Inca Pottery Vessel - Coiled Serpents & Deities

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 18, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-02-18 10:00:00 2021-02-18 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-6373
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Peru, Inca, ca. 1500 CE. A large blackware vessel of a lentoid bottle form, decorated on both rounded sides with reliefs that each feature a coiled serpent emitting three serpents from its mouth on one end and a shaman or lord-god bedecked with elaborate earspools and headdress at the other end of the serpent who is encircled by the serpent's coiled form. The outer register features multiple mythical creatures, including double-headed snakes, jaguars, and other mesmerizing zoomorphic beings. Perched upon the vessel's shoulder and hugging the vessel neck is a lively monkey with endearing simian features and a curled tail. A lovely blackware vessel from the Inca peoples, impressive for its artistry, technical prowess, and layered symbolism! Size: 5.75" W x 8.5" H (14.6 cm x 21.6 cm)
  
  The iconography of this vessel is particularly rich. Snake/serpents provide a fascinating element of Pre-Columbian iconography as they were regarded to be a beneficial source of nourishment and at the same time quite deadly with their poisonous venom. Also important to the indigenous was the fact that snakes shed their skin annually thus rejuvenating themselves and serving as symbols of renewal and good health. The existence of two snake heads on this piece may suggest the bicephalic serpent which was a signifier of high rank in various Pre-Columbian world views. These two-headed beasts were regarded as sky bands that arched over the earth or surrounded the seas serving as a passageway for the planets and stars of the celestial realm. This motif decorated articles associated with individuals of high rank, thus associating them with the powers of this mighty creature.
  
  Jaguar imagery symbolized power and might throughout the Pre-Columbian world; hence, warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World.
  
  Finally, monkeys have always fascinated humankind, with their zany antics that seem to mirror and, at times, parody humans. Understanding simian creatures as mimics of human culture, most ancients of the Americas regarded the monkey as an intermediary between man and the supernatural.
  
  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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  #161463

  Condition

  Minute nicks to rim. Otherwise intact with normal surface wear commensurate with age. Nice burnishing marks over smooth areas. Old collection label on base.
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