The Pinnacle Of Pre-Columbian Mexican Culture
STONE CYLINDERS VESSELS FIGURES
MAYAN STONE CARVINGS
9969. FINE MAYAN BALL PLAYERS YOKE. Veru Cruz, c. 600-900 AD. Choice example of the classic horseshoe shaped ball player hip guard with bold, deeply carved animal face in front, the body and legs extending around the sides in bas relief. 15 x 17 x 5 inches. 50 lbs. Considerable remains of red cinnabar in the incised areas. The surface lightly covered in calcified patina with numerous root marks attesting authenticity. Ex. old New York private collection. An excessively rare museum quality artifact and one of the most prized and sought after pre-Columbian antiquities. The ballgame was played with a solid rubber ball about 8 inches in diameter. As in modern soccer the ball could not be touched by the hands but was controlled by contact by padding on various parts of the body. At midbody the players wore thick heavy deflectors called yokes that were the most important instrument used to control and direct the ball. The object of the game was to direct the ball through a stone ring set vertically into the ballcourt wall. Play was life or death as the losers were sacrificed to the gods. See eg. 'The Blood of Kings', Schele & Miller, pps. 241-263 for an in depth discussion of the ball game with illustrations. See also a similar example in the Museum of Natural History Collection, New York City. See also Sotheby's 'Important Pre-Columbian Art, May 12/13, 1983, lot 24, for another example estimated at $50,000-$60,000. Provenance: Acquired at an Arte Primitivo auction by the current owner in the 1990's. Price on request.
9209. EXCEPTIONAL MAYAN STONE CEREMONIAL AXE. Classic period c. 650 AD. The heavy ceremonial axe carved of hard gray stone in the form of a stylized parrot, the socket drilled from both sides with ancient brown deposits inside, the heavy spike point tapering downward. 2.5 x 3.3 x 6.75 inches. Extremely rare. Choice example and condition. Price on request.
11359. MAYAN CARVED STONE BOWL. Guatemala, 600-800 AD. The bowl of serpentine carved with two plumed serpents circling the sides. Crudely repaired from large fragments with two small fragments missing in the bottom. 2.5 x 8 inches. Very rare. Side B. Side C. Side D. Bottom. Interior.
$3500.
MAYAN CYLINDERS
9942. FINE MAYAN CYLINDER WITH MOLDED HEAD OF THE WIND GOD, c. 6th-8th century AD. The cylinder with slightly rounded body from which protrudes a wonderfully rendered head of the wind god with puffed cheeks, an incised ring of glyphs under the rim, the body with large ribs. 7 x 7 inches. Unobtrusive line in rim. An exceptional museum quality piece. Provenance: Acquired by the present owner at an Arte Primitivo auction in the 1990's.
$4500.
PROVENANCE TO 1968 11226. MAYAN POLYCHROME CYLINDER, c. 6th-8th century AD. The cylinder painted with 3 large identical glyphs between red and black bands separated by registers of black hatch marks on the exterior; the interior with a band of black at the top. 5 x 5.5 inches. Intact. The painting considerably crisper than the photos. Side 2. Side 3.
Provenance: The estate of a wealthy land owner and rancher in the American Southwest. All items in this collection were acquired prior to being brought into the US in 1968.
9274. LARGE MAYAN CYLINDER WITH INCISED GLYPHS, c. 600-800 AD. The cylinder with a band of ribs around the body, a band of incised glyphs stained with cinnabar above. 6 x 9.5 inches. Rim shard reattached. Rare. Provenance: Purchased by the present owner from an established US antiquities dealer in the 1990's. Independently documented 3rd party proof this piece has been in the US since at least March 20, 2001 is available. This is several years prior to the effective date of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that restricts subsequent imports into the US.
9944. LARGE MAYAN CYLINDER WITH INCISED GLYPHS, c. 6th-8th century AD. The cylinder with a deeply incised ring of red cinnabar glyphs under a flared rim, traces of figures remaining below. 6 x 9.5 inches. Worth the price just for the size and the glyphs. Provenance: Purchased by the present owner from an established US antiquities dealer in the 1990's. Independently documented 3rd party proof this piece has been in the US since at least February 26, 2002 is available. This is several years prior to the effective date of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that restricts subsequent imports into the US.
9943. LARGE MAYAN CYLINDER, c. 6th-8th century AD. The cylinder with twin rings of glyphs top and bottom framing a finely ribbed body. 6.5 x 8 inches. Intact, fine stable hairlines at rim. Provenance: Obtained by the present owner at an Arte Primitivo auction in the 1990's.
MAYAN BOWLS & POTTERY
9276. MAYAN POLYCHROME BOWL. Guatemala, c. 600-800 AD. The bowl with an intricate and finely drawn pattern of three registers around the side, 11 painted glyphs around the bottom. 2.75 x 6.5 inches. Museum quality repair. An excellent example of a rare style. Glyphs. Interior.
11548. MAYAN POLYCHROME BOWL. 11 x 17 cm. Excellent condition. Provenance: An Italian collection collected by the family of the current owner in the 1950's in Buenos Aires. Good and legal provenance provided to buyer.
$8500.
PROVENANCE TO 1968 11225. MAYAN POLYCHROME BOWL, c. 6th-8th century AD. The bowl painted with a complex pattern of 3 shamanic figures seated on jaguars with large checkerboard figures behind on the exterior; the interior with broad and narrower black bands at the top. 3.5 x 7 inches. Intact. Provenance: The estate of a wealthy land owner and rancher in the American Southwest. All items in this collection were acquired prior to being brought into the US in 1968. Side 2. Side 3. Interior.
$2500.
PROVENANCE TO 1968 11228. MAYAN POLYCHROME TRIPOD BOWL, c. 6th-8th century AD. The bowl painted with two old men sages with hands raised in prophecy separated by panels of large glyphs on the exterior; the interior with broad and narrower black bands at the top, the out turned rim with black triangles. 3.5 x 9.25 inches. One large shard neatly repaired. Provenance: The estate of a wealthy land owner and rancher in the American Southwest. All items in this collection were acquired prior to being brought into the US in 1968. Side 2. Interior.
$2500.
PROVENANCE TO 1968 11229. MAYAN POLYCHROME TRIPOD BOWL, c. 6th-8th century AD. The bowl painted with three ornate winged serpent figures on a black background on the exterior; the interior with two black and one red bands at the top, a black circle at the center. 3.5 x 9.5 inches. Neatly repaired from four large shards. Provenance: The estate of a wealthy land owner and rancher in the American Southwest. All items in this collection were acquired prior to being brought into the US in 1968. Side 2. Side 3. Interior.
$2500.
11537. MAYAN JAGUAR VESSEL. 16 x 16 cm. Decorated with glyphs and three jaguars. Excellent condition save for small missing rim shard. Provenance: An Italian collection collected by the family of the current owner in the 1950's in Buenos Aires. Good and legal provenance provided to buyer.
Price on request.
9940. FINE LARGE MAYAN OFFERING BOWL, c. 6th-8th century AD. The bowl of heavy, solid fabric with tripod legs, very precisely painted with red and black designs on cream ground. 4.25 x 12.25 inches. Excellent condition. Neatly drilled small 'kill hole' in center. Very impressive. Provenance: Acquired by the present owner at an Arte Primitivo auction in the 1990's.
12974. MAYAN GLYPH BOWL. 6th-8th century AD. 8 x 4 inches. Overall excellent condition with no repair or restoration. Provenance: The Dr. G. Smith collection. deaccessioned from the Museum of the Desert in New Mexico. Originally acquired from Joel Malter. Side B. Side C. Interior. Bottom.
7051. CHOICE MAYAN POLYCHROME VESSEL. Classic Period, c. 6th - 8th century. Finely painted both sides with royal or deity heads wearing elaborate plumed headdresses. A row of glyphs under the rim, red crosshatch pattern on bottom, two small handles. Museum quality condition with rich color considerable better than the image shows. 5 x 6". Provenance: From a large New Jersey collection. Acquired by the current owner from a major Miami area antiquities dealer in the 1990's.
13033. RARE PRE-CLASSIC MAYAN CENSER BOWL, c. 400 BC - 250 AD. A heavy fabric censer bowl representing the Ceiba tree, the spiked trunk of which connects the skies and terrestrial world with Xibalba. Xibalba, roughly translated as "place of fear", is the name of the underworld in K'iche' Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. 8.5 x 3 inches. Some of the spikes missing but an extremely rare early pre-classic Mayan relic. Side 2. Bottom view. Provenance: A private Midwestern collection. In the family in the US since the 1950's. This is many years prior to the effective date of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that restricts subsequent imports into the US.
PROVENANCE TO 1968 11224. MAYAN POLYCHROME BOWL, c. 6th-8th century AD. The bowl with 3 large mythical creatures each holding the long tail of the preceding figure on the exterior; the interior with a broad band of red at the top. 3.25 x 6 inches. Stable age crack in one side otherwise intact.
Provenance: The estate of a wealthy land owner and rancher in the American Southwest. All items in this collection were acquired prior to being brought into the US in 1968. Side 2. Side 3. Interior.
MAYAN FIGURES
