Pre-Columbian, Colombia, Magdalena R. basin, Tolima / Chimila culture, ca. 800 to 1500 CE. A massive hand-built terracotta urn with a flat base, a tall, cylindrical body, and a pinched rim. A decorative program of segmented, tendril-form lines as well as a pair of abstract lizards detail the rim and lid exterior. This was likely intended for burial, created to hold skeletal remains of a cherished ancestor. Size: 21" W x 32" H (53.3 cm x 81.3 cm)

In the valley of the River Magdalena, ancient rituals related to the preparation of the body of the deceased for its journey to the afterlife involved the practice of secondary burials in urns like this example. According to the curatorial department of the Museo del Oro Banco de la Republica, "There are two different stages in the secondary burial funerary custom: first of all, a primary burial takes place, where the corpse is buried for a certain period of time established in the ritual, and then after this, it is exhumed for burial once more in an urn, possibly amidst a great collective ceremony. Urns have been found in well tombs with side chamber, with certain local and regional variations. The chambers contain between three and seventy urns, each holding charred bone remains, large, fractured bones, and fragments of skull. Each is accompanied by pots, bowls, and goblets, most of which were made exclusively for the dead person, for they show no signs of having been used. Spindle whorls, rollers and axes have also been found." Examples from the Tolima culture are exceedingly rare and the size of this piece is quite special!

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report is available to the buyer upon request.

Provenance: ex-Marc Amiguet Schmitt estate, Evansville, Indiana, USA, acquired in 2002 from his grandfather

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.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#173320

Repaired from many pieces with break lines and hairline fissures throughout. Losses and chips along break lines. Losses to top of lid and on body as shown. Shards and dislodged fragments loose inside of vessel. Tl hole inside of lid, and second Tl hole on base.