Large Fine Veracruz Pottery Warrior

Lot 104e

About Seller

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

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About Auction

Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Ethnographic by Artemis Gallery

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Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Apr 25, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-04-25 10:00:00 2019-04-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-tribal-ethnographic-4035 Featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world, including Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Ethnographic, Spanish Colonial, Fossils, Fine Art, much more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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Lot Description

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Veracruz culture, also known as Totonac (Totonaca), Remojadas, ca. 300 to 600 CE. A dramatic ceramic depiction of a warrior, shown standing in a dynamic pose, legs apart, arms bent at the elbow and hands clasped around a staff. The face stares straight ahead, lifelike with wide eyes, a narrow nose, and mouth set into a thin line. The figure wears a helmet with a short crest atop it, large looped earrings, and a long necklace; the helmet is affixed to the head by a thin strap under the chin. Thick black pigment known as chapopote, that is common to Veracruz artwork and is made from petroleum-rich deposits, covers the entirety of the face and then is smeared in thick lines down from the neck, forming a radiating pattern down the shoulders to the upper arms and down the chest. The staff is also painted fully black. Size: 10.1" W x 20.75" H (25.7 cm x 52.7 cm)

The sophisticated skills used by the artist to construct this piece demonstrate how advanced ceramic technology was in this culture. The arms, head, and legs, all hollow, were made separately and fitted onto the torso, with the joints smoothed over to disguise them. The ornament was also constructed separately, then pressed onto the surface of the body. The piece was fired all together after the clay had dried for a brief period. Imagine the workshop where this item was made - full of disembodied limbs and heads in the process of being sculpted into shape. Figures like this one are often found with the bodies smashed into pieces and the heads largely intact, as they were ritually destroyed as burial offerings.

Provenance: ex-John Rich collection, California, USA. John was a notable Hollywood producer/director.

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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#145719

Condition

Repaired and restored from multiple pieces - at waist, legs, arms, and neck. This is well done and difficult to see. All pigment is original. Loss to front of one foot as well as part of the helmet.
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