Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay, ca. 1000 to 1300 CE. A marvelous and quite massive pottery vessel, egg-shaped with a petite, projecting monkey shown seated and holding a banana. Meticulously hand-painted with mesmerizing crosshatch and linear designs that envelop one side, the voluminous vessel is flanked by a pair of vertical, ribbon-form handles with 2 monkey head-shaped lugs protruding just above and another from just below the rim. Monkeys, birds, and llamas were popular animals that the Chancay chose to depict on their ceramics. This ovoid vessel displays the bold patterns that are a classic Chancay style that are suggestive of the woven textiles that the Chancay also produced. Size: 11.7" L x 14" W x 19.5" H (29.7 cm x 35.6 cm x 49.5 cm); 22.5" H (57.2 cm) on included custom stand.

The Pre-Columbian Chancay culture produced a rich textile and ceramic artistry. This vessel reflects the woven patterns that their fabrics often displayed. The Chancay developed several ceramic styles that are distinctive in their shape and decoration. Their pottery is painted mainly with pigments from dark brown to black color on a white surface, forming bold patterns. While Chancay did not have a potter's wheel, they did have a revolving plate that served a similar function to rotate the clay while the potter applied the coiled walls to create these ovoid vessels. Most Chancay ceramics come from burial sites where the deceased were ritualistically buried with vessels and pottery figurines.

Provenance: ex-Hindman Auctions, October 12, 2023, auction 1246, lot 143; ex-Jeffrey Norris collection, Georgia, USA, acquired in the early 2000s; ex-Stephen Kramer collection, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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#183463

Some minor restoration to rim, as well as areas of chipping to rim and handles. Age-expected nicks and abrasions to surface as shown, but otherwise excellent presentation with impressive preservation to painted detail and monkey. TL holes to base and verso of monkey's head.