, commensurate with age. Repainting to exterior. Otherwise, very nice with lovely earthen deposits on interior.