Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chavin-Cupisnique, ca. 1200 BCE. A hand-built brownware pottery bottle of a bell-shaped form with a flat base, tall walls, a rounded shoulder, a tapered spout, and a flared rim. The exterior of the body is finely incised with abstract - perhaps leaf-like or serpentine - forms that are further incised with a cross-hatched pattern. What's more, the attractive surface was meticulously burnished so as to create a lustrous finish. Size: 4.375" W x 9.375" H (11.1 cm x 23.8 cm)

The Chavin civilization is generally regarded as the Andean mother civilization - oftentimes compared to the Olmec of Mexico. Both the Chavin and the Olmec cultures created the earliest Pre-Columbian visual culture that continued to flourish until European contact in the 16th century. Using molds and modeling the forms by hand, the Chavin made numerous stirrup-spout vessels, but bottle forms like this example are somewhat more unusual. Scholars have suggested that the indigenous used their vessels to store fermented corn beer known as "chicha".

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, collected from 1950 to 1960s

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#161483

Restoration to areas of neck and rim, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Minor abrasions to base, body, and neck, with light softening to some incised details. Nice preservation to incised motifs across body.