Pre-Columbian, south coast of Peru, Nazca, ca. 220 BCE to 125 CE. A quaint, hand-built polychrome pottery bowl presenting a round yet stable base, a flared rim, and steep walls decorated with 3 hummingbirds. The exterior’s background is painted in a vibrant hue of russet red, with the painted program completed in shades of yellow ochre, burnt orange, and cream accompanied by a consistent black outline. The hummingbirds bear a stylized presentation with elliptical eyes, pointed beaks, and narrow wing tips. Each bird is identically painted and proportionally spaced from one another. The interior basin is glazed a tone of light orange with a lovely border at its top featuring a repeated abstract motif. Please note that the Lucite stand is for photography purposes only. Size: 4.2" in diameter x 2.5" H (10.7 cm x 6.4 cm)
To the ancients of the Pre-Columbian world, hummingbirds were associated with the sun. Appreciated for their shiny, iridescent feathering and aerial acrobatics, hummingbirds made for ideal solar metaphors. Since these birds are known to hover, seemingly motionless, and fly up, down and even backwards, the ancients likened their motions to that of the sun's hovering in the sky at the solstices when it is also known to reverse its celestial direction. In addition, hummingbirds can assume a torpid state when it is cold at night or during brief periods in the winter. However, they come back to life in the spring warmth. This unique ability to "die" and "resurrect" signified rebirth to the ancients of the Americas, precisely at a time when planting and, in this sense, "renewed life" occurred. How magical!
Provenance: ex Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA, donated to Ashland University between July 1994 to December 1998
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#165793
Condition
Chips to rim. Repaired from at least 2 pieces with restoration. Otherwise, excellent with nice remaining pigments.