Pre-Columbian, Gulf of Mexico, Isla de Sacrificios, ca. 13th to 15th century CE. A striking pair of polychrome bowls created via a technique originating on Isla de Sacrificios (Island of Sacrifices), a small island located at the entrance to the port of Veracruz the Gulf Coast of Mexico, during the centuries just prior to the Spanish conquest of 1521. Ceramics from Isla de Sacrificios are characteristically decorated with concentric bands in white, brown, and red on a buff-colored background as we see in these examples. In addition, these bowls also include abstract figural imagery - one presents a profile head on the tondo and seed-like motifs occupying the surrounding bands - the other features a hybrid bird-snake, Quetzalcoatl-like deity with schematic stars in the field. Size of largest (the other is slightly smaller): 7.75" W x 1.95" H (19.7 cm x 5 cm)

Isla de Sacrificios was given this name by the Spaniards after they found victims of heart sacrifice on the island.

Provenance: ex-New York, USA collection; ex-Sotheby's New York, May 16 1989, lot 373

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#155507

Both are intact, with light wear on surface commensurate with age including some loss to the pigment as shown. Overall motifs are well preserved. Both have multiple old collection labels on their undersides, including from Sotheby's.