Pre-Columbian, Panama, Gran Cocle, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. A beautiful polychrome pottery frutero dish with a wide-footed pedestal base, a broad basin with a shallow central cavity, and a rolled rim decorated with a flowing linear register. The interior basin is decorated with a stunning, abstract amphibian creature, its sinuous body coursing across the sloped interior surfaces and terminating in a triangular head with discoid eyes and a thin mouth drawn into a slender grin. Each intricate detail of the lizard is hand-painted in hues of ruby and amethyst, outlined in black, and presented atop a cream ground. The highly-burnished underside of the dish is painted with a red-orange slip as is the non-burnished foot. A fantastic example replete with abstruse animation and vibrant coloration! Size: 9.75" W x 4.75" H (24.8 cm x 12.1 cm).

Cocle ceramics include some of the most intriguing expressions of visual culture in Pre-Hispanic Central America. Archaeological excavations in the Cocle Province of Central Panama have demonstrated that the Cocle culture emerged in approximately 500 CE and lasted until about 1000 CE. Even though they were contemporaneous with the Diquis culture to the north, their visual culture suggests that the Cocle were a distinct, independent civilization. With such wonderful artistry and painstaking detail, artifacts from the Gran Cocle Kingdom rival that of even the finest ancient art masters!

Provenance: private Haiku, Hawaii, USA collection; ex-J. Berryman collection, Florida, USA

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#132186

Foot repaired from a few large pieces, then reattached to underside of dish. Small area of repair to plate with some overpainting along break lines. Age-commensurate surface wear and abrasions, small nicks to rim, foot, and basin, light chipping and fading to pigmentation, otherwise excellent. Nice craquelure to painted designs, and light earthen and mineral deposits throughout.