Colima Stone Effigy Bowl, Carved Human Form

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Colima, ca. 100 BCE – 250 CE. A human figure reduced to a bowl: the shallow round basin is the body itself, ground from dense gray-green hardstone and framed by a raised border that resolves into a small head at the top, with recessed circular eyes, a ridged nose, and a slotted mouth. Lobed projections along the rim read as arms, and folded legs are indicated in low relief at the lower edge. The exterior is smoothly worked and rounded, the interior evenly hollowed by patient abrasion. Dishes of this type likely served in the presentation of offerings or in the grinding and holding of pigments and other precious substances. A soft, ancient surface sheen covers the stone. Size: 7" W x 5.75" H (17.8 cm W x 14.6 cm H).

The Colima of western Mexico are best known for their burnished redware effigy ceramics, recovered from the deep shaft tombs that define the region's mortuary tradition. Worked stone from the same horizon is far scarcer: hardstone was shaped without metal tools, by pecking, grinding, and prolonged abrasion with sand and water, so a hollowed vessel of this scale represents an investment of labor that ceramic could deliver in an afternoon. The conflation of body and container, in which the vessel cavity doubles as a torso, recurs across West Mexican effigy forms and gives the object a dual reading as both figure and utensil.

Provenance: Collection of Tom Carson, NYS., active 1970’s - early 2000’s, then by descent to family.

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Item #

73033

Condition
Intact, Excellent condition.

Buyer's Premium
30%