Colima
Mexico
100 BC–250 AD
Ceramic
Height 12 1/4"; Diameter 10"
Provenance: Maurice Yanez Collection, Pasadena, CA; Berg Collection
This large Colima effigy vessel has a globular body in deep red slip with a modeled human face applied at the base of the tall flaring neck, the face wearing disc ear ornaments and a helmet with a tab element that descends down the back of the neck. A coiled arm or serpent form in relief wraps around the left shoulder of the vessel body, with a small subsidiary head visible at the point of attachment, giving the vessel an unusually complex surface program for the type. The red slip surface shows mottled dark areas and fire clouding across the body, consistent with the reduction firing used in Colima ceramic production.
The vessel comes from two documented California collections, including the Berg Collection with pre-1969 provenance. The combination of the helmet-wearing face, the coiled relief element, and the large globular form places this vessel within the Protoclassic period of West Mexican ceramic production, when effigy vessels of increasing size and iconographic complexity were deposited in shaft tombs. The piece is intact.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Colima
Mexico
100 BC–250 AD
Ceramic
Height 12 1/4"; Diameter 10"
Provenance: Maurice Yanez Collection, Pasadena, CA; Berg Collection
This large Colima effigy vessel has a globular body in deep red slip with a modeled human face applied at the base of the tall flaring neck, the face wearing disc ear ornaments and a helmet with a tab element that descends down the back of the neck. A coiled arm or serpent form in relief wraps around the left shoulder of the vessel body, with a small subsidiary head visible at the point of attachment, giving the vessel an unusually complex surface program for the type. The red slip surface shows mottled dark areas and fire clouding across the body, consistent with the reduction firing used in Colima ceramic production.
The vessel comes from two documented California collections, including the Berg Collection with pre-1969 provenance. The combination of the helmet-wearing face, the coiled relief element, and the large globular form places this vessel within the Protoclassic period of West Mexican ceramic production, when effigy vessels of increasing size and iconographic complexity were deposited in shaft tombs. The piece is intact.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
