Chancay Pottery Black-on-White Figural Litter Vessel
Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay, ca. 800 to 1200 CE. A very rare ceramic vessel, hand sculpted and painted in the distinctive Chancay style. The vessel features a half-circle-shaped body with a large, flaring spout emerging from its nadir. Atop its other side is a scene of a lord being born on a litter by two attendants. The lord is seated, with his legs raised and his hands resting on his knees. He wears a large crown, huge round earrings, and a necklace or pectoral composed of several applied dots. Each attendant is personalized, with different headgear and facial markings. The litter they bear is a simple flat base with two handles, very similar to other litters known from this culture such as one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (64.228.684). Size: 5.8" W x 10.2" H (14.7 cm x 25.9 cm)
This vessel seems to have been made purely to be votive, or to show off the skill of the artist, given the position of the spout in relation to the litter! Perhaps this is a scene that the sculptor witnessed themselves, or one that someone requested. It has been painted in the distinctive Chancay style of black-on-white pottery. Chancay ceramics are found mainly in the cemeteries of the Ancon and Chancay valleys, where elite members of society paid for a class of artisans to create funerary items like this one.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Ben Johnson collection, Los Angeles, California, USA LACMA Curator, collected before 1970
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 to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#151861 Dimensions: Condition Report: Expertly repaired and restored from multiple pieces. This is very well done and almost indiscernible. Light deposits on surface with nice remaining pigment and wear commensurate with age.
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Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay, ca. 800 to 1200 CE. A very rare ceramic vessel, hand sculpted and painted in the distinctive Chancay style. The vessel features a half-circle-shaped body with a large, flaring spout emerging from its nadir. Atop its other side is a scene of a lord being born on a litter by two attendants. The lord is seated, with his legs raised and his hands resting on his knees. He wears a large crown, huge round earrings, and a necklace or pectoral composed of several applied dots. Each attendant is personalized, with different headgear and facial markings. The litter they bear is a simple flat base with two handles, very similar to other litters known from this culture such as one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (64.228.684). Size: 5.8" W x 10.2" H (14.7 cm x 25.9 cm)
This vessel seems to have been made purely to be votive, or to show off the skill of the artist, given the position of the spout in relation to the litter! Perhaps this is a scene that the sculptor witnessed themselves, or one that someone requested. It has been painted in the distinctive Chancay style of black-on-white pottery. Chancay ceramics are found mainly in the cemeteries of the Ancon and Chancay valleys, where elite members of society paid for a class of artisans to create funerary items like this one.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Ben Johnson collection, Los Angeles, California, USA LACMA Curator, collected before 1970
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 to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#151861 Dimensions: Condition Report: Expertly repaired and restored from multiple pieces. This is very well done and almost indiscernible. Light deposits on surface with nice remaining pigment and wear commensurate with age.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
