Large Cocle Tonosi Pottery Olla w/ Abstract Motifs

Pre-Columbian, Central America, Panama, Gran Cocle, Tonosi style, ca. 400 to 800 CE. A lovely example of a hand-built pottery olla of a sizable form with a rounded but stable base, a spherical body with a slightly compressed profile, a rounded shoulder tapering to a lightly corseted neck base, a wide neck, and a splayed rim surrounding the deep basin. The vessel's beige-hued slip provides a nice ground atop which intricately painted black and red lines are drawn. The body depicts three abstract forms with spiraling tendrils surrounded by dozens of horizontal and vertical lines, with each panel separated by a pair of vertical red stripes, and the neck bears flowing curvilinear motifs beneath a black-painted scalloped motif on the rim. Size: 9.5" W x 8.2" H (24.1 cm x 20.8 cm)

According to scholar Samuel Kirkland Lothrop, "The Gran Cocle culture is a Pre-Columbian archaeological culture that gets its name from the area from which it was based, the now present-day Cocle province of Panama. The Gran Cocle term applies to a loosely studied group of Native American sub-cultures in this region, identified by their pottery styles. The overall period spans a time from 150 B.C. to the end in the 16th century A.D. upon Spanish contact. The most ancient culture is the La Mula period from 150 B.C. to 300 A.D. The La Mula and later Monagrillo and Tonosi pottery styles are identified by their use of three paint colors which were black, red and white (or cream) . . . [and] Most notable in the artistic renderings is the overt use of geometric designs." (For more information, see Armand Labbe, "Guardians of The Life Stream: Shamans, Art and Power in Prehispanic Central Panama" - Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, University of Washington Press, 1995)

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Mr. and Mrs. William Dennis collection, Clear Creek Farm, Ocala, Florida, USA

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#152698 Dimensions: Condition Report: Minor nicks, abrasions, and pitting to base, body, neck, and rim, with fading to areas of original pigment, and a couple of stable hairline fissures, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits and great traces of original pigment throughout.