West Mexican Painted Ceramic Olla, Michoacán Region

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Michoacan, ca. 300 BCE – 300 CE. A rounded olla with a narrow base swelling to a globular body, drawing inward to a short flaring neck and everted lip. The burnished brown surface carries white-painted ornament: a radiating sunburst across the shoulder, flanked by feathered fronds, scrolls, and hatched panels, with a band of undulating waves and dotted motifs around the belly. Vessels of this type served domestic and possibly ceremonial purposes, used for storing liquids or grain, and are associated with both domestic and funerary contexts. The vessel is a large and largely intact example of the white-on-brown ceramic tradition of western Mexico. Size: 9.6" D x 9.6" H (24.4 cm D x 24.4 cm H).

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection, acquired December 2025; ex-Arte Primitivo, New York, New York, USA; ex-private Nevada, USA collection; ex-David Harner collection, Arkansas, USA, acquired 1950s to 1960s, collection #HM80

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Item #

202623

Condition
Som minor nicks and abrasions, but, otherwise, intact and excellent with impressively preserved decoration.

Buyer's Premium
30%