Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico and northern Central America, Mayan Territories, Late Classic period, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A large, impressive incensario, made of terracotta, composed of two pieces, a bowl and a lid. The bowl is round and studded with applied spikes so that it resembles a lychee (although its Mayan creators would not have been aware of the Chinese fruit). Two round perforations in its sides allowed fumes to escape. It stands on an integrated, slightly flaring cylindrical base, which is studded with openwork crosses and holes. The lid, with its rim and shoulder covered in similar spiked projections, fits nearly atop the rim of the bowl. The top of the lid has a tall, tiered conical projection that is open at the top. Size of lower part: 8.25" W x 12.75" H (21 cm x 32.4 cm); size of upper part: 7.5" W x 9" H (19 cm x 22.9 cm)

Incense played a major role in religious practice in Mesoamerica, from the Olmec onward. Many tombs are outfitted with incensarios and the items also seem to have been used in ceremonies by the living. The incense was made from copal, tree resin from the torchwood tree. By burning copal, Mesoamerican priests made an offering to the gods - for example, during an Aztec ceremony for the god Huitzilopochtli, the hummingbird-formed god of war, priests hoped that their prayers would be carried upward along with the wafting smoke and scent.

Provenance: collection of the late Alfred E. Stendahl, Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA

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#126348

One side of bowl rim has losses along its edge and a slight, stable crack inward along the rim from its edge. The upper portion of the lid has been expertly repaired so that it is almost invisible.