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THBPair of Sican 16KT Gold and Silver Birds
Lot 28c
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
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
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$9,000 - $13,500
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
May 10, 2018
Set Reminder
2018-05-10 10:00:00
2018-05-10 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Fine Ethnographic / Asian / Ancient Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-ethnographic-asian-ancient-art-3213
Featuring antiquities from around the world including Pre-Columbian, Tribal, Classical, Asian, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Featuring antiquities from around the world including Pre-Columbian, Tribal, Classical, Asian, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (407)
- Lot Description
Pre-Columbian, north coast of Peru, Sican/Lambayeque culture, ca. 850 to 1000 CE. A pair of rare, fascinating objects - high percentage silver-bodied birds with hammered 16KT sheet gold covering their upper portions and forming their heads. Each bird has a long beak ending in a rounded dot of gold. Their heads have incised features, including large eyes; on one, a ridged band around the back and on the wing may be imitations of feathers. Birds are very common motifs in Sican goldwork. Based on similar examples from the Jan Mitchell Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see below), the silver lower parts of the birds were probably once vessels. Their surfaces here can be partially seen, and they are sparingly decorated with stamped linear and geometric motifs. Size of one (they are flattened): 5.6" W (14.2 cm); 7" H (17.8 cm) on included custom stand.
Most of what we know about Sican comes from a large area called the Batan Grande Archaeological Complex, a huge ceremonial and cemetery site for a little-understood ancient civilization. Building pyramids that rise over 40 m high and thousands of tombs, the Sican occupied this region for a lengthy period. Fabulous finds - often containing gold and silver objects - mark out the graves of the ancient elite. These tombs were filled with human sacrifices, mantles made of shell and feathers, lapis lazuli, cinnabar, scepters, arrows, effigy jars, and vessels like these probably once were.
c.f., The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection, by Jan Mitchell and Julie Jones (ed.), 1985.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Parke Bernet, New York, USA; ex P. Haig 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.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#132538Both are partially crushed, as shown, as a result of deposition. Extensive deposits and nice age patina on surface.Condition
- Shipping Info
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