Maya
600–800 AD
Plumbate ware ceramic
Diameter 3¼ inches (8.3 cm), height 3½ inches (8.9 cm)
Provenance: Private collection of a history professor, prior to 1970
Plumbate ware is the only pre-Columbian pottery to achieve a true vitrified glaze through high-temperature firing, and its distinctive metallic sheen made it the most widely traded ceramic in Mesoamerica during the Classic period. This vessel is modeled as the head of Tohil, the Mayan fire god associated with rain and lightning, with the deity's characteristic features rendered in the clay before firing. The glaze has retained its luster across the centuries.
Tohil head effigy pots were produced in limited areas of the Mayan highlands and carried ceremonial associations with fire, sacrifice, and the sustaining relationship between the gods and the human community. The provenance to a history professor's collection prior to 1970 establishes an early collecting date well before the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Head effigy vessels in plumbate ware with this quality of modeling are not commonly encountered.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Maya
600–800 AD
Plumbate ware ceramic
Diameter 3¼ inches (8.3 cm), height 3½ inches (8.9 cm)
Provenance: Private collection of a history professor, prior to 1970
Plumbate ware is the only pre-Columbian pottery to achieve a true vitrified glaze through high-temperature firing, and its distinctive metallic sheen made it the most widely traded ceramic in Mesoamerica during the Classic period. This vessel is modeled as the head of Tohil, the Mayan fire god associated with rain and lightning, with the deity's characteristic features rendered in the clay before firing. The glaze has retained its luster across the centuries.
Tohil head effigy pots were produced in limited areas of the Mayan highlands and carried ceremonial associations with fire, sacrifice, and the sustaining relationship between the gods and the human community. The provenance to a history professor's collection prior to 1970 establishes an early collecting date well before the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Head effigy vessels in plumbate ware with this quality of modeling are not commonly encountered.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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