Pre-Columbian, Central Mexico, Classic Maya, ca. 200 to 700 CE. This is a beautifully-crafted well-burnished but unslipped orange paste deer head. It appears to have been broken off of something -- perhaps a spouted vessel or a bowl? The features are fine and although the eyes are stylized, it looks quite lifelike. To the Maya, deer were hugely symbolic animals. They were the largest animals that the Maya hunted; they are also mentioned in the Popol Vuh, the Maya creation story. Some Classic Maya depictions of the ball game even have representations of the deer hunt, with ballplayers dressed as deer. Deer heads, both real and artificial were and are still today worn by Maya in dances and ritual parades. This head, with its charming face, is a potent reminder of human relationships with animals. Size: 2-1/2" tall, 1-3/4" wide, and 1" deep (6.4 cm x 4.4 cm x 2.5 cm).

Provenance: Ex-private Olan collection, California, by family descent, acquired 1960 to 1970.

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#110261

Expected patina and dirt staining. One antler is missing and the tip of the other is chipped off; the head has been broken off of a larger, unknown piece.