Pre-Columbian, Olmec culture, ca. 900 BCE. This is a well-proportioned cylindrical ceramic vessel with a splayed rim, unusual for its relatively monochromatic white/cream slip covered surface, and finely incised with five large profile heads, potentially of a deity. These heads are separated by abstract "x" glyphs perhaps representing a stylized weaving glyph and triangular motifs perhaps representing mountains or hillsides. Cinnabar was used to highlight the incised iconography. Bowls like these were made throughout the wide area of interconnected chiefdoms that we consider the Olmec; they were made to hold honey, cocoa, and other food. A stunning and rare example! Size: 8" in diameter x 4.5" H (20.3 cm x 11.4 cm)

Provenance: Ex-private Scollard collection, acquired before 1990

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#114835

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