Tall Maya Incised Pottery Cylinder, Incised Skull

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 24, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-03-24 10:00:00 2022-03-24 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-9057
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Maya, Late Classic Period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A wonderful pottery vessel presenting a tall, cylindrical form with an annular rim, all sitting upon a planar base. Adorned in hues of red and orange, the exterior of the vessel has been expertly incised with elaborate decoration. A horizontal row of glyphs resembling monkey heads adorns the area just below the rim, each head facing left and presenting circular eyes, an upturned nose, an open mouth with a protruding tongue, spiraling ears, and a bulbous cranium with short, diagonal striations representing fur. The field is filled with lattice motif, while a trio of vertical lines separates each head. Alternatively, the main body of the vessel features a pair of left-facing skulls in profile placed equidistantly and displaying bulbous back regions and delineated teeth as a large bubble protrudes from their mouths. Size: 4.6" Diameter x 10.8" H (11.7 cm x 27.4 cm)
  
  The background of the vessel body is decorated with a series of vertical striations and a pair of horizontal registers with vertical lines divides the monkey head pattern from the sizeable skulls.
  
  It is fitting that this monkey appears on a work of Maya art, as monkeys are associated with creativity in the Popol Vuh where the older brothers of the Hero Twins are named "One Monkey" (Hun batz) and "One Artisan" (Hun chouen), translated at times to One Howler monkey and One Spider monkey. These half-brothers were believed to be carvers, writers, flautists, singers, in short, men of genius. When they were defeated by the Hero Twins and converted into monkeys, they rose to the occasion and became patrons of the arts, and in time, the object of writers' and carvers' prayers.
  
  The skulls were also popular, if not morbid, motifs in Maya art. One may ask, does this represent a trophy head? Disembodied heads were a near-universal constant in Mesoamerican imagery for millennia; however, by the Classic Maya period it seems likely that the practice of taking of actual trophy heads, for the most part, had been replaced by a practice of using skulls as the ball in their ballgame. One example of this is in the Popol Vuh, a text recounting the history and mythology of the Kiche Maya of the Guatemalan Highlands, where a decapitated head is used instead of a rubber ball.
  
  Residue analysis on vessels like this one show that they were used for drinking chocolate, a hugely popular and ritual practice amongst the Maya, especially the elite. Although we know little about the artisans who made vessels like this one, we do know that cylinder jars are often associated with tombs, sometimes ritually broken. Prominent Mayanist Michael Coe has connected the scenes depicted upon the most important of these vessels with the sixteenth century Maya written epic, the Popol Vuh, which describes Maya religion and mythology, as this one does.
  
  Provenance: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA 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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #170455

  Condition

  Top half is repaired from several pieces with restoration and repainting over some break lines and others visible in areas. One area of rim repaired with a small piece from another vessel. A few stable hairline fissures to base with one extending slightly up the bottom. Expected nicks, chips, scratches, and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive preservation of pigments and incised detail.
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