Fine Rio Magdalena Terracotta Burial Urn w/ Figural Lid

Pre-Columbian, Colombia, Middle Magdalena River region, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A beautiful burial urn of a tall form, hand-built from buff terracotta of a natural beige hue, with a broad body and a figural lid. The globular vessel body has a carinated midsection and a squat rim adorned with meticulously pecked scroll motifs, and a series of incised grooves demarcates the neck from the body. The domed lid has a thick rim lined with perforated suspension holes, two vertical panels of pecked motifs that match those on the body, and a smooth top. Surmounting the lid is an abstract figure with outstretched legs, a small bowl held in one hand, additional pecked motifs on the chest, and a minimalist head bearing a pair of pierced eye holes and a loop nose. Size (w/ lid): 9.9" W x 16.5" H (25.1 cm x 41.9 cm); 18.1" H (46 cm) on included custom stand.

Scholars argue that the custom of creating burial urns is related to the association of bones with the afterlife. According to author Armand Labbe, "There is a widespread belief among many Indians of both Middle and South America that bones are a form of seed, from which new life will spring. Recall the Mexican allegory of the personification of the dual lifeforce, Quetzalcoatl, descending to the underworld to retrieve the bones of mankind to resurrect them to a new life." Labbe continues, "Within the Colombian context, the act of placing bones in cylindrical, phalliform urns, and placing these in the womb-like shaft-and-chamber tomb within the Earth Mother, seems to be an enactment of such beliefs." (Labbe, Armand J. "Colombia Before Columbus: The People, Culture, and Ceramic Art of Prehispanic Colombia." Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 1986, p. 116)

For a stylistically similar example with a taller urn body and a lid with two figures, please see: Labbe, Armand J. "Colombia Before Columbus: The People, Culture, and Ceramic Art of Prehispanic Colombia." Rizolli International Publications, New York, 1986, p. 118, fig. 105.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA, collected from 1970 to 2008

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#152639 Dimensions: Condition Report: Professional repairs to urn body, lid, and figure from multiple pieces, with small chips and light adhesive residue along some break lines, and minor resurfacing and overpainting along others. Nicks and abrasions to urn body, lid, and figure, with light encrustations, softening to some pecked details, and scattered areas of fire-darkening. Nice earthen deposits throughout.