Fabulous / Large Chupicuaro Pottery Head Vessel

**Originally Listed At $3500**

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Guanajuato Valley, Chupicuaro, ca. 500 BCE to 300 CE. A fabulous, hand-built, bichrome pottery face bowl with a bold visage on one side presenting expressive features including a modeled nose, a gaping mouth, and raised eyes surrounded by abstract cross motifs - representative of a cross-section of the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus. The rolling shoulder is decorated with zigzag, stepped, and linear motifs, painted in a creamy white hue atop the red-orange ground, with similarly-colored striped and X-shaped motifs embellishing the walls. A small lip leads inwards to a wide cavity, and both the interior and the rounded base are colored with red-orange slip. A pair of small cream-hued lines enclose the decorative register both above and below. A fabulous and finely-executed vessel from ancient West Mexico! Size: 10.25" W x 5.5" H (26 cm x 14 cm).

Chupicuaro society is well known for its sophisticated ceramic tradition featuring human effigies and food-service vessels of stunning aesthetic appeal such as this example. The feast was of utmost importance to supply food for the living as an integral part of social politics and also to provide sustenance for the soul's journey to the underworld. Beyond being objects for daily use, Chupicuaro ceramics were artistic achievements in their own right - elegant forms with boldly painted decoration typically in their signature deep red. The wide variety of vessel forms created by the Chupicuaro artisans points to the significance of the feast.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Allan Stone collection, New York, USA, acquired before 2000

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.

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#132652
Condition Report: Expected surface wear and abrasions, fading to some areas of coloration, with small nicks to rim, walls, base, and interior. The vessel has been skillfully repaired from a few large pieces with some well-executed restoration, resurfacing, and overpainting along break lines and to design motifs. Light earthen deposits throughout.