Pre-Columbian, Brazil, Lower Amazon Basin, Marajo Island, Marajoara culture, ca. 400 to 1350 CE. A hand-built pottery olla with a planar base, sloping walls, a deep interior cavity, a pair of nubbin handles, and a rolled rim. The exterior walls are decorated with skillfully-incised circular, wave-form, triangular, and cruciform motifs, and each handle resembles an abstract avian figure with cream-hued eyes and bulbous heads. Inside the vessel are a series of finely painted swirl designs, umber-hued atop a cream ground, including a spiral star shape on the bottom. Along the walls are serpentine designs with light stippling patterns inside the openwork bodies, and a triangular face underneath each handle whose bottom points begin the central spiral shape. An interesting vessel from ancient Brazil replete with expert artistry and wonderful imagery! Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 6.5" W x 2.5" H (16.5 cm x 6.4 cm); 6.125" H (15.6 cm) on included custom stand.

Marajoara decorative techniques are quite complex, with approximately fifteen different finishing techniques known. One of the more stylish and interesting finishes combines red and white wash, incised detailing, excision, and painting in various designs similar to this example. This item, with its light incisions and bichrome color palette, exhibits the indigenous Marajoarans’ unique aesthetic stylings and creativity. The Marajoarans modeled animals and human figurines to use as handles and appliques on plates, bowls, stools, and vessels. In addition, their repertoire of vessel shapes and objects are numerous, including funerary urns, vases, bowls, bottles, toasters, snuffers, plates, stools, pubic covers (called “tangas”), adornments, and spindle whorls of varying sizes and decoration.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Eugene Lions collection, Geneva, Switzerland

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#132608

Surface wear commensurate with age, small nicks to base, handles, rim, and walls, light fading to painted designs, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice earthen and mineral deposits throughout.