Pre-Columbian, Oaxaca, Mexico, Zapotec culture, Monte Alban, ca. 100 BCE to 200 CE. A beautifully preserved, detailed example of one of the most famous forms of Monte Alban pottery, a figural vessel made from crema paste ceramics. These elaborately decorated items were produced as prestige items and local lords in the Monte Alban area received them via gift-giving networks that reinforced their power and prestige. Here, a seated lord holds a trophy head in his lap; feathers, leaves, and corn surround his body, while a jaguar head rests atop his large headdress and massive feathered wings project behind him. In one hand he holds a bowl and in the other he holds a knife, perhaps the tools he has used to behead his captive. Size: 6.8" W x 6.95" H (17.3 cm x 17.7 cm)

The Zapotec, like many pre-Columbian civilizations, placed clay effigies into burials, often in the form of urns or vessels. Who are the figures depicted on vessels like this one, and what was their purpose? They may represent the deities themselves, but more likely, they seem to represent ancestors or shamans impersonating gods, but may even represent spirits.

Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s

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#140763

Intact with light deposits, mainly in the lower profile areas.