**Originally Listed At $400**

Pre-Columbian, Mayan Territories, ca. 600 to 950 CE. A striking vessel, handbuilt and skillfully finished with an extensive iconographic program in red, orange, and black. The imagery depicts a scene from the Popol Vuh; note the cartouches presenting the Hero Twins facing each other. The Maya Hero Twins (Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the K'iche language) are the primary figures of the Popol Vuh and are usually represented as complementary forces such as sky and earth, life and death, sun and moon, day and night, male and female; this quality of duality came to be omnipresent throughout the Pre-Columbian world. Size: 8" in diameter x 6.25" H (20.3 cm x 15.9 cm)

Though many versions of the Hero Twins myth exist, the only surviving written narrative, that of the Popol Vuh, is as follows. The Hero Twins Xbalanque and Hunahpu were ballplayers like their father and uncle, Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu, who were summoned to Xibalba by the Lords of the Underworld only to be defeated and sacrificed. However, these two sons were conceived from the 'seed' of their deceased father (their pregnant mother fled from Xibalba). The Twins grew up and were determined to avenge their father. Following many trials, they finally defeated the lords of the Underworld in the legendary ballgame.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Miami, Florida, USA collection

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#134101

Repaired from multiple pieces with restoration over the break lines, repainting in areas in vicinity of break lines and rim, and a few visible fissures. Nice original paint does remain. Root marks and mineral deposits grace the surface as well.