**Originally Listed At $3000**
Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin, ca. 900 to 500 BCE. An exceedingly rare ceramic depiction of a Chavin ballgame court, hand-built from red-brown pottery and presenting with highly burnished surfaces. The bowl-shaped model has raised walls around three-quarters of the periphery, a protruding rectangular box with a pair of vertical frontal slits and two petite perforations on the top. The stepped borders on either side of the wall gap indicate the 'walls' of the vessel and represents seating for spectators watching the action unfold. A rare example of Chavin architectural artistry! Size: 12.75" W x 2.1" H (32.4 cm x 5.3 cm); 6.9" H (17.5 cm) on included custom stand.
For additional information on architectural ball court models in ancient Mesoamerica, please see: Pillsbury, Joanne, Patricia Joan Sarro, James Doyle, and Juliet Wiersema. "Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015, pp. 40-44.
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Dr. Fischer collection, Germany, 1950 to 1970
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance),
we will no longer ship PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#148483
Condition
Two TL holes to verso. Possible areas of repair and restoration to rim and body, but professionally done and nearly invisible if so. Minor abrasions to rim, body, and base, with fading to areas of original pigmentation, and light encrustations. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Old inventory label beneath body.