Veracruz Pottery Staff / Boundary Marker, Jaguar Shaman
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Veracruz culture, also known as Totonac (Totonaca), Remojadas, ca. 300 to 600 CE. A heavy ceramic staff finial or possibly boundary marker, capped by a jaguar-like shaman figure standing perched atop a T-shaped stand with a stake at its base. The figure has a short snout, four huge fangs, and a long, extended tongue. Giant ears, each perforated as if they once held earrings of precious metal or feathers, adorn the sides of the head, while a headdress with a single raised horn - often a signifier of shamanism - perches atop the wrinkled brow. The figure wears a large pectoral and nothing else. Its hands are extended, the fingers delineated by massive, jaguar-like claws. The figure crouches as if engaged in a dance. Size: 3.4" W x 13.6" H (8.6 cm x 34.5 cm); 14.7" H (37.3 cm) on included custom stand.
Who did this figure represent? Excavations near the modern Mexican town of Remojadas have revealed two types of impressive, detailed pottery figures from the Veracruz period: the Sonrientes, the joyous "smiling faces", and figures like this one, more serious, with elaborate costumes, themes, and sometimes props that all seem to point towards religious or political ceremonies. These figures are often found with the bodies broken into pieces but the heads largely intact, as scholars believe they were ritually destroyed as burial offerings.
Provenance: ex-Merrin Gallery, New York, USA; ex-private Chicago, Illinois, USA collection, formed around 1960
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.
#148169
Condition Report: Repaired in multiple places - at the neck, buttocks, hands, feet, and upper part of the staff - with repairs well done and unobtrusive. Excellent deposits on surface. Small loss to headdress and to claws.
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Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Veracruz culture, also known as Totonac (Totonaca), Remojadas, ca. 300 to 600 CE. A heavy ceramic staff finial or possibly boundary marker, capped by a jaguar-like shaman figure standing perched atop a T-shaped stand with a stake at its base. The figure has a short snout, four huge fangs, and a long, extended tongue. Giant ears, each perforated as if they once held earrings of precious metal or feathers, adorn the sides of the head, while a headdress with a single raised horn - often a signifier of shamanism - perches atop the wrinkled brow. The figure wears a large pectoral and nothing else. Its hands are extended, the fingers delineated by massive, jaguar-like claws. The figure crouches as if engaged in a dance. Size: 3.4" W x 13.6" H (8.6 cm x 34.5 cm); 14.7" H (37.3 cm) on included custom stand.
Who did this figure represent? Excavations near the modern Mexican town of Remojadas have revealed two types of impressive, detailed pottery figures from the Veracruz period: the Sonrientes, the joyous "smiling faces", and figures like this one, more serious, with elaborate costumes, themes, and sometimes props that all seem to point towards religious or political ceremonies. These figures are often found with the bodies broken into pieces but the heads largely intact, as scholars believe they were ritually destroyed as burial offerings.
Provenance: ex-Merrin Gallery, New York, USA; ex-private Chicago, Illinois, USA collection, formed around 1960
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.
#148169
Condition Report: Repaired in multiple places - at the neck, buttocks, hands, feet, and upper part of the staff - with repairs well done and unobtrusive. Excellent deposits on surface. Small loss to headdress and to claws.
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Time, Location
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