Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. This brilliant vermillion pottery vessel assumes form of a wide, voluminous squash with a gadrooned body that is stylistically segmented with smooth, fine vertical ribbing, features a boldly flaring spout, and is supported by three legs in the form of parrots, birds prized for their feathers among the ancients of America. Each avian form is defined with incised and pierced ovoid eyes, curved beaks, and incised and modeled wings upon a plump body that resolves to a tapered tail. The slipped and burnished surface is truly magnificent. Moreover, art imitates life in this ceramic vessel! After all, the indigenous of Mexico used hollowed gourds for storing and serving food and drink. Furthermore, iconographically this piece is quite poignant as squashes and parrots were both symbols of fertility and abundance. Painted red surface with areas of scattered root marks and numerous manganese blooms. Larger and finer than most! Size: 13.75" W x 9.625" H (34.9 cm x 24.4 cm)

In the Pre-Columbian world, birds were highly symbolic and favorite iconographical subjects in art. As sky animals, they were associated with the celestial sun and moon and were believed to act as messengers between humankind and their deities. Parrots were and continue to be revered by the ancients of the Americas. Their brilliant plumage and ability to fly high above the treeline made them ideal incarnations of the sky deities, thought to be endowed with supernatural powers of celestial origin.

Provenance: private Poway collection, California, USA

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#123287

Repaired from multiple pieces. Small nick to the shoulder. Wonderful manganese deposits.