Pre-Columbian, Mexico and northern Central America, Mayan Territories, Late Classic, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A fascinating and incredibly rare box made for holding a cache, featuring a prisoner of war splayed out on his stomach and tied down atop the lid. The box is long and rectangular, standing on four thin feet. The lid is roof-shaped, so that the figure atop it rests upon its crest. His arms and legs are tied down with thick, twisted straps; his head is raised, his mouth open as if he is screaming for freedom. He wears a fantastical headdress, a heavy cape with giant, phallic pectoral, and a loincloth, perhaps signifying that he is a dignitary about to meet an untimely end. Size with lid: 10" L x 7" W x 13" H (25.4 cm x 17.8 cm x 33 cm)

Unlike many other ancient civilizations, the Mayans did not have cemeteries or necropolises; instead, they buried both human remains and ritual caches of pottery filled with offerings, jade, beads, and other precious items throughout their lived-in-landscape, especially as part of their architecture. These all seem to have been "earth offerings," and may have been dedications for newly built construction, markers for the end of use of a building, or some kind of renewal ceremony relating to the broader concept of Mayan cosmology: the cycle of planting, harvest, and rebirth. Caches have been found in floors, in the fill of buildings, or set into walls. Vessels with lids like this one seem to have been symbolic of houses or structures to the Maya, meaning that they served as symbolic offerings of the buildings in which they were buried, able to be filled with offerings of food or drink, sanctifying the construction. This is a particularly nice example, as many vessels seemingly made only to be cached are of thin construction, because they were never meant for heavy use.

The Bonhams listing is here: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19988/lot/81/

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Bonhams, May 12, 2012, Lot 81; ex-Christie's Paris, May 2007, Lot 115; ex-private European collection, acquired prior to 1970

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#132667

Repaired and restored from multiple pieces. The repairs expertly done and almost invisible. With nice deposits on surface.