**Originally Listed At $3000**

Pre-Columbian, Colombia or Ecuador, Tumaco/La Tolita, ca. 1st to 5th century CE. A ferocious pottery example of a stylized shark, exhibiting a huge head with bulging round eyes, a long snout, pierced nostrils, and a fierce, square mouth comprised of several rows of jagged, gnashing teeth. Enveloped in vibrant, red pigment, his voluminous body rests on its flattened belly, pectoral fins spread outward as though riding a wave as he scours the ocean for his next victim. His tail points upward from his posterior, as a curved dorsal fin rises from his arched back. Tumaco-La Tolita art represents a large number of animals, both natural and supernatural. Among them, there are 3 that stand out: the jaguar, the shark and the caiman. Size: 22" L x 14.3" W x 12.8" H (55.9 cm x 36.3 cm x 32.5 cm)

Some researchers think that these three animals could have been the main deities in Tolita mythology, since each one of them is the greatest predator of the ecosystems where the people of Tumaco-La Tolita would have lived; the jaguar is the largest predator in the jungle, the shark is the largest predator in the sea, and the caiman is the largest predator in rivers and mangrove forests. Scholars posit that several of these animals, natural or not, could have represented the mythical ancestors of several families, since there are a large number of human figurines that wear these characters in their headdresses, there are also cases of people who were buried with some of these animals, which would have been sacrificed in honor of the deceased.

Published in Sotheby's New York "African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art" November 11, 2004, pg. 168, lot 216.

Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1980.34.24 and Armand Labbe "Colombia Before Columbus: The people, Culture, and ceramic Art of Prehispanic Colombia" New York: Rizzoli, 1986, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA. (fig. 8 & 10) for the type.

Provenance: private Thornton, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Akiba Auction Gallery, Dania Beach, Florida, USA; ex-William Siegal Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, January 11, 2006; ex-Sotheby's New York, November 11, 2004

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#183768

Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting; break lines just barely visible in a few small areas and on interior. Some minor chips and nicks, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent presentation with impressive remaining detail and vibrant pigments. Modern felt pads on underside of base for protection.