Pre-Columbian, Mayan Territories, Peten region of Guatemala, ca. 550 to 800 CE. A whimsical polychrome pottery vessel featuring a register occupied by a pair of hummingbirds and a pair of crustaceans delineated in an abstract manner. Size: 6.75" in diameter x 4.375" H (17.1 cm x 11.1 cm)

These animals are underscored by a red and a black band below, and another black band above. To the ancients of the Pre-Columbian world, hummingbirds were associated with the sun. Appreciated for its shiny, iridescent feathering and aerial acrobatics, the hummingbird made for the ideal solar metaphor. Since these birds are known to hover, seemingly motionless, and fly up, down and even backwards, the ancients likened its motions to that of the sun's hovering in the sky at the solstices when it is also known to reverse its celestial direction. In addition, hummingbirds can assume a torpid state when it is cold at night or during brief periods in the winter. However, they come back to life in the spring warmth. This unique ability to "die" and "resurrect" signified rebirth to the ancients of the Americas, precisely at a time when planting and, in this sense, "renewed life" occurred. How magical! Crustaceans appear less frequently on Mayan art; however, a segment of their society may have journeyed to the coast or been influenced by coastal peoples, so it is not surprising to see them depicted occasionally. A lovely vessel that unites creatures of the sea and sky, two realms revered by the ancients of the Americas.

Provenance: Ex-Bloor collection

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#117796

A stable crack from rim to lower black band. Abraded rim, surface wear, and paint losses as shown.