Mayan Terracotta Bowl - X.0696, Origin: Mexico, Circa: 500 AD to 900 AD, Dimensions: 5.5" (14.0cm) high x 6.625" (16.8cm) wide, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mayan,  More »

Mayan Terracotta Bowl - X.0696, Origin: Mexico, Circa: 500 AD to 900 AD, Dimensions: 5.5" (14.0cm) high x 6.625" (16.8cm) wide, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mayan, Medium: Terracotta.   « Less

Mayan Marble Cylindrical Vase with Jaguar Handles - X.0728, Origin: Honduras, Circa: 500 AD to 900 AD, Dimensions: 8" (20.3cm) high x 8" (20.3cm) wide, Collection:  More »

Mayan Marble Cylindrical Vase with Jaguar Handles - X.0728, Origin: Honduras, Circa: 500 AD to 900 AD, Dimensions: 8" (20.3cm) high x 8" (20.3cm) wide, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mayan, Medium: Marble.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Sculpture - X.1024B, Origin: Mexico, Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC, Dimensions: 19" (48.3cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mezcala, Medium: Stone.

Mezcala Stone Sculpture - X.1024B, Origin: Mexico, Circa: 300 BC to 100 BC, Dimensions: 19" (48.3cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mezcala, Medium: Stone.   « Less

Mezcala Stone Sculpture - JB.007, Origin: Mexico (Guerrero), Circa: 300 BC to 100 AD, Dimensions: 14" (35.6cm) high x 6.5" (16.5cm) wide x 4" (10.2cm) depth, Collection:  More »

Mezcala Stone Sculpture - JB.007, Origin: Mexico (Guerrero), Circa: 300 BC to 100 AD, Dimensions: 14" (35.6cm) high x 6.5" (16.5cm) wide x 4" (10.2cm) depth, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: M-14, Medium: Green Stone. Recovered from dedicatory caches in Guerrero, this sculpture of a human figure is a mysterious artistic product of Mezcala culture's obsessive votive Celt cult. Mezcala was a stone-centered culture that is considered as pre-Olmec. The sculptors of this period carved their votive offerings out of hard stones such as andesite and serpentine. This sculpture of a human figure is smoothly carved out of beautiful dark-green stone. The figure is carved with a bold simplicity which distinctly defines the face, eyes, and hands. Although ancient, its minimal quality evokes a sense of modern minimal abstraction which heightens the sculpture's artistic quality. Mezcala sculptors were driven by the impact of sheer physical necessity and produced the stone carvings for their obsessive rituals in mass quantity. Though produced in great quantity, the sculptors carved the hard, unyielding stone with absolute sureness and special sculptural sensitivity. Each mark, each indentation is a precious outcome of earnest carving that describe the features of the figure. Remarkable in its unusually large size, physical presence, and abstract features, the sculpture appeals to our senses even today.   « Less

Mayan Deity Bowl - E.0001, Origin: Mexico, Circa: 600 AD to 900 AD, Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mayan, Medium: Terracotta. A regional  More »

Mayan Deity Bowl - E.0001, Origin: Mexico, Circa: 600 AD to 900 AD, Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Mayan, Medium: Terracotta. A regional Mayan style from the Yucatan penisula, round bowl with deity molded in high relief, highly burnished red surface with grey molded attached anthropomorphic figure sitting on two nub feet.   « Less

Colima Terracotta Head Vessel - SP.192, Origin: Western Mexico, Circa: 200 BC to 200 AD, Dimensions: 4.25" (10.8cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian Art, Style: Colima,  More »

Colima Terracotta Head Vessel - SP.192, Origin: Western Mexico, Circa: 200 BC to 200 AD, Dimensions: 4.25" (10.8cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian Art, Style: Colima, Medium: Terracotta, Condition: Extra Fine. This unusual jar-like vessel has a striking presence. It holds a comical edge while also maintaining an element of the mystical. It's slight smile and slanted eyes allude to a sense of mischievousness. As a shaman figure, its exaggerated robustness suggests that the figure is so full of powers that it is nearly busting. This piece captures the Pre-Columbian spirituality in both its sense of mysticism as well as its Universal humanistic appeal used to hold magic potions used in incantations and rituals.   « Less

Toltec Plumbate Vessel in the Form of a Dog - SP.193, Origin: Soconusco, Guatemala, Circa: 900 AD to 1200 AD, Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian Art,  More »

Toltec Plumbate Vessel in the Form of a Dog - SP.193, Origin: Soconusco, Guatemala, Circa: 900 AD to 1200 AD, Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian Art, Style: Toltec, Medium: Plumbate ware, Condition: Extra Fine.   « Less

Colima Ceramic Vessel Depicting a Dog Wrestling with an Iguana - SP.240, Origin: Western Coastal Mexico, Circa: 300 BC to 600 AD, Dimensions: 12.25" (31.1cm) high x 12.50"  More »

Colima Ceramic Vessel Depicting a Dog Wrestling with an Iguana - SP.240, Origin: Western Coastal Mexico, Circa: 300 BC to 600 AD, Dimensions: 12.25" (31.1cm) high x 12.50" (31.8cm) wide, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Colima, Medium: Terracotta. One of the better known Pre-Columbian artistic styles, “Colima” derives from Western coastal Mexico, dating between 300 B.C. and 600 A.D. The highly burnished surfaces of such early Colima ceramic pieces are distinguished by their color and characteristic spotted black patina. A particularly cherished subject of representation is the Colima dog, patterned after a hairless variety of ancient dog known as the Techichi. Some scholars have speculated that the Colima believed dogs were emissaries of Xolotl, the god of the dead. As such, dogs were envisioned as a guide to lead the spirits of the dead to their resting place in the underworld and such representational objects might have been interred with the deceased. Despite their possible connection with the dead, the representations of these dogs often take on a playful and charming demeanor in this mode of expression. Other scholars have noted that this variety of dog was bred as a delicacy. Thus, their frequent portrayal as exceedingly plump accentuates the humorous nature of such representations.   « Less

Olmec Jade Celt in the Form of a Were-Jaguar - SP.564 (LSO), Origin: Mexico, Circa: 900 BC to 500 BC, Dimensions: 11.5" (29.2cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style:  More »

Olmec Jade Celt in the Form of a Were-Jaguar - SP.564 (LSO), Origin: Mexico, Circa: 900 BC to 500 BC, Dimensions: 11.5" (29.2cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Olmec, Medium: Jade.   « Less

Nayarit Chinesco Terracotta Figure - SP.573, Origin: Nayarit, Mexico, Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD, Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian Art, Style: Chinesco,  More »

Nayarit Chinesco Terracotta Figure - SP.573, Origin: Nayarit, Mexico, Circa: 300 BC to 300 AD, Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian Art, Style: Chinesco, Medium: Terracotta.   « Less