Ritual Vessel, Terracotta, c. 800–1000 CE. Terracotta with slip decoration. 31 cm height; 22 cm diameter.
Lot 007 · Decorative Arts
Ritual Vessel, Terracotta
Unknown, Pre-Columbian (West Mexico)
Year
c. 800–1000 CE
Medium
Terracotta with slip decoration
Dimensions
31 cm height; 22 cm diameter
Estimate
NZD 6,000–9,000
A vessel of considerable presence, the body hand-built and burnished to a warm red-brown surface before the application of a cream slip in geometric bands. The decoration — alternating registers of diagonal hatching and plain slip — is executed with precision and confidence. The form is functional in origin but the quality of the making elevates it beyond utility. The vessel has been examined by a specialist in Pre-Columbian ceramics and is considered authentic. Thermoluminescence testing has confirmed a date consistent with the stated period.
Artist
Unknown, Pre-Columbian (West Mexico)
The shaft tomb cultures of West Mexico — principally the Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit traditions — produced some of the most distinctive ceramic art of the ancient Americas between approximately 200 BCE and 500 CE. Unlike the monumental stone sculpture of the Maya and Aztec civilisations, these works are intimate in scale and remarkable for their psychological directness. They were placed in shaft tombs as offerings to accompany the dead and were rediscovered in large numbers during the twentieth century. The present vessel, with its bold geometric decoration and confident form, is consistent with the Colima tradition.