Pre-Colombian Ulúa Marble Bowl with Feline Effigy Handles (550-950 AD)

This extremely rare and important bowl depicts two feline effigies. Bowls such as this were used by the priests and nobility, and were traded among the Maya elite. First documented in the late nineteenth century, Ulúa style vessels represent a small corpus of fewer than 200 examples. They were valued luxury goods traded in a broad geographic range from Costa Rica in the south to the Central Maya lowland in the north. Vessels have been generally categorized into five groups by the variety of handle styles, but they are highly consistent in the overall design motifs of frontal and profile zoomorphic heads flanked by scrolls, scales, and scalloped forms.

- Maya
- 550-950 AD
- Ulua Valley, Western Honduras
- 7 7/8” x 7 3/4”
- From a private New York Collection

Each item will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Repairs to base of vessel