Pre-Columbian, Maya, Guatemala/Pacific Slope, ca. 600 to 900 CE. A beautiful redware cylinder, skillfully carved with matching depictions of a lord or deity donning a magnificent headdress trimmed with feathered plumes and a patterned material, probably referencing the spotted coat of the mighty jaguar coat, and large ear ornaments on each side. Above is a register with a repeated glyph. Researchers of Maya hieroglyphic writing in the 1970s and 1980s noticed that there was repetitive text on the rims of drinking vessels; after studying hundreds of these vessels, they realized that they were statements the artisans creating them used to name the type of vessel ("plate" vs "drinking cup"), what it originally held ("chocolate" vs "maize"), and the owner of the vessel. This became what is known as the PSS. A cylindrical vessel like this one would almost certainly have been used for pouring cacao drink, the most popular drink in Maya territories, into larger cylinders, thus producing a frothy foam on top that was the preferred way of serving it. Size: 6" W x 6.875" H (15.2 cm x 17.5 cm)

Provenance: private Miami Beach, Florida USA collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#121721

Expected surface wear. Repaired from several pieces, but well done. Imagery is very vivid.