Originally listed at $1,000...

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chimu/Inca culture, ca. 1200 to 1500 CE. A fine blackware stirrup vessel featuring an architectural building - likely a temple or shrine, with a pair of human figures and a monkey leaning against the vertical spout. The pitched roof is supported by front pillars that are incised with stylized feline motifs. Some vessels, even though made in molds are well modeled with carefully finished surfaces, implying a considerable investment of time and skill. The black color was achieved by firing the ceramic under conditions of limiting oxygen, thereby generating soot that bound to the vessel surface. The pottery was burnished after firing to produce the shiny black surface. A vessel this ornate with a small-scale architectural model was likely made to be place in the tomb of an important member of society to signify religious or political power. Boasting a lustrous burnish over a deep black glaze that exhibits a silvery hue in some areas due to age, this is a truly handsome example! Size: 4.25" L x 4.5" W x 9.5" H (10.8 cm x 11.4 cm x 24.1 cm)

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private lifetime collection of Dr. Saul Tuttman and Dr. Gregory Siskind, New York, New York, USA, acquired in the 1980s

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#175464

Chips to rim and a few surface nicks, otherwise intact and excellent. Silver luster to glaze.