Colima Pottery Shaman Figure w/ Horn & Staff

Lot 32

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686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States

Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more

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About Auction

Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic by Artemis Gallery

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Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 18, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-03-18 10:00:00 2021-03-18 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-tribal-oceanic-6520 Featuring Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, much more. All items have been legally acquired and are legal to sell. Convenient in-house shipping. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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Lot Description

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. An impressive terracotta shaman depicted standing and holding a long staff or walking stick. The mysterious figure presents a rectangular body with petite nipples and prominent knee caps. Looking upwards, the figure's visage features almond-shaped eyes under an arched brow, a naturalistic nose, and a straight mouth held slightly open. A sizable curved shaman horn protrudes from the top of the head as two elongated ears with perforated lobes embellish either side of the head. The shaman's body is embellished with stripes of creamy beige paint. Much of the religious practice of this culture and others in Mesoamerica involved shamans/priests entering an altered state, often through the use of hallucinogenic substances. The figure's blank eyes and skyward-tilted head suggest such an entranced state. Size: 8.75" W x 17.75" H (22.2 cm x 45.1 cm)

Colima, located on Mexico's southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the dead were buried down shafts - 3 to 20 meters deep - that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and scholars posit that they were used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. This is a figure made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the deceased.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection;ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA, collected from 1970 to 2008

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.

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#161497

Condition

Collection label on foot. Repaired from several pieces with restoration over break lines. Missing left hand. A few light scratches and abrasions in areas. Otherwise, excellent with lovely remaining pigments.
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