Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico, Maya, Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A lovely pottery vessel of a tall, cylindrical form with a flat base, smooth walls, a deep basin, and a lightly flared rim. The exterior is carved with two identical panels depicting a lord seated among a dense lattice-patterned ground, holding his arms against his abdomen, and wearing a spotted skirt. A pair of integral incised necklaces adorn the neck of each lord, and an abstract serpentine form with a spade-shaped head protrudes from their mouths beneath a disembodied hand. The entire vessel is covered in smooth orange-hued glaze that imbues it with a classic presentation of fine Maya pottery artistry! Size: 5.125" W x 6.5" H (13 cm x 16.5 cm).
For the Maya, extraordinary ceramic vases like this example were gifted to elite individuals, akin to the gifts exchanged between high profile dignitaries today. Vases were a functional gift, created by artist/scribes who came from elite families and who took pains to recreate the stories of Mayan mythology and religion as well as to depict royal and godly personages in their artwork. This artwork reinforced the ruling ideology and reminded the viewer of what was valuable in Mayan society. Today, they teach us about the stories that were important to the Maya and also give us clues to how elite people lived and dressed. Scholars have painstakingly worked to decipher the meaning of the iconography and glyphs painted on cylinder jars, and we know much more about them than we did even twenty years ago.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Roy Oswald collection, Arizona, USA
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#148353
Condition
Chips and abrasions to rim, body, and base, with softening to some carved details, and encrustations on interior and exterior, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits throughout, and great craquelure to several glazed areas. Old inventory numbers written in black ink beneath base.