Pre-Columbian, Central America, Panama, Gran Cocle culture, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. This long-necked vessel hails from the Gran Cocle Pre-Columbian kingdom of Central America or present-day Cocle province. Cocle ceramics include some of the most intriguing expressions of visual culture in Prehispanic Central America. Beyond its elegant form, this piece uses design as a visual language. This vessel is decorated with a band of highly abstracted avian or birdlike and geometric forms on the shoulder. To the ancient Panamanians, these exquisitely painted motifs would have conjured a known mythic or Shamanic being. The composition of this design is comprised of these fantastical life forms in combination with geometric bands of red, purple, and black. Geometric design elements such as these were imbued with powerful symbolism, usually referring to the gender constructs. A gorgeous piece replete with manganese blooms and root marks. Size: 8"L x 8"W x 11-3/4"H (20.3 cm x 20.3 cm x 29.8 cm). Provenance: Ex-Private Rousseau collection acquired in 1984. Ex- Estate of M. Reiniger, Chicago, IL

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