Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, Protoclassic period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A hand-built and highly burnished redware pottery vessel with a flat base, a horseshoe-shaped body, and a raised head opposite a broad spout. The vessel takes the form of a charming canine who rests its head atop its posterior and has a pair of nubbin-shaped legs on either end of the body. The face of the sleepy pup exhibits impressed hemispherical eyes with heavy lids, a conical snout, a bulging brow, and a pair of gently cupped ears. Size: 8.5" L x 7.125" W x 5.375" H (21.6 cm x 18.1 cm x 13.7 cm)
Scholars know of at least two types of Colima dogs, one to be fattened up and ritually sacrificed or eaten and one to serve as a watchdog and healer of the ill. This plump hairless canine, known as a Chichi or Escuintla, is thought to be related to the Chihuahua or the Mexican Hairless also known as the Xoloitzcuintle. The Xoloitzcuintle was named for the deity Xolotl, the God of the Underworld, and was believed to guide the deceased as they journeyed to the afterlife. Colima vessels such as this one were buried in shaft tombs to protect the deceased and provide sustenance for eternity.
For a stylistically similar example of a curled dog vessel, please see: Kan, Michael, Clement Meighan, and H.B. Nicholson. "Sculpture of Ancient West Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima | A Catalogue of the Proctor Stafford Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art." Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989, p. 152, fig. 152.; for online photographs, please see the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.86.296.156.
Provenance: ex-private Chino Valley, Arizona, USA collection; ex-private Gibralt collection, New York, USA, acquired before 1990
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#153539
Condition
Spout reattached to midsection of body, with resurfacing and overpainting along break lines. Minor nicks and abrasions to spout, base, head, and body, with fading and light chipping to areas of original pigmentation with scattered areas of fire-darkening, and light encrustations. Light earthen deposits, nice manganese deposits, and great remains of original pigment throughout.