Mayan Polychrome Vessels, Bowl With Vision Serpent Motif and Matched Pair of Cups, Circa 600-900 Common Era - 3 Pieces

Details

Description

Mayan Polychrome Vessels, Bowl With Vision Serpent Motif and Matched Pair of Cups.

Offered is a beautiful Mayan bowl, with … Read more Mayan Polychrome Vessels, Bowl With Vision Serpent Motif and Matched Pair of Cups.

Offered is a beautiful Mayan bowl, with concave base and flared walls, features a serpentine imagery, depicted by (3) stylized sinuous serpents that emerge from (3) undulating beings with feathers surrounding bodies in the shape of a conch shell. Included is a pair of two cups, feature stylized glyphs. The polychrome painted bowl and cups are finely detailed in black and brown slip on alternate wide bands of red, orange and cream.

Origin: Campeche, Mexico.
Period: 600-900 CE.
Material: Earthenware with pigment.

Interpretation: The bowl motif likely represents the watery underworld and journey to the celestial realm within the same composition. By actively turning, unfurls a scene of emergence from the underworld. Incremental changes can be observed in scenes.

Measures: Bowl; 6 D x 4.75 H inches (15.24 D x 12.07 cm). Cups: 4 D x 2.75 H inches each (10.16 D x 6.99 H cm)
Weight: Bowl; 1 pound, 1 ounce (369 g). Cups: 7.1 & 8.8 ounces each (201.28 & 249.48 g)

Provenance: Ex-Northern California private collection, active as a collector from the 1960s - 1980s, acquired from Bill Pearson - Fine and Primitive Art (FPA),* 3499 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94118, circa 1970s. Private provenance available upon request.

Documentation: *Original FPA receipt for cups, handwritten and signed by Bill Pearson, dated 9 September 1978.

Notes: In Mayan ceramics, transformation is frequently depicted in a sequence of images. Turning the vessel unlocks the animation embedded within. See less