Maya Ulua Valley Pottery Bowl - Pelicans
Pre-Columbian, Honduras, Mayan Ulua Valley, ca. 550 to 850 CE. A beautiful bowl from a unique Maya tradition with a deep interior, gently incurved rim, and a motif of pelicans painted around its exterior. The background of the vessel is a creamy, pale beige, with a thick black band wrapped around much of the exterior body from the flat base to just below the rim. This black band is punctuated periodically with images of pelicans and glyph-like symbols. Ancient Maya people living in this region - which is near the Atlantic coast of Honduras - would have observed several species of pelicans and may have been inspired by their beauty; birds also had a symbolic power in the Maya religion because they are able to occupy the liminal space between earth and sky. Size: 6" W x 3.2" H (15.2 cm x 8.1 cm)
The Ulua Valley, centered around the large city of Cerro Palenque, is a mystery for archaeologists. Unlike the Maya, they left no written records (the glyphoid designs on this vessel do not form words), and their connection to the Classic Maya is unclear. It seems to have been a point of trade and transport - a connecting link - between the Maya world further north and Central America. The pottery from the Ulua Valley is part of a very unique tradition, different even from those found at nearby Copan.
Provenance: private New York, USA collection begun in 1966; ex-Lands Beyond Gallery, New York, USA, 1999; ex-Oscar Zelaya Family collection
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.
#151397 Dimensions: Condition Report: Expertly repaired from four or five large pieces; this is well done and difficult to discern with very small areas of overpainting along the break lines. Nice deposits on surface, especially on interior. Otherwise in lovely condition with beautifully preserved motifs.
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Pre-Columbian, Honduras, Mayan Ulua Valley, ca. 550 to 850 CE. A beautiful bowl from a unique Maya tradition with a deep interior, gently incurved rim, and a motif of pelicans painted around its exterior. The background of the vessel is a creamy, pale beige, with a thick black band wrapped around much of the exterior body from the flat base to just below the rim. This black band is punctuated periodically with images of pelicans and glyph-like symbols. Ancient Maya people living in this region - which is near the Atlantic coast of Honduras - would have observed several species of pelicans and may have been inspired by their beauty; birds also had a symbolic power in the Maya religion because they are able to occupy the liminal space between earth and sky. Size: 6" W x 3.2" H (15.2 cm x 8.1 cm)
The Ulua Valley, centered around the large city of Cerro Palenque, is a mystery for archaeologists. Unlike the Maya, they left no written records (the glyphoid designs on this vessel do not form words), and their connection to the Classic Maya is unclear. It seems to have been a point of trade and transport - a connecting link - between the Maya world further north and Central America. The pottery from the Ulua Valley is part of a very unique tradition, different even from those found at nearby Copan.
Provenance: private New York, USA collection begun in 1966; ex-Lands Beyond Gallery, New York, USA, 1999; ex-Oscar Zelaya Family collection
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.
#151397 Dimensions: Condition Report: Expertly repaired from four or five large pieces; this is well done and difficult to discern with very small areas of overpainting along the break lines. Nice deposits on surface, especially on interior. Otherwise in lovely condition with beautifully preserved motifs.
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Time, Location
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