**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Mayan region, Maya/Toltec, ca. 900 to 1200 CE. A "plumbate" pottery head vessel depicting a shaman or priest wearing an enormous tapir head headdress, his face peeking out from inside of the creature's mouth, with the long, phallic animal nose hanging over the wearer's own. A tall, wide vessel mouth rises above the top of the head. Plumbate pottery is distinguishable by its uniquely shiny - sometimes even iridescent - glaze that has been fired at very high temperatures. Plumbate ware was probably made by a very small number of artisans around the Mexico/Guatemala border who then exported them throughout wider Mesoamerica. Baird's tapir was the largest animal in Mayan territory and could weigh up to 650 pounds; the Maya associated the animal, which is nocturnal, with the underworld, sexual potency, and fertility. Size: 3.25" W x 4.25" H (8.3 cm x 10.8 cm)

Provenance: Estate of R. Pearson, Denver, Colorado, USA; Mr. Pearson collected from the third quarter of the 20th century until he passed away.

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#143106

Rim is repaired and restored. This is well done and difficult to discern. Nice remaining detail.