Pre-Columbian, Maya, Ulua Valley, Honduras, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A hand-built polychrome vessel of an amphora-like shape with twin loop handles joining neck to shoulder. Most impressive is the decorative/iconographic program featuring an intriguing zoomorphic figure on each side - perhaps a monkey or a bat - presenting a wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression and splayed limbs, and wearing a beaded necklace. Above and encircling the neck is an attractive band of stepped, striated, geometric, and cross-hatched motifs. Size: 7" W handlespan x 5" H (17.8 cm x 12.7 cm)

Nocturnal bats - the only winged mammals that fly - were believed to be as ominous as owls among Pre-Columbian cultures. Swooping and darting in the night sky, the ancients of the Americas linked these creatures to both the underworld and sexual potency, the sexual connotations in turn associated with rain and fertility. Simian iconography was quite symbolic in the Pre-Columbian world, and the monkey's whimsical antics have always fascinated human beings. Simultaneously interpreted as both a mimic and a contradiction of human culture, the monkey was thought to mediate between man and the supernatural. What's more, as the wind aspect of Kulkulkan/Quetzalcoatl, the monkey was worshipped throughout the Pre-Columbian world. This adoration for monkeys would persist in to the modern era, appealing especially to early 20th century artists such as Frida Kahlo.

Provenance: private Vaught collection, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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#126911

Repaired from about a half dozen pieces. Normal surface wear with slip loss and a few scuffs/nicks commensurate with age and exposure. Scattered manganese deposits. Former inventory stickers on the base.