**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Bolivian highlands, Lake Titicaca region, Tiahuanaco / Tiwanaku ca. 400 to 900 CE. A rare and quite remarkable blackware kero adorned with the head of a bird - perhaps an eagle, falcon, or condor - and incised with abstract, glyph-like motifs. Boasting a traditional, minimalist form, the vessel presents thin walls that flare out to a slightly recessed neck and broad rim, all sitting upon a planar base. Birds were thought to be messengers between the living and the dead and were prevalent zoomorphic themes on many Huari and Tiahuanaco compositions. Size: 5.2" W x 5.6" H (13.2 cm x 14.2 cm)

Similar examples can be found in the Museo Virtual Bolivia (CFB CRM 1178) and Museo Larco (ML036132).

Provenance: private Leonard collection, Virginia, USA, acquired in Peru in the 1970s

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#180457

Some minor chipping to rim and age-expected surface wear as shown. A few stable hairline surface fissures extending from rim. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nice preservation of detail and rich earthen encrustations.