**First Time At Auction**
Pre-Columbian, Northern Coast of Peru, Chavin culture, ca. 900 to 500 BCE. A hand-carved stone jar of lustrous red hues and petite form that exhibits a finely-preserved, highly abstract jaguar head with lengthy nostril whiskers that wrap around the head and ears. The sides and back of the vessel are pecked with a spotted pattern. The handheld size highlights the expert skill of the artisan to render the amicable jaguar face with such detail and complexity; the vessel itself perhaps held hallucinogenic substances intended for ritual consumption. Size: 1.8" L x 1.625" W x 1.2" H (4.6 cm x 4.1 cm x 3 cm)
The Chavin people lived in the northern Highland Andes, and their capital, Chavin de Huantar, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The artwork of Chavin represents the first widespread style in the Andes. The center of Chavin de Huantar is a massive, flat-topped pyramid, surrounded by lower platforms. Between 1200 and 500 BCE the pyramid space was used for religious ceremonies. The Old Temple, constructed very early in the history of the site, consists of a series of passageways built around a circular courtyard; within were carved stone monuments showing jaguars, serpents, and other figures. At the very center is a towering stone stela depicting an anthropomorphic figure with a jaguar head and a human body, believed to be Lanzon, the chief deity of Chavin. Researchers believe that worshippers ingested hallucinogenic drugs and then were led in the dark through the labyrinthine passageways before entering the central courtyard and coming abruptly face-to-face with the snarling features of the god.
Provenance: ex-Pepe Schaefer collection, La Quinta, California, USA, gifted in 1984 by Bosta Seminarao, Santa Rosa, California, USA, imported into the US 1955 or earlier
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#178264
Condition
Minor softening to some finer details, with light abrasions, and earthen deposits in some recessed areas, otherwise intact and excellent. Great preservation to jaguar form and nice surface smoothness throughout.