Large Colima Redware Puppy w/ Pierced Ears

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 21, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-02-21 10:00:00 2019-02-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-3858
An important one-day auction featuring museum-worthy examples of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine Art, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, Protoclassic Period, ca. 100 BCE to 250 CE. A hollow, hand-built ceramic effigy sculpture depicting a corpulent canine, one of the most famous of the classes of West Mexican shaft tomb culture artifacts. The dog is defined by a portly abdomen supported by four attenuated legs, a stocky neck, a tapered head, and a conical tail projecting off of the back. The playful countenance boasts incised circular eyes flanking a central facial groove, a narrow nose with delineated nostrils, a slit-form mouth with bared teeth, and enormous ears with small piercings meant for additional ornamentation. The highly-burnished exterior is embellished with orange-red slip and makes this an attractive example from ancient West Mexico! Size: 15.5" L x 8.5" W x 10" H (39.4 cm x 21.6 cm x 25.4 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 Mexican Hairless also known as the Xoloitzcuintle. The Xolo dog was named for the deity Xolotl, the God of the Underworld, and 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, please see the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.72.116: https://collections.lacma.org/node/238623
  
  A stylistically-similar example of a slightly-smaller size hammered for $9,000 at Sotheby's, New York "African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art" auction (May 9, 2006, lot 178): http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2006/african-oceanic-and-pre-columbian-art-n08199/lot.178.html
  
  Provenance: ex-Keith Dieterich Antiques, San Francisco, California, USA collection
  
  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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  #144313

  Condition

  Head and one leg reattached to body with resurfacing and light overpainting along break lines. Restoration to one ear piercing and most of jaw. Minor abrasions to body, legs, head, and tail, with some areas of fire-darkening, and softening to some incised details. Light earthen deposits throughout.
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