Pre-Columbian, Maya, Honduras, Ulua Valley, ca. 500 to 900 CE. An impressive and intricately decorated polychrome pottery tripod olla. It features a broad, apple-shaped body with a slightly corseted neck and unpronounced rim. It stands on three short, slab feet, and the entirety of the exterior is painted in vibrant hues of orange, red, and black with the widest, the central band, featuring the heads of lords or gods in ornate feathered headdresses while the top and bottom bands feature widely spaced, glyphoids. Size: 5.75" W x 4.8" H (14.6 cm x 12.2 cm)
The Ulua Valley, centered around the large city of Cerro Palenque, is a mystery for archaeologists - unlike the Maya, they left no written records (the glyphoid designs on this vessel do not form words), and their connection to the Classic Maya is unclear. It seems to have been a point of trade and transport - a connecting link - between the Maya world further north and Central America. The pottery from the Ulua Valley is part of a very unique tradition different even from those found at nearby Copan.
Provenance: ex-private C. Webster collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico USA acquired before 2000; ex-Bill Schneider collection
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#155989
Condition
Possible area of repair/restoration along one side of the lower body; if so, this is expertly done and almost impossible to discern. Excellent condition otherwise with a lightly abraded surface and great deposits and root marks.