One of the earliest/most rare type of Pre-Columbian ceramics, ca. 100 B.C. - 200 A.D. From Catamarca's Belen culture in northwest Argentina, renowned for its distinctive and beautifully patterned ceramics witnessed in the Aguada civilization (whose territory also centered on Catamarca). La Aguada (Middle Period), comprising Catamarca, southern Salta and northern La Rioja up to northern San Juan: Belen and Santa Maria are located in the valleys of western Catamarca. This particular style can be best attributed to Belen ceramics which were characterized by its uniformity in the form, color and decoration, and by graze compacts, of good baking, of intense reddish/red color and fragile structure. The decoration is realized with black painting, in this case two standing birds with wings outstretched. The simplicity of its form and construction show the true, handmade nature of these ceramics. You can see and feel the handwork at all levels - the rim, the body, the handles. 3-1/4"H x 6"D.

PROVENANCE: Ex-private Southwestern Collection.

Completely intact.