Pre-Columbian, Peru, Amazon Rainforest, Maranon River, Chavin Maranon, ca. 1500 to 1200 BCE. A hand-built and highly burnished pottery vessel depicting a highly stylized shaman as he transforms into the form of a fearsome jaguar. The abstract creature presents standing atop a pair of curved legs with its curled tail behind used for balance, a bulky body adorned with striped, diamond, and claw-form motifs, a dramatically hunched back, a protruding head, and a conical spout behind an arching strap handle; red, maroon, and cream pigment form the chromatic decorations across the vessel. The triangular head features a pair of protruding eyes, tab-shaped ears with pierced lobes, an upturned nose with pierced nostrils, and a thick tongue drooping from between bared fangs. A rare and exemplary vessel from the early Chavin-Maranon! Size: 4.375" W x 7.5" H (11.1 cm x 19 cm)

Vessels like this one probably were used for holding offerings and pouring libations of chicha onto graves and over the bodies of the dead. The jaguar was symbolic of the most important god of the Chavin pantheon, Lanzon, whose body was conceived of in Chavin artwork as a combination of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic features. The artwork of Chavin represents the first widespread style in the Andes, inspirational to later cultures, especially the Moche.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, before 2010; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, acquired in the 1950s to 1960s

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#173446

Repair and restoration to handle and spout rim, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Abrasions and fading to pigment commensurate with age, with light pitting, and light earthen deposits within some recessed areas. Great preservation to overall form of body as well as pigment in most areas. Old inventory label beneath base.