Rare Pair of Veracruz Ear Flares, Early Classic Period, ca. A.D. 300-600

Rare Pair of Veracruz Ear Flares, Early Classic Period, ca. A.D. 300-600
heights 4 1/2in (11.5cm)

Provenance
Judy Nash, New York
D. Daniel Michel, Chicago (#61:073 - A & B), acquired in 1961
Ancient Art of the New World, New York
American Private Collection, acquired from the above in 1991

Each carved in brown ceramic depicting crouching jaguars with snarled expression; one facing left, the other right. Throughout Mesoamerica, the jaguar, both a feared and revered animal, was associated with fire, warfare, and the nighttime journey of the sun. The Jaguar of the Underworld deity was often associated with rulers and, thus, often used in iconography associated with kingship.