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THBImportant Maya Basalt Figure Chac Uayab Xoc (Fish God)
Lot 101
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
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
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$25,000 - $35,000
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
May 23, 2019
Set Reminder
2019-05-23 10:00:00
2019-05-23 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Exceptional Day 2 Ethnographic Tribal Fossils
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-day-2-ethnographic-tribal-fossils-4136
Day 2 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian from the ancient americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial, and incredible Fossils. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Day 2 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian from the ancient americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial, and incredible Fossils. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (194)
- Lot Description
Pre-Columbian, Maya Territories, probably El Salvador, ca. 600 to 900 CE. Finely carved from basalt, a depiction of Chac Uayab Xoc, the Maya fish god believed to serve as the protector of fish and the patron of fisherman, but simultaneously feared as a deity who fed off the bodies of drowning fishermen, hence also known as the "great demon shark". Chac Uayab Xoc is said to ensure that the fishermen have good catches. Here he is depicted riding the crest of a wave. The overall form resembles that of a palma. Actual palmas were heavy pieces of leather worn by athletes during the Mesoamerican ballgame; stones like this one were carved to represent them in sculptural form. Stone palmas may have been given as awards or displayed in temples; the relationship between the ballgame and religion remains unclear, but there certainly seems to be a connection. The Chac Uayab Xoc theme relates to concepts of sacrifice, death, and rebirth, the struggles of the ballgame. Size: 8.5" W x 11" H (21.6 cm x 27.9 cm)
According to Jennifer Ruth John's dissertation "Postclassic Maya Ceramic iconography at Lamanai, Belize, Central America" (University College London, - "Fish often feature in transformation myths (Tedlock 1996:132) and might thus have been considered able to cross boundaries between this world and the otherworld. The shark(xoc) is a voracious, cartilaginous fish occurring in both marine and freshwater (Jones 1985: 217-218). The bull or cub shark sometimes leaves the sea and travels into fresh water (Jones 1985: 217-218). This, along with Lamanai’s connection to water-borne travel and transport by both land and sea, suggests that sharks were well-known to the inhabitants of Lamanai. Shark teeth were recovered from high status Lamanai burials in the Early and Late Postclassic Periods (Burials N10-4/9 and /46, respectively; see Appendices 4 and 5), further indicative of the animal’s cultural importance at the site. The Maya shark (xoc) was mythologised into Ah Xoc, ah Kan Xoc, or Chac Uayab Xoc, an ominous 'were-shark' demon (Jones 1985: 217-218; see Hellmuth 1987:138-143, Figs. 269-282, 290-309). In the literature, the shark is primarily linked to bloodletting and sacrifice (Reilly 1985:130). Consequently, the shark lent the Lamanai zoomorphs strength, and both fish and shark aspects emphasise the beast’s ability of transformation." (http://www.lamanai.org.uk/uploads/3/4/5/0/34505207/jennyjohnsdissertation.pdf)
Provenance: private Owen collection, New Jersey, USA; ex- estate of a wealthy land owner and rancher in the American Southwest
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#146046Minute nicks to peripheries and high-pointed areas. Otherwise intact with no repair or restoration. Nice earthen deposits as well.Condition
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